Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Makes one 9 inch pizza crustAdapted from eat. drink. smile.
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
(I used an italian blend)1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp kosher salt
olive oil (optional)
pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*
Directions:
Remove stems and leaves from 1 head of cauliflower, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to your food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (You can also use a cheese grater). Place the “riced” cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes (may need to adjust according to your microwave). No need to add water.
One large head will produce between 2 and 3 cups of riced and cooked cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
To make the pizza crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray (or use non-stick aluminum foil on a cookie sheet, which is what I did). In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, beaten egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, minced garlic and salt, mix well. Transfer the mixture to your cookie sheet, and pat out into a 9″ round.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool awhile. This helps to make the crust more solid.
To make the pizza: add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes). *Toppings need to be precooked since you are only broiling for a few minutes.
If it had been ONLY for me…I would have added all sorts of veggies to this pizza….but since it was made primarily in honor of No. 2 Son…cheese and pepperoni were the chosen toppings. Simple…but delicious nonetheless.
I’m still somewhat stunned as I write
this, just how good the crust turned out! It was a great consistency (I could pick it up with my fingers and eat it just like a regular slice of pizza!) and the flavors were delicious! Hard to beat cheese and garlic in ANY form. :-)So if you are looking for a low carb and/or gluten-free alternative for pizza crust (or if you just want to try a new taste treat)…pick up some cauliflower next time you’re in the produce section and take the challenge!
And here's a recipe from Kaitlyn, Jillee's daughter-in-law ...
How To Make Cauliflower Rice
Start by cutting the stem off the cauliflower and then chop the crown into smaller pieces.
Next, you can either use a blender/food processor or a cheese grater to “rice” the cauliflower.
I tried both and decided that the blender or food processor is the far superior method. I put a handful of cauliflower into my Blendtec, pulsed it a few times and it was done! The cheese grater worked fine but it made such a mess. Cauliflower is so crumbly that I ended up with little pieces of it all over the counter after using the grater.
At this point if you don’t think you’ll be able to eat the whole batch you can freeze some of the cauliflower. I got this idea from Alyssa at everydaymaven.com. She suggests freezing it in 2 cup portions.
Now it’s time to cook our “rice!”
Like I mentioned above I tried 3 different methods.
First up, the oven method.
Spread your cauliflower out in single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 475 for 15-20 minutes, flipping the cauliflower one time.
I couldn’t ever get my cauliflower to really dry out. I think I should have dried it out a bit before cooking because it ended up kind of steaming in the oven. But it still browned up a bit and tasted great.
Next up, the microwave method.
Put your cauliflower in a microwave safe dish and cover. Microwave for 2-3 minutes.
This ended up being my least favorite method. The microwave steams the cauliflower and it ends up tasting exactly like tiny little pieces of steamed cauliflower. Not that there is anything wrong with steamed cauliflower, but it’s not really the result I’m going for when making cauliflower rice.
Finally, the stove method.
I read quite a few more complicated stove recipes that involved adding onions, chicken broth and seasonings, but I wanted something as simple as possible.
I just heated a couple tablespoons of olive oil (coconut oil would be great too) in a pan and then added my cauliflower. I sautéed the cauliflower until it dried out a bit and had golden brown edges.
This was by far my favorite method! I loved the flavor that the oil added. And the cauliflower browned up so nicely. The texture was much better than the oven or microwave batches.
Now, even though I thought it turned out delicious I will say that it does not taste exactly like rice. It definitely still tastes like cauliflower. But the texture makes it a perfect rice substitute in a lot of recipes. From what I read you’ll generally want to use it with drier foods. Cauliflower tends to really suck up liquid so it’s not a great substitute in casseroles with heavy sauces.
I made Cauliflower Fried Rice for dinner last night and it was a hit! I added some grilled chicken to bulk it up a bit and make it a more complete meal. Even my husband liked it and he tends to be very leery of “healthy
” food. His words were, “I can tell it’s not rice, but I don’t care!”
Here are 10 other cauliflower rice recipes I’m hoping to try:
- Cilanto Lime Cauliflower Rice
- Mexican Cauliflower Rice
- Indian Spiced Cauliflower Rice
- Almond Coconut Cauliflower Rice
- Vegetable Cauliflower Rice
- One Pot Curried Cauliflower Rice
- Chipotle-Style Cauliflower Rice
- Cauliflower Rice Vegetable Paella
- Simple Cauliflower Rice
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