I saw this for the first time a few months back on Facebook. An old friend of mine made it for her kids who have different food sensitivities. I remember being intrigued by it but life moves so quickly these days that I forgot about it. I then saw it again on Pinterest and instantly pinned it, remembering how it intrigued me a few months prior, but once again, life came along and I forgot about it. Fast forward to the other day when the lovely Jacmarie pinned the same recipe and I once again became intrigued. This time life was NOT going to sidetrack me! While at the grocery store yesterday, I made sure I grabbed a large head of cauliflower and tonight I satisfied my curiosity with the recipe below (making it a little more healthy, of course):
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Makes one 9" pizza crust
Cauliflower Crust, cooked and ready for toppings.
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower (directions to follow)
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (original recipe called for 1 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano (I used basil as I'm not a big fan of oregano)
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp salt
olive oil (optional)
Pizza sauce, Shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*
Directions:
To Rice the Cauliflower:
Remove the stems and leaves from a large, fresh head of cauliflower. Chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over pulse or it will turn into a puree. (If you don't have a food processor, you can use a cheese grater to grate the whole head). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes (You may need to reduce this cooking time if your microwave is super powerful or increase if it's not as powerful). I've seen some recipes call for you to add water but here is no need to add water. The natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.
*One large head of cauliflower should produce about 3 cups of riced cauliflower. You can make additional pizza crusts immediately, or you can store the rice cauliflower in the refrigerator for up to one week.*
To Make the Pizza Crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. (If you have one of the Pampered Chef stones, that's even better!)
In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup riced cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. Be sure that the center isn't too thick so it cooks all the way through. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning (I skipped this step to save the calories and it browned fine without it).
Finished product! I topped mine with tomato sauce, tri colored peppers, chopped onions, spinach, and a 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese.[/caption]Bake at 450 degrees for 13-15 minutes.
Remove from oven. Top your crust with your favorite sauce, toppings and cheese (I only used about 1/4 cup of cheese on mine and a sprinkle of grated parm). Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted, approximately 3-4 minutes. (I couldn't use the broiler method since I used a Pampered Chef stone to make mine.)
Enjoy!
*Note that toppings need to be precooked since you are only broiling for a few minutes.
Now, I am a complete and total pizza snob so this recipe could NEVER replace actual pizza for me, however, it was really yummy and will satisfy my pizza cravings when I'm trying to stick to clean eating and not looking to have a "cheat day". I also like that it is low in carbs and gluten-free so if I've gone a little over board in those areas, I can still feel like I'm being bad without the guilt...plus it's a great way to sneak in another veggie serving!
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