OK, first I have to tell you...
I was EXTREMELY dubious about the whole idea of a pizza crust made from cauliflower. I liked the Fathead style crust I made for the Deep Dish pizza I posted about a month ago. Even when my daughter told me she'd had a cauliflower crust pizza and really liked it, I quickly replied, "No thank you, I have no desire to make a pizza crust that tastes like cauliflower!"
Well, recently I stumbled across this Cauliflower pizza crust recipe by Dr. Eric Berg and his wife:
The Healthiest Pizza in the World which used a cauliflower crust and it actually intrigued me, especially since it had no Parmesan in it (which i cannot have). After running the numbers on it, I saw it was even lower in carbs than the Fathead style crust, and it actually looked pretty good, so I reluctantly thought I'd give it a try.
Here's how I made it, with exact weight amounts, so the carb numbers are accurate and you don't have to guess at how much cauliflower to process. Doing it this way was very quick and easy.
Easy Cauliflower Pizza CrustCrust Ingredients:10.6 oz (300 grams) Cauliflower florets (avoid the bigger stems)
8 oz (2 cups) Mozzarella Cheese - shredded
2 eggs
Salt to taste - optional, remember the cheese has salt in it!
15g total net carbs for this entire crust.
Additional Ingredients:1/2 cup
Easy Low-Carb Marinara Sauce (5g net carbs)
4 - 6 oz Mozzarella cheese-for topping (4 - 6 net carbs)
Whatever other toppings you like
Directions:1) Pulse the Cauliflower florets in a food processor until finely chopped or it has the consistency of rice. Add the cheese and eggs and pulse until everything is well combined.
2) Spread the mixture evenly onto a 12", parchment lined, pizza pan, and bake in a preheated 450° oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.
3) Top with 1/2 cup low carb pizza sauce, cheese and other toppings as you like, and bake for an additional 10 - 12 minutes until done.
Overall Thoughts:● I am happy to admit that as skeptical as I was about a cauliflower crust, I enjoyed this immensely! Could I tell it was made with cauliflower? Yes, BUT it was NOT a strong cauliflower taste at all like I expected. Somehow it just works!
● Did I like this better/worse than the Fathead style crust I made for the
Deep Dish pizza I posted? Not really; I liked them both. The Fathead style was more thin & crispy where this was more like a traditional pan style. Although, I do think this was easier to prep and work with than the Fathead style crust.
Both crusts are worthy, and I will probably do both in the future, depending on my pizza mood.
● Depending on your preference, a pizza stone will likely yield a crispier crust than a pizza pan.
● There are versions out there which add Parmesan and/or Italian herbs which may help to mask the cauliflower taste even better.
● Finally, considering each slice only has 3 - 4g nets carbs (depending on additional toppings) you can bet I'll be making this again!
Thanks for indulging me!
Cliff!
