Let’s switch it up today and take a break from all the holiday baking for an easy, gluten-free pizza. By that I mean an easy cauliflower crust recipe that takes 20 minutes to throw together and bake. See I’m all about easy lately, especially when the easy things in life aren’t so easy.
Take for example how hard can it be to find a name for a boy. Oh, yes, if you follow me on Instagram, then you’ll know I announced the sex on there. We opted to do the genetic test, chorionic villus sampling, due to some family history and because I wanted to be prepared for anything that came our way—being 38-years-old and having a baby is not like having one at 31. With the testing came a definitive sex reveal.
Of course we are ecstatic to know we are having a healthy boy. The only let down was we had the perfect name for our baby girl. And wouldn’t that be the case—girl name picked out and we are blessed with a boy.
The upside – we are already discussing having another little one. See what I mean about keeping things easy—our perfect baby girl name Emma Grace will happen somehow.
Now back to the food: I first saw a cauliflower crust pizza over on Closet Cooking (a top five fave blog of mine-always top notch recipes!) Since then I’ve made it several times and my family loves it each time. It’s so much easier than a traditional pizza crust and it happens to also be healthier—win win!
Here are few notes to get you started—because really you must try this:
- There are recipes all over the internet for making a cauliflower pizza crust and many instruct you to cook the cauliflower in the microwave prior to baking—good news, you can skip this and squeezing all the moisture out of the cauliflower. Yes, it works just fine to bypass all this without any worries of a soggy crust.
- I used a pizza stone and lightly covered it in non-stick spray and ran into no problems with sticking.
- Once you have the crust down, top your pizza as you like. I would recommend making the crust a little thicker if you plan on using pesto like I did since it contains enough oil to make a thin crust soggy. For this recipe I kept it simple with the topping since squash is a veggie I can always get Matt to eat. But get creative and go crazy with the toppings and add-ins for the crust.
Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Ingredients
- Crust
- 2 1/2 cups cauliflower, shredded (about on large head - 9.5 oz. )
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper or to taste
- 1 egg
- Topping
- 5 tablespoon pesto (store bought or homemade)
- 1/2 cup shredded mozarella
- 1 tablespoons fresh thyme
- 3 medium size zucchini, thinly sliced
- 3 medium size yellow squash, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup red cabbage, shredded
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 cup arugula
Instructions
Preparation: Heat oven to 450 degree F and lightly cover pizza stone with non-stick spray
- Pulse cauliflower in a food processor to a fine crumb or grate the florets against a cheese grater.
- Mix the cauliflower, parmesan, salt and pepper and egg until well combined. Press and shape mixture onto pizza stone. Bake 450 degrees F until golden brown, about 15- 20 minutes. Remove from oven.
- Spread pesto on top of pizza crust, layer with mozzarella, thyme, zucchini, yellow squash, red cabbage and feta cheese. Return to oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5- 7minutes and then top with arugula. Serve immediately.
I might be fan the crust but that topping is right up my alley!
You should do more savory dishes, they are simply breathtaking. The photography, styling; everything is just perfect
This is the most gorgeous pizza ever! I love that you are taking a break from the Christas-cookie-palooza. Cauliflower crust is so yummy, and I love this topping! Pinned!
oh my gawd, I love this! cauliflower crust? Amazing!! and brilliant!
Seriously, you can do everything!! Love this pizza! Perfect for a little dose of healthy during all the cookies!
Naomi this is so beautiful!!! The colors, the contrast, the fact it’s made out of cauli! Amazing! pinned
I’m not a huge veggie fan, but I can totally accept this pizza. The colours are truly beautiful
I’ve been wanting to try this and yours looks so beautiful I’m inspired.
this looks AMAZING!! seriously dying for this right nowww
Another Boy!!! so exciting Naomi!
This is gorgeous, I love how you make everything look magical with your amazing photography.
i love cauliflower crust pizzas!! so easy and healthy!
Cauliflower pizza crusts are the best and this one looks amazing!
This is happening for Friday night pizza night. Lurve.
First congratutions on your baby! So exciting. 🙂 I’ve got two girls now. I totally understand you on the names, I had the perfect boys name (after my late father Rick). We ended up giving baby girl #2 a nickname of “Ricki.” You could do something like “Emmet.”
Now the pizza, looks so good! I’ve seen plenty of recipes but none with a photo so beautiful and inspiring! Hmmm, have a head in the fridge and I’m a little souped out…
Congrats on the boy, Naomi! That’s fabulous! This pizza – need to happen!
This looks divine, and I love the purple addition in there. I’ve always had a terrible time with girl names. Boy names we have too many of. We could have 5 more kids before we ran out of names we like.
Simply stunning, Naomi! I’ve never made cauliflower pizza crust and this looks amazing!
I have been wanting to try cauliflower crust pizza for ages! Yours looks fantastic! Plus, I would totally use the healthy crust as a license to eat the whole thing!
Gorgeous! Love that it’s gluten free. Pinning to try later!
This is a total freaking dream! Yum!
Thank you for actual weights! I have not come across a cauli crust recipe that does so…till now! You are the BEST!
That is an eye opening and interesting take on pizza!
I’ve been on a homemade pizza kick lately and this looks so good!
Shredding the cauliflower is so much easier! I’ve made cauliflower crust by steaming and then pureeing; much better method! This looks a like delicious dinner waiting to happen!
Congratulations on the little boy!! But the name Emma Grace is too perfect, so I think a little girl is necessary 😉
Also, pizza is my favorite food group and this one is just stunning! I love it!
Thanks for the recipe! I have a question though: if I don’t have a pizza stone, what would I use instead? A greased baking sheet?
Congrats on the healthy little boy! Boys names are so tough, especially the second time around. Our little guy went 5 days without a name. This pizza looks fantastic and beautiful shots as always.
This pizza looks wonderful! I love cauliflower and can only imagine how great this tasted.
wow. this looks sensational!
Beautiful colors!! I need to give this a try. It’s been on my culinary to-do list for a while.
I am so excited to try this crust out! I went wheat-free in the new year…. Thanks for sharing, Naomi! Gorgeous, as always!
Wow this sounds so interesting!!! Cauliflower crust is on my bucket list now!
What brilliant colours, especially the purple cabbage and dark green arugula. Yum!
First time to see a pizza crust cooked with cauliflower, very interesting and looks yummy! Also love your photos, Looks like from a fancy magazine! 🙂
One concern with the recipe, it almost takes 30 minutes to bake the crust, won’t the parmesan turns quite chewy or burnt? Is it ok to place toppings on the crust from the beginning, so I can also get crispy vegetables?
May I ask… How thick is your crust? I made this tonight (it’s in the oven right now) and I think I may have gone a little thick on the crust.
This is stunningly beautiful!! And I LOVE all those toppings. Trying this soon!
i like it
Congratulations on the little boy!! But the name Emma Grace is too perfect, so I think a little girl is necessary True Healing Self Healing
Very nice dish … I should be try this type of dish at home 🙂