Lighten up your pizza with this healthier version of pizza crust made with cauliflower, almond flour, and eggs. Top as desired! Gluten-free.
In an odd set of circumstances, I was once in a hospital waiting room in Rome talking to an Italian guy, and the topic of Chicago (where I’m from) came up. We had a long debate about Chicago pizza, and he left me with this quote – “Well it’s not pizza, but it’s good.”
Not that this recipe has anything to do with deep-dish pizza – there’s no butter crust, no sausage, no brick of cheese. This “pizza”, made out of ground cauliflower and almonds, is healthy, light, and gluten-free. I couldn’t wait to give this a try but I had no clue what to expect – whether it would fall apart… taste like mush…
We were pleasantly surprised that the end the result was super delicious. Our conclusion? “Well, it’s not pizza, but it’s good.”
This is not a replacement for crispy doughy crust when that’s what you’re in the mood for… I can’t turn water into wine or cauliflower into all-purpose flour, but this is a fun alternative that’s on the lighter side.
Cauliflower Crust Pizza, Part 1
- Florets from 1 small head of cauliflower, yielding 2 cups ground “riced” cauliflower
- 3 eggs (not including the eggs I used as a topping)
- ¾ cup almond flour, or more if needed
- Sea salt and fresh black pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder (optional)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder or a bit of minced garlic (optional)
- 2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese (optional)
- Garlic oil to brush onto dough before baking (optional)
- Whatever pizza toppings you like! I used fresh mozzarella, eggs, dollops of kale pesto, roasted tomatoes, basil, and red pepper flakes.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Make sure your cauliflower is dry before you start. The wetter it is, the harder it will be to work with. Chop the cauliflower and pulse florets in a food processor. Be careful not to puree it or grind it until it’s mushy. You’re going for a “riced” fluffy consistency. It should not be sticking together at this point.
- Whisk the 3 eggs and mix with the cauliflower, almond flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast, if using, and pinches of salt and pepper. Form dough into a ball. It should be pretty wet, but if it’s too sticky to handle, add more flour. Gently “knead” it a few times, adding some flour on top if necessary to help it come together. (Note – this will NOT resemble regular pizza dough – it won’t be as easy or pliable to work with – that’s ok! Just do the best you can).
- Press “dough” ball down onto a pizza stone or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently mold into a circle, dusting a bit more flour if it makes it easier for you to work with. I was able to lift mine up and flip it over a few times to get it to spread (If yours sticks and you can’t lift it off the pan, it’s still ok – once the eggs bake, things will bind together even if the dough itself is a little messy). Try to spread it about ¼ inch thick.
- Brush the top with a little garlic oil or plain olive oil before putting in the oven.
- Bake crust by itself for 15 minutes. Add mozzarella on top and bake for an additional 10 or so minutes, until the cheese starts to bubble. Carefully crack eggs directly on top of the pizza so they don't slide off and broil for 2 more minutes or until the egg is sufficiently cooked (oven times may vary).
- Remove from the oven and add spoonfuls of pesto, roasted tomatoes, basil and red pepper flakes.
I just made this, it was awesome and so easy! The dough was really sticky when I first put it in, but it turned out fine. I did use quite a bit more flour above the 3/4 cup called for. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Nicole, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your note about the flour.
I made it last night, and it was fantastic! I’m convinced that there were two things that I did that made it turn out great: I used riced cauliflower from trader joes rather than food processing my own, and I heated & oiled my pizza stone prior to baking the crust on it – i did put the crust on parchment paper as well, which made it easy. Toppings: garlic, sundried tomatoes, spinach, black olives, basil and the eggs. So good!! Thank you for this recipe.
I love the idea of almond flower in the pizza crust. Sounds so good! I’ve made some other cauiflower pizza crusts and they required that you steam the cauliflower before ricing it. Do we do that for this recipe or do you use raw cauliflower? Thanks!
nope, start with raw cauliflower, no steaming necessary.
Hello! Could spelt be used in place of almond flour? I’ve already got some at home, so would be great to use that instead. Really enjoying your recipes! Thanks!
WOW…this is a stunning-looking dish and SUCH a unique and delicious-sounding recipe! All my favorite things in one. I can’t wait to make this. I just found your site via a post from another food blogger on my Facebook page (recommending one of your other recipes) and I am hooked. Such amazing recipes with gorgeous photos and website. I look forward to seeing more! I was so enamored with this recipe, I posted it on our Facebook page as I know our followers would love it as well. I thought you’d like to see it: http://www.facebook.com/DeliciousKarma
Have been wondering what to do with half cauliflower head sitting in fridge! This looks such a yummy idea..was little worried about how it goes so went through all the comments as well! Hope it comes out good. 🙂
I made this tonight. It worked very well. I will enjoy making differnet varies of toppings 🙂 Thanks.
Do you think that substituting flax meal + water for the eggs would be ok?
thanks!
Hi Rahlee,
I haven’t tried it personally, but see take a look at this recipe from Happy Go Lucky Vegan: http://happygoluckyvegan.blogspot.com/2011/12/cauliflower-crust-pizza-yes-way.html
just made this–fantastic recipe! i subbed out half the almond flour with coconut flour which also works very well. definitely making this again!
I made this last weekend, and I almost prefer it to regular pizza. Like I said, almost. It really is delicious! The crust is slightly softer, and the garlic throws it over the edge. I also feel a lot better about eating it, which makes the taste somehow even more delicious. Thanks for sharing (:
I even posted this recipe as a reference back to your blog, here:
http://dimplesinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2012/05/cauliflower-pizza-crust.html
Hi all, some of you had some questions issues getting this dough to form together – I just updated the recipe description with a few more specific details about how I got mine to come together.
Thanks Jeanine- I just ate a couple slices and it turned out pretty good, even with all of my makeshift ‘corrections’! I think next time I might start with two eggs, and then add a third if necessary. The ap flour I threw in there didn’t ruin it, but I think it made it a little more bland. My cauliflower didn’t seem especially liquidy – a little damp, but not mushy- about as damp as freshly cooked rice. I guess maybe I panicked a little too much that I couldn’t shape it into a ball. Next time I’ll just go with it!
I’m having some trouble with the ‘dough’. Is it supposed to be 3 eggs in the crust? I’m wondering if perhaps it’s only supposed to be one in the crust and the other two on top? It says “whisk eggs” – plural, but my dough was so wet it was more like a batter at 2 cups cauliflower & 3/4 c almond meal. I added about another 1/2 c almond meal and it was still like a batter. I added the rest of the head of cauliflower – probably another 1 1/2 – 2 cups cauliflower, and it was still nowhere near a dough that you could shape into a ball/ lift up/ flip over. I added a bunch of ap flour (being out of other options) and got it to a really sticky scone dough kinda consistency, but when I put it on my Silpat, it was still too loose to do anything other than kind of smear/ pat into shape. I’m guessing it could still taste good, and if nothing else, I could make croquettes out of the other half of the batter, I just thought I’d check in to see if 3 eggs was right for the future. Great idea – I’m just trying to figure out what’s going wrong for me!
Yes, I put 3 eggs in the dough – the eggs are what really bind this together. I added more flour as needed, but not as much as it sounds like you’re adding… and I never really had a “batter” consistency. Also, when I added extra flour, I didn’t mix it in completely, I sprinkled it more on the outside as I was forming it into a ball. This won’t be as dry of a dough as regular flour pizza dough and it won’t have the same kind of elasticity. (It shouldn’t resemble regular pizza dough at all).
The only thing I can think is that there could be a difference in how wet your cauliflower could have been vs. mine. The second batch I made, my cauliflower had sat for awhile and more water released so it wasn’t as dry as my first batch, but I still just spread as thin as I could and it worked out fine.
cauliflower crust pizza?.
wow, who said food blogs are over?. This “Well, it’s not pizza, but it’s good.” will be in my oven really soon!.
I’ve been meaning to try a cauliflower pizza crust — and your “pizza” looks so appetizing. YUM. I love the addition of eggs on pizza.
“pesto, roasted tomatoes, basil and red pepper flakes” – sounds like a dream topping!
Your pizza looks lovely! I love the idea of kale pesto. Cheers!
These cauliflower crusts are one of my faves, but I usually use cheese, can’t wait to try this one out! Super pretty picture too!
Completely intrigued … will try this weekend!
Thanks!