Cauliflower Pizza Crust 3 Ways - Vegan, Paleo, and Gluten Free
No matter your food allergy or preference, here’s cauliflower pizza crust 3 ways. You can make a vegan cauliflower pizza crust, gluten free crust, or vegetarian or Paleo recipe.
For the dietary restricted - vegan, vegetarian, paleo and gluten free - pizza is just a tempting dish to admire from afar.
For those will no dietary issues, it can be something that tastes so great going down, but soon after comes toppings of guilt and a pending food coma.
So here's a cauliflower pizza crust recipe for everyone, or rather 3 recipes for all appetites.
All of these cauliflower pizza crust recipes are gluten free. So say hello to better digestion right off the bat.
And hooray, you’re getting your kids (and maybe spouse?) to eat vegetables with this healthy pizza recipe.
Using purple cauliflower brings an even more festive crust.
How fun to serve purple pizzas at your next party (and almost as much fun to say)?
Some of the crusts use eggs, some cheese, and some none of the above for a total vegan cauliflower pizza crust.
All of the healthy recipes start with cooking the cauliflower.
You can cook cauliflower in an InstantPot, on the stove, or in the microwave. The biggest key to getting a great pizza crust is to ring out the cauliflower after cooking.
You want that crispy, chewier crust, so trust me, you need to get as much moisture out as possible.
How do you do this?
I usually take the cooked cauliflower and place in a cheesecloth and squeeze and squeeze. Then I take a break and squeeze and squeeze some more until there couldn’t possibly be anything left to squeeze, then I squeeze again.
What you add after and on top is up to you and your body.
You can double down on a vegan cauliflower pizza crust with my veggie-licious pie or choose your favorite toppings and make it a healthy and delicious evening!
Cauliflower Pizza Crust 3 Ways - Vegan, Paleo and Gluten Free
Makes 3 - 6" pies
Ingredients
ALL (use the following base for all recipes, then add other ingredients as desired)
1 medium cauliflower head - about 2-3 cups when pulsed
1/2 cup almond flour/meal
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
VEGAN
3 tablespoons of ground flax seeds, mixed with 1/2 cup water for 5 minutes
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
WITH EGGS, NO CHEESE
2 eggs
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
WITH 1 EGG AND CHEESE
1 egg
1 cup grated cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Cut the cauliflower into smaller florets (unless using the Instant Pot, then see below) and pulse in food processor fitted with the S blade. You'll need to work in batches until all of the cauliflower is a fine grain, though it doesn't need to be completely smooth.
Place cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl, loosely cover, and heat for 5 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft. OR, place the cauliflower in a steamer basket over boiling water and cook about 5 minutes, until soft. OR place entire head of cauliflower in an Instant Pot on a trivet over 1 cup of water. Set the Instant Pot to manual for one minute and manually release. In all instances, allow the cauliflower to cool before handling. For the Instant Pot, mash the cauliflower with a fork after cooked, until completely broken down.
Take a cheesecloth or thin dish towel and scoop the cauliflower into the middle of the cloth. Gather the ends so the cauliflower forms a ball in the middle and begin to squeeze to remove the excess liquid. Keep squeezing until all the liquid is gone.
In a large glass bowl, add the dried cauliflower, almond flour, oregano, basil, garlic, salt and pepper and mix. Then add whichever category of ingredient you'd like, and stir until uniformly combined.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Separate the dough into thirds and press firmly on the paper, flattening it out, while crimping the edges so it's uniform. Once all crusts are complete, place in the oven.
Cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until solid enough and then flip and cook another 5-10 minutes until interior is cooked and exterior is crisp.
Topping options: seaweed pesto, smoky cashew chipotle cheese, tomatoes, caramelized onions, brussels sprouts and bacon or any vegetable of your choice. If adding a vegetable, place on top of the crust and then bake for an additional 5 minutes or until heated through. Try my veggie-licious pizza recipe here.