Cauliflower Crust Pizza – No More Soggy Pie

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I am beyond excited to share my cauliflower crust pizza tip that solves the soggy crust dilemma. The idea came to me as I was making some juice for my Crohn’s warrior son with my @Breville juicer. I was commenting on how the “pulp” left from the beets and pears was so dry… almost like sawdust.

An “AHA” Moment

At that moment a lightbulb went off in my brain! I had been planning to make my son cauliflower crust pizza that day for lunch. When I had mentioned it to him that morning, he commented on how he really likes it but wishes the crust was a little less soggy, so the texture would be more like “normal pizza”. What if I ran my cauliflower through my juicer to get the moisture out before makign the pizza?

Tip for Removing Moisture from Cauliflower

 

Traditionally I would steam a head of cauliflower and then run it through my Ninja food processor. Then I would put the riced cauliflower in a nut bag and squeeze as much moisture out as I could get. This is a messy process that oven results in me singing my fingers at least once and a lot of cauliflower juice in the bowl, running down my arm, spilling onto the floor… you get the picture.

Instead, I rinsed the head of cauliflower and chopped it into 6 sections. I followed the manufacturers instructions for my juicer, turning it onto the setting for hard produce (as I decided to try not even steaming it first). I dropped in the cauliflower chunks and out came a container of juice on one end and a container of beautiful white pulpy cauliflower dust on the other. I was positively giddy at this point. I was pretty sure I was onto something and the mess was tiny comparatively and the time investment even smaller. Best of all I didn’t have a messy nut bag or sticky hands to contend with.

 

Cauliflower Crust Pizza Recipe

I went ahead and started preparing the recipe I use for making a cauliflower crust for my son. He is on a special diet for his Crohn’s disease, called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, that involves grain-free and preservative-free eating, so I spend a lot of time trying and tweaking recipes. Here is our faovrite for Cauliflower Crust Pizza:

In a large bowl combine:

1 small head of cauliflower dust from juicer

1 large cage-free egg

1 c. freshly grated white, aged cheese such as parmesan (I used Vampire Slayer by Beecher’s but there a simple parmesan is what I usually use – or you can use a dairy free cheese if you are dairy-free)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

MIX all ingredients together and place on top of a parchment covered pizza stone. Smash the cauliflower mixture out flat and shape into a circle, making sure to keep the thickness even all over.

 

 

 

Bake in the 425 degree oven for 15-18 minutes. Watch closely starting at 12 minutes to be sure it gets toasty on top, but doesn’t burn. Remove from oven when crust is golden brown.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, raise the oven temp to 450 degrees. While the oven temp is rising, top your golden crust with 1/2 cup of your favorite tomato sauce and whatever meat, veggies, and/or cheese you want.

 

 

  Put the now topped crust back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

 

Take out when the cheese melts if you have any on top, or if you have a dairy-free pizza, when your top layer of veggies begins to brown on the edges.

 

Final Tips

My son said this was his favorite version of the cauliflower crust recipe I have made thus far. Here are my final tips for you:

1. Trim the parchment paper into a circular shape. This paper is thin and the edges tend to get very dark brown and can even burn. Trim off the excess paper to avoid this issue.
2. Add meat (if you are using any) as the first layer, then mushrooms or zucchini, next onions, peppers, and/or pineapple, then cheese if adding any.
3. Saute the veggies quickly on the stove in olive oil or avocado oil (my favorite), to remove some of the moisture from them, before they go on the pizza, as this also helps keep the moisture down and the crust a bit crispier.
4. Go light on the cheese, as it is oily and makes for a soggier crust. A small bit of cheese allows the flavors from the meat (Hempler’s bacon and grass-fed ground beef are my son’s favorites) and veggies to sing, while still providing the cheesy flavor we associate with pizza.)
5. If you have leftovers, save them on the parchment paper.  Then place the pizza with parchment paper back on your pizza stone and place under your broiler for about 5 to 7 minutes to reheat.  This keeps your left-overs from being soggy too!

I hope these tips will help your family enjoy a crispier Cauliflower Crust Pizza too!

 

  Want to more ideas from how our family lives a happy, healthy life together? You can find Dr. Marci Hardy on:

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