Create your own low-carb, gluten-free, keto-friendly alternative to the classic pizza crust. It’s the perfect healthy Cauliflower Pizza Crust for piling high with your favorite pizza toppings.
The Best Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Our keto Cauliflower Pizza Crust recipe makes cooking with cauliflower deliciously deceptive; made using cauliflower rice, egg, cheese, and some spices, you can easily disguise this versatile veggie into a healthy, low carb pizza crust alternative for even the pickiest pizza lovers.
There is so much to love about this cauliflower crust recipe: not only is it a sturdy replacement for a flour-based pizza dough so you can pile on your favorite pizza toppings. Like my Cauliflower Breadsticks, a cauliflower pizza base is also a delicious alternative to a carb-heavy crust and is packed with protein, fiber, vitamins, and fresh ingredients.
Cauliflower crust pizza can be customized to fit so many dietary constraints – you can make it as meaty, cheesy, or veggie-filled as you want; use a sugar-free tomato sauce for a keto friendly, lower carb meal, or ditch the dairy and egg (use flax egg and vegan cheese as the binding) to make this a vegan version.
Is cauliflower crust healthier than regular pizza crust?
No need to skip your slice when you’re looking to cut your carbs or reduce the calories! Cauliflower crust is filled with all the comforts of the classic base but has many more health benefits.
Cauliflower is high in vitamins C and K and is also a good source of folate. It’s a fat-free, cholesterol-free, low-in-sodium food with a mild taste that’s perfect for pizza toppings. A one-cup serving of cauliflower contains only 25 calories, 5 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of dietary fiber.
If you want other delicious cauliflower recipes to replace your crab heavy recipes, check out our Cauliflower Fried Rice and our Cauliflower Mac and Cheese.
Why we love Cauliflower Base Pizza Recipes
- Quick and easy to make.
- Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
- Healthy alternative to the classic crust and a simple way to sneak more veggies into supper.
- Naturally gluten-free, low-carb, keto-friendly, grain-free, and can be made vegan, paleo, and whole30 compliant.
- Perfect for pizza parties, weekday dinners, or adding more veggies into your diet.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust Ingredients
- Cauliflower: You can use fresh cauliflower, frozen cauliflower florets, or buy pre-pulsed fresh or frozen riced cauliflower. I love the frozen riced cauliflower from Trader Joe’s.
- Dried basil
- Dried oregano
- Garlic salt: I love Lawry’s brand, but you can make your own seasoning if you prefer.
- Shredded parmesan cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- Egg
- Pizza sauce or tomato sauce
Substitutions and Additions
- Choose Your Cheese: I use a combination of parmesan and mozzarella to top my cauliflower base pizza, but feel free to use any cheese you have on hand. Try fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, or an Italian cheese blend.
- Add Some Spice: You can add crushed red pepper flakes, garlic powder, or Italian seasoning if you want more spice.
- Tasty Toppings:
- Make a Vegetarian Version with your favorite vegetables, like asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, green peppers, olives, onion, eggplant, and spinach. Or add some fruit, like sliced olives or pineapple.
- Make It Meaty with pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, ham, buffalo chicken, or grilled chicken.
- Swap The Sauce: Instead of the traditional pizza or tomato sauce, you can try using Alfredo sauce, BBQ, or pesto sauce instead.
How to make Cauliflower Pizza Crust
- Pulse The Cauliflower Pieces: Cut the cauliflower into florets and pulse it into “rice.” Personally, I like to save some time and use the Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower.
Pro Tip: Be careful not to over-process the cauliflower, or it will puree. It should come out looking almost grain-like. - Wring Out The Water: Microwave the riced cauliflower for 4 minutes. Pour it onto a kitchen towel and wring out the water.
Pro Tip: The more water you can wring out, the crunchier a crust will get. - Make The Dough Mixture: Combine the cauliflower with the other ingredients and form it into a ball. Flatten the dough ball and shape it into a pizza crust.
- Bake: Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes or until the edges become golden brown and the middle sets. Flip the crust over and bake for a few more minutes.
Pro Tip: If the crust isn’t crispy enough, leave it in the oven for a few minutes longer. - Cover Your Crust: Cool the crust and top with pizza sauce and your preferred toppings. Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese melts and starts to brown.
- Serve: Serve and enjoy!
Tips For Making Cauliflower Pizza Crust
- Make sure to rice the cauliflower into small-sized pieces.
- I like to save time and buy already riced cauliflower from the frozen food section of the grocery store.
- The more water you can squeeze out of the cauliflower, the better. I like to use a clean dish towel to squeeze out the water. Just lay it in the center of the dish towel and twist the water out.
- When you bake the crust, make sure to flip it over about halfway through the baking process so it becomes crispy.
- If you have a pizza stone, use it! If you do not have a pizza stone, use a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
How to Store Cauliflower Pizza Crust
- To Store: Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- To Freeze: Once cooled, place your crust in a freezer-safe bag. If storing multiple crusts, wrap them first in plastic wrap or put wax paper between each layer so they do not stick together. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: Reheat the pizza in the oven on a pizza stone for best results.
More Cauliflower Recipes
If you tried this Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!!!
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Video
Ingredients
- 1 small to medium sized head of cauliflower – should make 2 cups once processed I like to save some time and use the Trader Joe's riced cauliflower.
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt OR 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder I love Lawry's
- ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg
- pizza sauce & toppings of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
- Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spray it with non-stick butter spray. (or use a silicon baking mat, which is my favorite thing in the world)
- Cut off the florets of the cauliflower – try to cut off as much of the stem as possible. Place the florets in a food processor and “rice it” – you do this by pulsing the food processor – press the button in short “pulse-like” increments- be very careful not to over process and puree, it won’t be good!1 small to medium sized head of cauliflower – should make 2 cups once processed
- The cauliflower should come out looking almost grain like. See picture in post.(You can save a step by buying the frozen riced cauliflower. I have done this and it comes out just as good!)
- Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and microwave it for about 4 minutes.
- Pour it out on a kitchen towel or paper towels and wring the water out of it. The more water you get out the better.
- Place in a bowl and mix in all of the other ingredients.½ teaspoon dried basil, ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon garlic salt OR 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese, ⅓ cup mozzarella cheese, 1 egg
- Using your hands, take the mixture and make it into a ball.
- Place it on the parchment paper and flatten it out to a pizza shape. (careful not too make it too thick or thin!)
- Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake until the edges start to get golden brown and the middle sets – about 15 minutes. Flip over and bake another few minutes.
- Remove from oven and let it cool for a few minutes.
- Put your favorite pizza sauce and toppings on and cook on 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melting and starting to brown.pizza sauce & toppings of your choice
- If you have a pizza stone, I think this would help it to get nice and crispy, I don’t have one, but I may have to invest in one!
Jenn’s Notes
- Make sure to rice the cauliflower to nice small pieces.
- The more water you can squeeze out the better – really squeeze the water out!
- When you bake the crust flip it over about halfway through the baking process.
- If you have a pizza stone, use it! (reader suggestion so it doesn’t stick to the stone. Initially bake it on parchment then after you flip it, place it on the pizza stone.
Nutrition Info
Originally posted on February, 2015
This is the best and healthiest cauliflower crust I’ve made. Super easy too! Thank you! Weight watcher friendly ?
Need crockpot or instant pot recipe
The cauliflower cooks out a bit moist and I couldn’t get it dry enough. I added a heaping soup spoon of ground flax seed to the too moist “dough”. It did the trick and gave the crust a firmer texture than other recipes I’ve tried. It made it taste a bit like a whole wheat crust and not so much of the cauliflower flavor. Everything else was exactly to your recipe. Yummmmmm.
And I used parchment paper on my pizza stone…
Don’t use your pizza stone! Mine just stuck to the bottom and the middle was still super soft! I’ll try it on a baking sheet next time and hopefully it’ll work 🙁
Nailed it! This is the best cauliflower pizza crust ive tried. I was even able to hold it not eat it with a fork. I used a cheese cloth to get all the water out. My only complaint was 1 crust wasn’t very big i made 2 just for 3 of us
YAY!! So glad you liked it!!
Do you know if you freeze the baked crust?
I haven’t tried to, but if you do, will you let me know how it comes out??
I’m the only one in my house the will eat cauliflower. So when I made my crest I cut the dough ball in quarters and used a hamburger press to made mini pizza crests. I cooked them straight on my pizza stone and they turned out great.
Hello!
Would it be 2 cups riced cauliflower before or after you squeeze the water out?
Thanks!
Is the nutrition information for one slice?
Yes, based on 8 slices
I made this exactly as described (with frozen riced cauliflower) and it turned out amazing. I topped it with pesto and mozzarella cheese. The silicon baking sheet worked excellent. I’ve tried other cauliflower crust recipes and this is by far the easiest and the best!
YAY!! So glad you liked it!