Cauliflower Crust Pizza is the best invention ever. Yes, you heard that right… pizza crust made out of cauliflower. It’s (shockingly) good!
You can top cauliflower crust with any pizza toppings you’d like. I topped this one Hawaiian style. This pizza is incredibly simple to make!
These days you can buy “cauliflower crumbles” in your market’s produce section. If you can’t locate the crumbles, it’s easy enough to make your own.
How to make cauliflower crumbles:
Just use a cheese grater to “grate” your cauliflower into very small pieces. You can grate a whole large head of cauliflower and make two 9-inch pizzas.
Microwave those cauliflower crumbles for 8 minutes. No water or anything needed. Just microwave it for 8 minutes to soften it up, and then let it cool a little bit. See the recipe below for how to proceed if you do not have a microwave.
Mix 1 1/2 cups of the cauliflower crumbles with egg, cheese and spices. (I use mozzarella, but imagine using different varieties of cheeses in the crust! Yum!)
Shape it into a 9 to 12-inch round. Bake the crust. Top it with desired sauce and toppings.
I went so simple and just used Classico Tomato Basil marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, Canadian bacon and pineapple (our favorite).
All that happens next is just a quick broil in the oven to melt the cheese and heat the toppings.
That is all! The pizza can be cut into 6 slices. You’ll probably want to eat three slices to make it a complete meal. If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you will find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card at the end of this post.
You should be able to make two pizzas from one large head of cauliflower. Everyone in my house really love this pizza crust and agrees that you can’t tell at all that the crust is made out of cauliflower. It doesn’t taste like “real” pizza crust, but it doesn’t have the flavor or texture of cauliflower either. You’ll have to try it out for yourself and let me know what you think! Thanks to this Cauliflower Pizza Crust post for inspiring me to make this myself and share it with my readers!
More pizza topping ideas:
- Marinara or pizza sauce with your favorite toppings
- Pesto with thin sliced tomato and fresh mozzarella
- Alfredo with sausage, mushrooms, Provolone & Asiago cheese
- Barbecue sauce with shredded chicken, green onions and smoked gouda
Here are a few more recipes featuring cauliflower:
- Cauliflower Tortillas
- Easy Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks
- Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
- Cheesy Baked Cauliflower Tots
- Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower Crust Hawaiian Pizza
Recipe Details
Ingredients
CAULIFLOWER CRUST:
- 2 + cups cauliflower crumbles (alternately, you can use a box grater to grate a cauliflower head)
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese (or try another kind)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried minced (or fresh) garlic
- ½ teaspoon onion salt
TOPPINGS:
- ½ cup pizza sauce or tomato-basil marinara sauce
- ½ cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 slices Canadian bacon, cut into strips
- ½ cup pineapple tidbits
Instructions
PREPARE THE CAULIFLOWER CRUST:
- Place the cauliflower crumbles in a large bowl and microwave them (dry) for 8 minutes (see Tips below if you do not have a microwave). Give the cauliflower a chance to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 450℉. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray (or use a nonstick surface).
- In a medium bowl, mix the cauliflower crumbles (about 1½ cups since they shrink after cooking) with the remaining crust ingredients. Pat the "crust" into a 9 to 12-inch round on the prepared pan. Spray the crust lightly with nonstick spray and bake for 15 minutes (or until golden). Remove the crust from the oven and turn the heat up to broil.
PREPARE THE PIZZA:
- Spread the sauce on top of the baked crust, leaving a ½-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle ¼ cup cheese on top. Add the bacon and pineapple, spreading it out around the pizza. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
- Broil the pizza 3 to 4 minutes, or until the toppings are hot and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Cut into 6 slices and serve immediately. *This pizza is best served on a plate with a fork.
Notes
- For those who don’ t have a microwave: You can steam the florets just until they are tender (not mushy) on the stove and then let them cool before grating them. The texture/consistency won’t be the same (It will be more like a puree) but it still works fine once you mix all the ingredients together.
- *Other topping ideas:
Marinara or pizza sauce with your favorite toppings
Pesto with thin sliced tomato and fresh mozzarella
Alfredo with sausage, mushrooms, Provolone & Asiago cheese
Barbecue sauce with shredded chicken, green onions and smoked gouda - If you are preparing this recipe as GLUTEN-FREE, just be sure to use brands of sauce and Canadian bacon that are known to be GF,
p.s. I’m Canadian Canadian bacon looks a lot like ham.
I just made this pizza, I used old chedder in the crust and Italian seasoning. My crust did stick to the pan though not too badly, came up with a little help from a spatula.. I’m thinking maybe I should not have greased the nonstick pan, which I will try next time. It was delicious and easy. Wasn’t at all like a regular pizza crust, really soft and easier for my 2 year old to eat than a regular crust. This is a great recipe for smaller children especially those who might not be able to bite through a hard crust. I could taste the cauliflower but that may just be because I knew that’s what it was, I am going to try some “blind” tasters and see what they think.
Thanks for the idea, I have been looking forward to trying this for quite some time now.
Noticed a few people mentioned having a soggy crust still. I have tried making cauliflower crust a few times and had the same problem, till tonight. This recipe and others online have you microwave the cauliflower for about the same amount of time, which is the right amount of time. After 8 mins, there is still quite a bit of water in the cauliflower, which is what is causing the soppy crust. Tonight, the pizza I made came out perfect, thanks to the bag I use to make homemade almond milk. You can use a real nut milk bag if you have one, but a cheaper way to do it, like I do, if you go to Home Depot, in the paint department, they paint strainers, which are real fine mesh bags that you pour the paint through. Works great for almond milk and for ringing out the cauliflower. You can get a bag of two for like a dollar or two. They have them in 1 gallon and 5 gallon sizes. After 8 minutes in the microwave, I rang out 1 1/2 cups of water from the cauliflower, and got about 2 3/4 cups of cauliflower. I used a full head. I did have to cook the crust longer then 15 mins, but what I did was set the timer for 15 mins, then checked on it every 5 mins until I could push on the middle and see it was staying together in one mass. I think I ended up doing about 4-5 extra 5 min settings. I even flipped it over once most of the mass was together and holding. Love this crust! So glad I finally got it to work. And for those that say they don’t like cauliflower, once it cooks it has a neutral flavor, so you won’t even know what it’s made from. It’s a good way to get lots of veggies to those non-veggie people. 🙂
That’s a fantastic idea! I would never have thought to try this, but I will this week! 🙂
Just curious though, are you sure that’s Canadian Bacon? It looks like ham..
Thanks for the recipe!
Nope- it’s Canadian Bacon!
OMG So Delish!We actually mad a spicy hawaiian version,much better and alot healthier than what dominos offers.We used a organic(no sugars added) tomatoe sauce, and added fresh ground peper,fresh garlic,and crushed red peppers.We also used turkey bacon instead of canadian.There will definately be more pizza nights in this house!
Thanks.
Lori — Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I had been craving a piece of pizza for a long time, but not caving in to the craving due to grain intolerance. Had heard about cauliflower crust pizzas before, but other recipes seemed too involved. Yours was simple and easy to follow, and it worked great. Pics were an added plus.
My personal tweaks — only 5 minutes in the microwave cooked the cauliflower perfectly. No need to wring it dry. I halved the amount of cheese in the crust and on top, and it was superb. I baked the crust in a 9″ round cake pan — very easy to make it flat and round that way! I sprayed the cake pan, but not the crust. No need to transfer to a stone after baking, just add the toppings after the crust has browned, broil, and — Wow! — excellent entree with very little effort! What a classic!
Awesome!
WOW! Absolutely amazing. Made this with my daughter for dinner tonight. Finally gluten free and it tasted so good. Can’t thank you enough! Thanks for sharing.
Gail
This was amazing! We followed the crust recipe as written and used pizza sauce, turkey pepperoni, onion, and cheese for the topping! I wold have never known I was eating cauliflower! This is a keeper!
Oh WOW! I had this for tea as I am on Atkins and it is out of this world!
I my mind knows the base is made from cauliflower, but my taste buds say NO!
I added mixed meats, mushroom and a smal amount of spring onion and it was supercallafragalishticexpialidohus 🙂
Is the cheese necessary on making the crust?
Yes- it’s what binds it together!
DEEEEELISH! Made it last night and devoured half of it! Kept mine low-carb with no sugar added sauce, roasted chicken breast and dried herbs (and plenty of cheese). I also added some garlic and herbs to the crust mixture before baking to give it a bit more flavour.
It does take some prep time, but it’s worth it!
thank u for this recipe am gonna try do it this week and see how it comes out..it sound delicious..:)
Hi Lori,
I’m from germany, so sorry in advance if my english is not so understandable :/
I SO want to try this, but how the heck did you manage to grate the mozzarella in these tiny thin strings? Also, they look so dry, what’s your secret with that?
Please please please answer soon, I can’t wait to try this!
In the USA, they sell mozzarella already shredded finely like that.
I’ve tried this glorious recipe twice. I used egg whites instead of eggs and a commercially available low carb pasta sauce. To get it really crispy, I baked it on the bottom rack of my oven at 425 F for 12 minutes. I also made it very thin and sopped up any excess moisture. I used thinly sliced tomatoes which worked very well. The key is not to broil it too close to the top rack, or it will burn.
Another time I made this with soy cheese and it did not work well at all, because the cheese did not melt. The result was a soggy, gooey mess. I would be interested to hear whether anyone has found they can make it without cheese (I think someone mentioned almond flour).
i wanna try this in a vegan version. any clue how it might work? flax eggs are an easy one and vegan cheese. ever try it that way?
I’m afraid I haven’t!
This was really tasty. Although was it suppose to be soft? My crust stayed together, but it did not crisp up. When I made it thinner it was harder to hold, but when I did a little thicker in a stone tart pan it worked better. But bother were soft.
It doesn’t get crispy like regular bread dough crust.
Worked like a dream. I use cauliflower for everything, but I never thought of this. Sure beats my flax meal crust, too mealy! Any more fantastic ideas? Thanks again!!!!!
Hello
I made this and I was wondering if your crust was crunchy? Mine was not (mine stuck a little to the pan as well) and if yours was crunchy.. any recommendations as to how I can get it crunchy? Thanks!
No, it won’t yield a crunchy crust like regular pizza crust. It will be crispier if it is patted very thin and cooked on parchment paper.
This recipe is seriously delicious! I am vegetarian and stay away from dairy most of the time, so tried making the crust with 1/2 – 2/3 cup ground almonds to replace the cheese. Worked like a dream! I also made a bigger pizza crust using 3 cups cauliflower and 2 egg whites, cooking cauliflower for 10 minutes not 8. Again, worked like a dream! Thank you so much for this recipe. It’s funny, it doesn’t seem like work to prepare when you know something so yummy awaits you at the end.
Great tips- thank you!
This pizza has been a LIFESAVER for our family!!! We are just coming off the HCG Diet and have “craved” pizza for so long! Also, we have family that has to eat gluten free and this is the perfect pizza for them! Delicious! I think my family would eat it everyday!! Blessings!
Oh… and a fresh cauliflower will have extra water content which may be the reason why people aren’t getting a crisp base. Make sure you squeeze out the water from the “rice” (or dry fry it in frying pan instead of the microwave so that the water evaporates). Or failing that just use a week old cauliflower so that the moisture has dried out before you use it.
just made this my version-feta cheese in the crust(didn’t have enough moz for crust and pizza top). pretty good just wanted it more crusty-will have to broil next time-broiler not working. thanks
Can’t wait to try this! For dairy free I am thinking I will try using a combination of GF bread crumbs, a little mayo for the zippy flavour, and another egg. Will let you know how it goes!
Made this tonight and it was crispy and delicious! I can’t believe how easy it was to make!! Yay – crispy, crunchy, low carb pizza!!!! Thank you much!!
I just made this! WOW! I made the crust with reduced fat shredded cheese; it was not oily at all. Perfect crust.
I also didn’t make it hawaiian-style, but added previously sauteed fresh red pepper slices,mushrooms, green onions, sliced black olives and topped the already- baked crust. Topped with mozzerella cheese and broiled till cheese was golden brown. When the pizza came out I let it “set” for awhile so I could pick it up like regular pizza. It’s not fun eating it with a fork!
Before I took a bite I added fresh sliced tomatoes sprinkled with oregano, himalayan salt. and fresh ground perrer, Delish!!!! I ate the entire pizza and topped it off with 2 small Atkins coconut bars for dessert. Yum!
I’ll be making this pizza again!