My (Evolving) Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe

In an effort to make a tasty cauliflower pizza crust, I set about trying to work up a great recipe. What follows is my own personal recipe, which draws upon my own experience and from the many recipes and videos I have reviewed online. To be clear, I am not 100% happy with the current state of my cauliflower pizza crust recipe. That said, I am pleased enough with the progress that I have made thus far, that it makes sense to me to share what I have. Consider this my best effort to date. I very much expect this recipe to change in the coming weeks.

NOTE: This recipe is evolving. So, please consider this a Sal Ferrarello draft recipe. (Last updated: 17-Aug-2024)

To manage expectations, this cauliflower pizza crust recipe still leaves the crust a little too chewy – not crunchy enough. In fact, it is not really crunchy at all. But it holds up as a thin crust for pizza. I am pretty happy (happy-ish) with the flavor, balance of spices, and weight.

This Recipe Feeds

This will make enough pizza crust for one 8″ pizza.

Equipment

• Vegetable chopper
• Kitchen or paring knife
• Large strainer
• Large mixing bowl
• Teaspoon
• Mixing spatula, spoon, or spurdle
• Kitchen scale
• Parchment paper
• 8″ cast iron pan (from Lodge, of course)

Prep Time

It takes about 5-10 minutes to chop the cauliflower. It takes another 10-12 minutes to mix the ingredients.

I am still figuring out how long I need to allow the cauliflower mix to drain. Currently, I am letting it sit about 20 minutes. I am exploring how to drain the cauliflower more quickly, effectively, and efficiently.

By adjusting the balance of cauliflower, Parmesan cheese, egg, and butter, I seem to have eliminated the need to drain the mix. Stay tuned for further updates.

The cooking process takes 25-30 minutes for the crust to be ready for toppings. Cooking the sauce, toppings, and adds another 8-12 minutes.

Ingredients

• 12 oz. of fresh cauliflower (somewhere between 1/3 to ½ a head of cauliflower, depending on the size of the cauliflower.)
• 1/8 stick of unsalted butter or margarine (melted)
• 1 egg or 3 tablespoons of artificial eggs
• 3 oz. of shredded Parmesan cheese (or a blend of dry Italian cheeses)
• 3 – 4 cloves of fresh garlic (pressed, not chopped)
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of black pepper
• ½ tablespoon of Italian seasoning

Preparation

Pre-step: Preheat your cast iron pan at 500º F.

1. Chop the cauliflower until it is rather fine. The individual pieces of cauliflower should be small and kind of pulverized. Well beyond “ricing” size. No chunks. (I’ll post a photo of what it should look like within the next week or so.)
2. Place the chopped cauliflower in a strainer over a bowl or the sink to drain. (Note: I’m not sure this is always a necessary step – still experimenting.)
3. Once the cauliflower is dry enough (whatever that means at this evolution in the recipe), place it in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add the 3 oz. of Parmesan cheese. Mix it in.
5. Beat the fresh egg before stirring it into the crust mix. (Or pour in the 3 tablespoons of artificial eggs.)
6. Add the freshly pressed 3 – 4 cloves of garlic and mix them in.
7. Add and mix in the ¼ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper.
8. Add and mix in the ½ tablespoon of Italian seasoning.
9. Pour in the melted butter and stir it in.
10. Remove the pan from the oven, and place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the pan.
11. Place the cauliflower crust mix on the parchment paper on the heated pan.
12. Spread the cauliflower crust mix out across the pan, leveling the crust to an even level. Be sure to keep it level at the edges or it will burn in the oven. (I do this via a mix of a small spatula, a soup spoon, and my hands.)

Cooking

1. Place the pan (readied in Preparation Step 12 above), into the oven.
2. Cook the crust for 12-15 minutes until it shows browning spots across the entire crust. (See below for a photo of what it should look.)
3. Remove the pan from the oven.
4. Set a clean plate on the counter next to where you set the hot pan with the cooking cauliflower crust.
5. Place a clean sheet of parchment paper on top of the cooking cauliflower crust.
6. Pick up the cauliflower crust via the parchment paper, and then flip it over and place it on the nearby plate. (The parchment paper will still be on both sides of the cauliflower crust.)
7. Slide the now-flipped crust back onto the hot pan.
8. Remove the top piece of parchment paper and set it aside.
9. Place the crust and pan back into the oven for another 12-15 minutes.
10. Once the top crust is suitably brown, remove it from the oven, and prepare to add toppings. (Again, see below for a photo of what it should look like.)
11. Add your preferred sauce, cheese and toppings.
12. Return the topped pizza to the oven to melt the cheese and cook the toppings for 8-12 minutes.
13. Remove the pizza from the oven, transfer to a plate or serving dish.*

* I’m still exploring whether I should let the cooked pizza cool on a cooling rack to see if that helps make the crust crunchier.

Notes from My Exploration

• I decided to stop trying to make two cauliflower crust pizzas on a single evening because the cook time for each crust is relatively long (as compared to the cook times for flour dough crusts.)
• I am working towards a no-draining required recipe, mostly in the interest of reducing the prep and cook time of the recipe.