Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Servings: 2 - 4
Ingredients:
For the crust
- 1 medium size head of cauliflower
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon sweet basil
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Small palm full of red pepper flakes ( optional )
- pinch of sea salt
For the toppings
- ¼ cup pre-cut baby bella mushrooms (you can find small pre-cut portabella's in the produce section)
- half of a red bell pepper cut into strips ( about 10 bell pepper strips )
- ¼ cup turkey pepperoni slices ( about 15 slices )
- 3 slices of fresh mozzarella
- ½ cup pizza sauce
Instructions.
First things first, preheat the oven to 425˚, and line a pizza pan, or baking sheet, with parchment paper. Then begin with the cauliflower crust! Rinse the head of cauliflower, pat dry, and remove florets from stalk. If you're feeling a little lost because you've never worked with cauliflower before, think of it this way: You are basically dealing with albino broccoli here. So treat it as such. Just cut the florets off of the stalk and pop them into a bowl. Easy as pie! ( get it.. because pizza.. pizza pie! )
1. Begin by making cauliflower “rice”. Place cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse in until a rice or grit like texture is achieved. If you do not have a food processor you can use a fine cheese
grater!
2. Fill a medium pot with an inch of
water and bring to a boil. Add in the cauliflower rice, cover, and boil for 4 -5 minutes. Drain into fine mesh strainer, and transfer onto a cheesecloth or a clean thin dish towel. Wrap up the
steamed cauliflower rice into the dishtowel, twist it up, and squeeze all of
the excess moisture out. This is the most important step! If there is too much
moisture, the crust will be soggy. So squeeze like heck!
The rice will be very hot so please be careful not to burn your hands.
In a pinch you can microwave the riced cauliflower instead of boiling it. Microwave for 4-5 minutes on high, then squeeze all of the moisture out in the same manner as above.
3. In a medium size bowl, mix together the strained ( and squeezed ) cauliflower rice, egg, parmesan cheese, and spices. Use a fork or your hands to work the ingredients together. Place dough on lined pizza pan and pat out into desired shape. Dough should be about a ¼ of an inch thick. Bake for 20 minutes. When the crust is a warm golden brown on the edges and top it's ready!
4. Now it is time to add all of the delicious toppings! Start with pizza sauce then add the mushrooms, peppers, pepperoni, and mozzarella to top it off! You can add as much of the toppings as you desire. Go light or go heavy! Whatever your hunger inspires you to do ;)
5. Return pizza to oven and bake for 10 minutes or until toppings are bubbly and especially delicious to the eyes!
Remove from oven, slice, and enjoy! I suggest sprinkling more parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes for an extra kick of flavor. You can customize this pizza in anyway that you like. The cauliflower crust is SO GOOD. You can make a hawain, supreme, classic pepperoni, bbq chicken. . the possibilities are endless!
What are your favorite pizza toppings? Will you try them with this cauliflower crust? Share your cravings with me in the comments! Have a beautiful day!
