The Best Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Want to know how to make the best cauliflower crust pizza - a crust that holds together, has great texture and tastes amazing despite being completely flourless (grain-free, gluten-free, nut-free)?  So did I. That's why I tried it 20 times before being able to perfect it (and shhhh, don't tell anyone, but it's actually pretty easy to make). My recipe was originally based on this one from Food Network, however I had some issues with the outcome. Over time, and with much trial and error, I've made several edits and adapted it to work pretty flawlessly.

Special Equipment:

You'll need a pizza stone and a pizza peel. If you don't already have them you can get them on Amazon for right around $30 total for both items. The shape of the stone doesn't really matter. I have a rectangular one and it works fine, whether I'm making round pizzas or not.

You'll also want to have on hand some parchment paper, a food processor fitted with the cutting blade and a clean, dry kitchen towel that you will use for removing the moisture from the cauliflower.

The Best Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Pepperoni and Jalapeno
adapted from Food Network

makes one 13-inch round pizza

Oven 425 degrees, place pizza stone in oven while preheating

Ingredients for Crust:
1 small to medium size head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces with leaves and stem removed
1 1/2 cups shredded Asiago cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Ingredients for Toppings:
1 cup shredded Asiago or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup marinara sauce (I use Rao's Marinara)
Anything You Like (avoid too many/too heavy ingredients, I used Uncured Pepperoni, Fresh Jalapeno)

Garnish (Optional):
crushed red pepper
fresh basil

Step One
Make sure your oven is preheating to 425 degrees with your pizza stone inside of it.

Step Two
Gather up your special equipment and ingredients to make your crust.

Special Equipment: Food Processor fitted with Cutting Blade, Parchment Paper, Pizza Peel, Clean Kitchen Towel for Removing the Moisture from the Cauliflower and place your Pizza Stone in the oven at 425 degrees to preheat.

Ingredients for Your Cauliflower Crust

Step Three
Place the cauliflower in your food processor fitted with the cutting blade and pulse until you achieve a grain-like texture, the finer the better.

Step Four
Place the cauliflower in a clean, dry kitchen towel, wrap tightly and wring out the moisture.

Keep wringing it out until no more moisture comes out. This is a very important step which will help keep the crust together.

This is what your cauliflower will look like once the moisture is removed:

Step Five
In a large bowl, place the cauliflower and add the other crust ingredients (cheese, egg, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper) then mix with a large spoon or your hands.

Mix Crust Ingredients Together (The egg is from a local farm - look how amazingly dark yellow/orange the yolk is!)

Step Six
Line your pizza peel with a sheet of parchment paper. Place your crust mixture in the middle and form a large circle by pressing and patting with your hands. Make sure it's an even thickness (about 1/4 to 1/2" thick).

Press, Pat and Hand-Shape into a Large Circle

Thin (about 1/4 to 1/2" thick) and Even

Step Seven
Now it's time to bake your crust. Carefully slide the parchment paper and crust off of your peel and onto your hot pizza stone in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned.

Using your peel, carefully slide the parchment paper and crust off of the hot stone and onto the peel. Leave the oven on and the stone in as you will be baking for a few more minutes after you top your crust.

Step Eight
Immediately top the crust with your shredded Asiago (or Parmigiano Reggiano) and mozzarella cheeses. Do this FIRST so that it will help hold the crust together.

Next, spoon the marinara sauce onto the cheese-covered crust and spread evenly. This will be a very light coating. Too much and it will make your crust soggy.

Lastly, top with pepperoni and fresh jalapeno or whatever topping you like. The fewer and lighter the toppings the better your final pizza will come out.

Step Nine
Slide your parchment paper and pizza from the peel back onto the stone and bake for about 4 minutes or until hot, browned and bubbly.

Remove from oven, garnish with fresh basil and crushed red pepper if desired, slice and serve!

The perfect cauliflower crust pizza!

It's even great left over!! Eat it cold, heat it up in a skillet or microwave, top it with bacon(!!!) - any way you slice it, it's SO GOOD!!!!!

NOM NOM NOM