Secretly Healthy Cauliflower Pizza!

Love pizza? Well, now you can enjoy it GUILT-FREE with my recipe makeover featuring a secret ingredient… CAULIFLOWER!

It sounds crazy, and a pizza crust made from cauliflower pizza is certainly not your traditional pie! But this cauliflower pizza crust tastes great, and is a fantastic way to enjoy all your favourite pizza toppings!

I’ve meticulously refined this recipe so it not only tastes great, but even the pickiest pizza lovers will be amazed! Feel free to experiment and use your choice of spices, sauces and toppings to customise this recipe!

Ingredients: 

• 1 large cauliflower head
• 2 whole eggs
• 4 tbsp fat-free cream cheese, or 2 wedges Laughing Cow Light cheese
• Your choice of spices to add to the crust – for example:
  • Garlic seasoning
  • Pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • Basil / Oregano
• 1 cup almond flour (almonds ground finely into a powder; can be purchased from any major grocery store or make your own at home).

Steps: 

Stage 1 – Rice the Cauliflower: 

1. Preheat over to 425 degrees F / 218 degrees C.
2. Wash cauliflower head and discard leaves
3. Chop cauliflower head into chunks that can fit into a food processor
4. Grind cauliflower chunks in a food processor until the chunks resemble fine riced particles. You may have to work in batches to rice the entire head of cauliflower, depending upon the size of your food processor.
5. Once the cauliflower head is riced, transfer the crumbles into a large, microwave-safe bowl.
6. Cover loosely with a paper towel, and microwave for 5 minutes.

Stage 2 – Squeeze out the Moisture

1. Remove the microwaved cauliflower. The bowl and cauliflower will be very hot, so be careful!
2. Transfer the cauliflower into the centre of either a large clean tea towel or terry cloth. (If you don’t have a cloth, you may use a large stack of clean paper towels and work in smaller batches.)
3. Gather the edges of the towel/paper towels and give the cauliflower a good squeeze over a sink. A lot of boiling hot liquid will ooze out of the cauliflower and towel, so again, be extra careful! This is the key step to get rid of unnecessary moisture and make your pizza crust hold together nicely.
4. Unfold your towel. The cauliflower will be clumpy and stick together. This is good!
5. Place the cauliflower clumps into a large bowl.
6. Repeat ringing out the moisture from the cauliflower crumbles until you have squeezed out the entire cauliflower, and transferred everything into the the bowl.

Stage 3 – Forming the Crust

1. Add any seasonings you would like to make your pizza crust extra special. Great seasoning choices include a dash of salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano.
2. Add the following ingredients to the bowl to help bind the crust:
   • 2 whole eggs
   • 4 tbsp fat-free cream cheese, or 2 wedges Laughing Cow Light cheese
   • 1 cup of almond flour. If you do not have almond flour, grind up some almonds into a fine meal.
3. Give all the ingredients a good mix. Break up the cream cheese as you mix until the entire bowl is well incorporated. It will be gooey and easily spreadable.
4. Once all ingredients are thoroughly mixed, line a backing sheet with parchment paper.
5. Scoop all the cauliflower mixture onto the pan.
6. Spread the cauliflower into a circular shape. The spread should be thin – as thin as you can make it without creating holes that you can see the parchment paper through.
7. The crust is ready to bake! Pop the cauliflower crust into the over for 40-45 minutes. Baking time may vary depending on the size of your cauliflower, but the end result should be a browned crust that holds together well and is slightly crispy on the edges.

Stage 4 – Topping the Crust

1. Slide the crust out of the oven.
2. At this point you can add a thin layer of tomato sauce, low-fat shredded cheese, and any other favourite pizza toppings!
3. Once the pizza crust is topped, slide the topped and loaded pizza back into the oven for 7-10 minutes until the cheese is nicely cooked and the whole pizza looks melty and delicious.
4. Remove the pizza from the oven, slice, and get ready to shock your family when they realize their pizza night was much healthier than they ever expected!

Pizza night will never be the same! This cauliflower pizza crust is low-calorie, low-carb and completely delicious. Try it with barbecue sauce, different meat choices on top, and with your favourite spices – the possibilities are endless! Oh, and don’t tell anyone the secret ingredient until AFTER they try a slice… they’re sure to be shocked! 😉

If you’d like to get more ideas for nutritious snacks that you can enjoy anytime as part of your healthy lifestyle, click below to get my free Top 25 Healthy Snack Ideas eBook:

What are YOUR favourite pizza toppings? Let me know in the comments below!