Cauliflower Crust Veggie Pizza

Recipes

I am learning more and more that I am a bit of a sheep. I always thought I was independent; someone who doesn’t gave to peer pressure, does what she wants, but I keep hearing about how gluten free is the biggest “fad” of the moment. As today marks the end of my gluten free challenge, I guess I was just another one of many!

Another way I am falling into the what is “popular” in the food trend world, is this pizza. I am sure 90% of Americans (or even more Brits) have not tried a cauliflower crust pizza, but I am definitely not the one to come up with this. Anyway, I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and try it, and I LOVED it!

Most people may not like the sound of this, but I promise it tastes wonderful! As long as you do not expect it to taste like dough, and have an open mind, you will enjoy it. The crust still gathers a beautiful golden brown finish, and it is really enjoyable to eat….just sneaking in a few extra vegetables. You do not have to add the vegetables I did, go crazy with it, chose whatever toppings you want. All I really suggest is that there is a good amount of the wonder that is cheese. As the man who served me at the deli counter said “You can never have too much cheese”! Although…maybe those with lactose intolerance would definitely disagree!

If I hadnt told you this was made from Cauliflower, would you have noticed? See! Give it a try! As my favorite quote always says “Life begins when you step outside your comfort zone”.

#FuelYourFuture

  • Cauliflower is abundant in vitamins, particularly B vitamins, and antioxidants: Vitamin C, manganese and a few carotenoids, reducing your risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases (as well as keeping away pesky colds)
  • Sweet potatoes are also good sources of beta carotene’s and manganese; crucial for carbohydrate metabolism. I am constantly recommending it to my athletes for a great source of anti-inflammatory Vitamin E
  • Kale contains a good amount of fiber and sulfur, which are good for detoxifying after overindulgence as well as supporting a healthy immune and digestive system
  • Cheese ups your calcium intake, and adds protein to the meal

Cauliflower Crust Veggie Pizza
Serving size: 3 slices (1/2 pizza)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
1 small head of cauliflower, stems removed, leaving only the florets
1/2 cup (135g) sweet potato, peeled, and chopped into small pieces

1 cup kale (65g) in small pieces

½ cup (60g) vegetable 1 of your choice (I used summer squash)
½ cup (25g) vegetable 2 of your choice (I used mushrooms)
½ cup (60g) mozzarella, split
¼ cup (25g) parmesan
¼ cup (60g) cheese of choice (I used cheddar)
1/2 tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp parsley
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 egg
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
Put the cauliflower florets into a food processor. Blend until it becomes fine pieces (some say it looks like snow). Place the cauliflower in a microwaveable bowl, heat, covered, for 3 minutes to cook through. Place the cauliflower onto a tea towel/dish towel laid out flat. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
Twist up the dish towel around the cauliflower, and squeeze over a sink, as hard as you can, for a few minutes to remove as much liquid as possible. The more you remove, the crispier your pizza will be! Empty the cauliflower into a bowl (and throw that dish towel into the washing right away….it begins to smell pretty quickly!)
Add ¼ cup mozzarella, Parmesan, basil, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper into the bowl. Stir well. Add the egg and stir until it is well distributed, and sticky. 
Using your hands, combine the “crust” into a ball, it will be pretty wet. Place the ball onto a greased pizza stone (or back of a greased baking tray) and press down to even out to make a round circle crust. It should be a little thicker than a usual thin crust pizza.
Put aside for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, brush the sweet potato with oil and put on a baking tray. Place in the oven; remove after 10 minutes to move sweet potatoes around so the potato does not stick. Add the other vegetables with a little oil, and cook for another 10 minutes or until the potato is soft. Remove and give the vegetables a few minutes cool for you to be able to handle them.  At the same time the potatoes go back in, place the crust in the oven for 15 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown. 
Remove the pizza crust from the oven, use a spatula or pie server to gently go under the crust to ensure it has not stuck. Layer with ½ the remaining mozzarella and half the other cheese. Place the cooked vegetables on top, along with the kale, and cover with all the remaining cheese. 
Place back in the oven for 10 minutes, before turning the oven to broil for the remaining 5 minutes until it the cheese begins to bubble and brown.
Cut into slices, and carefully lift onto plates! Enjoy!
414 calories, 21g fat, 1600mg sodium,28g carbohydrates, 8g fiber, 31g protein
Speaking of Kale, I found this quote which I love….I have been throwing Kale in everything recently, so my tree is growing at a fast rate, how is your tree looking?:)

“Every leaf of kale your chew adds another stem to your tree of life.” Ancient Turkish Saying

Have you ever made a vegetable crust pizza? What is your favorite way of sneaking vegetables into meals?

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32 Comments.

  • I have not tried cauliflower pizza myself but this looks pretty good. I actually have tried using cauliflower to bake or in recipes this way. I might have to because it seems to be the biggest trend right now. Thank you for sharing Tina!

  • I love it!! I haven't tried one yet because I don't know if it will really be as good with egg replacer and dairy free cheese…but I need to stop wondering and just do it!

  • I've made cauliflower pizza crust before – but dang, mine never looked this good! I love all the bright colored veggies you included for the toppings.

    Adding veggies to smoothies always works for me – spinach, celery & cucumber

  • Haha I think I am a bit of a sheep too..but that's ok, right? This pizza in general looks delicious. I've never made cauliflower crust but there is always a first for everything! Pinned 🙂

  • This looks soooo good! I still haven't tried a cauliflower crust, I love my whole wheat too much. You might have convinced me to do it!

  • It looks soooo good! I'm not sure if I could fool my husband though. He is a dedicated cauliflower hater.

  • Love it – this looks great, especially with the toppings you've selected! I have tried cauliflower crust, and finally got my own recipe right which I'll also be posting this week! But I may have to eventually try it with sweet potatoes, mushrooms, squash, and kale as you suggest, because it looks great!

  • girl!! you did fab! this looks awesome!

  • Looks delicious! Wonder how well it will work with dairy free cheese, will give it a try.

  • what a nice idea for a meatless pizza love all the veggies great recipe Tina!

  • Go for it! I promise it is really good! Hope you enjoy 🙂

  • Yes! Give it a go! I would love to see the result! I dont see either egg replace or dairy free cheese making too much of a difference…although I have never used the cheese so cant be sure! You are the expert on that! Thanks for sharing it!

  • Give it a go, and please show me how you get on! I cant see the dairy free cheese or egg replacer making a difference, but you are the expert on that one 🙂 Would love to see the result! I would be happy to add a section at the bottom linking to your page for a dairy/egg free option 🙂

  • Thanks Jessie, the drying out the cauliflower really was the trick I think, I squeezed that thing to death! I love using a rainbow of colors in my meals, and I know someone else does too 🙂

  • Yes, I would say so! If you learn really cool things, why not copy 🙂 Although sometimes I find myself purposely not doing what everyone else does because I do not want to be influenced….but thats my stubborness 😛

    Send me a pic if you try! Would love to see others variations!

  • Thanks Alysia! You should give it a go! I love whole wheat too, especially honey crusts, but this is good in its own unique way! I promise 🙂 Please let me see a pic if you do, would love to see how it turns out!

  • Thanks Debbie! Haha, yeah, unfortunately it is not good enough of a disguise to convince cauliflower haters that it is real pizza, but maybe you could get away with saying a “veggie based” pizza without stating which veggie that is 🙂

  • Thanks Megan! Oh, I will have to check that out! Maybe we should do a switch, try one anothers recipes? 🙂 Thanks 🙂

  • Thanks Lindsay! 🙂

  • I would have thought it would still work just fine! Give it a try, and please let me know! I would love to add a section at the bottom linking to a dairy free adaptation to show it works 🙂

  • Thanks Adriana 🙂 Hope you like it!

  • My hubs, who is the biggest pizza fan ever, scrunched up his nose the first time I even suggested a cauliflower crust pizza. We've had it many times since then and while he isn't completely sold, he does think it tastes good!

  • This had been on my to do list for so long! Must try it!

  • I still haven't tried this. I've wanted to but it seems like something only I'd eat and therefore a waste. The kale quote is awesome! I'm juicing some right now to get in more of those veggies.

  • I always love me some cauliflower crust pizza it is so so good! I need to buy a bigger food processor though to make the process quicker.

  • Pretty sure I am the last person standing to not try cauliflower crusts yet, but I do want to try! Thanks for the recipe.

  • So I made it… I picked it as the one for my “make” week of MMAZ. I use Go Veggie Mozzarella Shreds for the crust (and in place of the parmesan as they only have powdered parmesan). I also grated a clove of garlic into the mix. I oiled my pizza stone but it still stuck and felt gooey so I switched it over to foil, very carefully with a cake tool I had. I baked it an extra 5 minutes and it was getting brown and set but still seemed soft in the middle. I am not sure if I just had a larger cauliflower maybe (I squeezed it really good with two towels) but went with it. At this point my kids at all the sweet potato chunks except 1, and I wasn't running to the store, so I put some of my sweet potato hummus, red pepper, red onion, and again the dairy free Go Veggie Mozzerella Shreds. It didn't get really crispy other than the edges which are very dark brown, it does stay together, but I am still eating it because it tastes good!

  • Thats what I think most guys will be like, hate the idea….but actually good, as long as you dont expect it to taste like a regular pizza crust. Glad you get to enjoy it 🙂

  • Please do! Hope it works well for you 🙂

  • The one I made in this recipe was pretty small, I finished half of it in one meal, and then had leftovers the next day. I think you could enjoy it before it went bad!

  • Yes, that is a must! Glad you are another on the train! It is yummy!

  • Yes! Please try, and send me a pic of the result! Love seeing how everyone else adapts it 🙂

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