Cauliflower Crust Pizza Tips and Recipe

Take all the soggyness out of cauliflower with these tips and recipe for the best ever Cauliflower Crust Pizza that your family will love. Low Carb Pizza!

Although it takes a little bit of work to create cauliflower crust pizza that tastes amazing, the extra effort is so worth it! So, before I share with you how to make this cauliflower crust pizza, I'd like to share a few tips with you that I've learned along the way.

Following these tips will help you to create the absolute BEST cauliflower crust pizza ever. And that's no exaggeration!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza Tips

Tip #1 - Save Time by Using Frozen Cauliflower Rice

Although this recipe calls for one head of cauliflower, you can save time by purchasing frozen cauliflower rice (sometimes called cauliflower pearls). You'll steam the cauliflower rice in the microwave or on the stove top, just like the head of cauliflower, but you can totally skip the chopping and food processing.

Tip #2 - Bake the Cauliflower Rice

Typically, I recommend steaming the cauliflower rice until it's tender. However, with an investment of just a little more time, I would definitely recommend baking the cauliflower rice at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Although the results are very similar, I have noticed there is less water to remove from the cauliflower and the "crust" holds up better. So much better, in fact, that you can cut your pizza, pick up a slice and eat it by hand.

Tip #3 - Squeeze the Cauliflower Rice

Once you've steamed or baked the cauliflower rice until it's tender, you're gonna want to squeeze every drop of water that you can out of the riced cauliflower. I like to use cheesecloth for this. I simply lay the cheesecloth out into a bowl and dump the steamed cauliflower into the cheesecloth covered bowl.

Then, I gather up the top of the cheesecloth into a bunch and start twisting and squeezing until I've squeezed all the water I can out of this water loving veggie.

Tip #4 - Add cheese to the Crust

My third tip is the addition of cheese to the cauliflower crust. There are a lot of recipes out there for cauliflower crust, but the addition of cheese, especially the parmesan cheese, really makes a difference in the flavor.

Tip #5 - Spread Thin

When you spread out the cauliflower crust, it will be kind of like a ball of paste. Use your hands or a silicone spatula to spread the cauliflower thin. You want the crust to only be about ¼" thick.

Tip #6 - Flip the Crust

After you have baked the crust and it's become dry and golden brown, remove the crust from the oven and use the parchment paper to flip the crust over to the other side and continue baking.

Supplies for Cauliflower Crust Pizza

These are the supplies you'll want to have on hand before you begin this recipe. I would imagine you already have all of these kitchen helpers on hand:

• food processor
• large mixing bowl
• microwave safe bowl
• cheesecloth
• baking pan or baking stone
• parchment paper
• silicone spatula
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• pizza cutter
• serving spatula

How to Make the Best Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Now that you're armed with some of my best tips for making non-soggy cauliflower crust pizza and have all your supplies, you're ready to make the best cauliflower crust pizza you've ever tasted!

Step 1: Preheat Oven

The first thing you'll want to do, is to preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. (Preheat to 350 degrees F if you're going to bake your cauliflower rice. Once the cauliflower has baked, turn the oven up to 425 degrees F.) Then prepare your baking pan (whether you're using a baking sheet or pizza stone) by lining it with a piece of parchment paper. Set your pan aside.

Step 2: Steam or Bake the Riced Cauliflower

If you are using a head of cauliflower, you'll want to chop the cauliflower, removing any leaves and extra stem. Then add the chopped cauliflower to your food processor and pulse until fine. I find that using the pulse setting gives the best results. You may even find it necessary to use your spatula to scrape down the sides.

If you are using frozen cauliflower pearls or riced cauliflower, you can, of course, skip the food processor step.

Option A: Steam the Cauliflower Rice

Transfer the cauliflower to a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high power for 4-5 minutes - just until softened. Remove the cauliflower from the microwave and allow to cool to touch.

This is a great option when you're short on time. However, for the VERY BEST results, I recommend following Option B below.

Option B: Bake the Cauliflower Rice

My favorite method (but you can get pretty similar results with the steamed cauliflower rice) when time permits, is to bake the cauliflower rice. Simply spread the riced cauliflower out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 15 minutes. Let the cauliflower cool on the baking sheet.

Step 3: Remove Water

Once the cauliflower has cooled enough to touch, line a large mixing bowl with your cheesecloth and pour or spoon the steamed/baked cauliflower rice into the cheesecloth. Cinch the cheesecloth at the top and give the bag of cauliflower rice several turns or spins, while holding the top cinched tight, until water starts to ooze from the cheesecloth. Continue turning and squeezing to remove all excess water.

Step 4: Mix Ingredients

After you've squeezed as much of the water as you can from the cauliflower rice, transfer to a large mixing bowl. Stir in lightly beaten eggs, shredded mozzarella cheese, shredded parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 5: Bake the Crust

Spread the cauliflower mixture into a rectangle about ¼" thick on the parchment paper lined pan. Use your hand or a spatula to spread the cauliflower rice. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Your crust will begin to turn a golden color.

Then, using the parchment paper, flip the cauliflower pizza crust over and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, or until golden.

Step 6: Add Your Favorite Toppings

Remove the pizza crust from the oven and spread pizza sauce onto your crust, followed by mozzarella and cheddar cheeses and your favorite toppings. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese has melted, about 10 minutes.

Step 7: Enjoy!

You're now ready to serve your pizza. You can top your pizza with fresh basil leaves and red pepper flakes, if desired, before serving.

The Secret to Really Good Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I've already shared these tips with you, but I thought they were important enough to reiterate. I really do believe the secret to making really good cauliflower crust actually consists of four important steps:

• Bake the cauliflower rice instead of steaming it.
• Remove as much moisture as possible from the cauliflower rice.
• Add cheese to the crust. The cheese adds a lot of flavor and helps the crust bind together.
• Be sure to bake the crust long enough. It should dry out nicely in the oven and start to turn golden in color.

In fact, when you serve the slices of pizza, you should be able to pick up a slice and eat it with your hands, if you want!

I do love this recipe and it makes for one amazing and large cauliflower crust pizza that your whole family will love - even those skeptics who say, "I don't like stinky cauliflower!" In our family, that would be our youngest son. But, you know what, that's okay. Not everyone has to like what I like - that just means more for me!

By the way, did you catch the part where this pizza is actually low carb and fits the ketogenic diet? Seriously! Who knew low carb could be so tasty and satisfying!

More Healthy Recipes

If you're looking for more low carb, keto or healthy recipes, be sure to check out these recipes right here on The Birch Cottage blog:

• Cauliflower Mac and Cheese with Bacon
• Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Peppers
• Low Carb Jambalaya with Cauliflower Rice

Friday night is pizza night in our family and when I make this cauliflower crust pizza, I don't feel the least be deprived. Whether you eat low carb or not, eating healthier is always a good idea. I hope you'll give this recipe a try and if you do, please let me know! You can come back and leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram #thebirchcottage, so I'll be sure to see!

Til next time...