Going gluten free = no more pizza. Or at least that’s what I thought until I came across this cauliflower crust/almond flour rendition. While I found recipes that included only cauliflower, I eventually settled on the almond flour/cauliflower mixture because I figured it would be denser, more breadlike, and closer to the real thing. I’ll have to try the cauliflower only rendition to compare, but this yielded quite a delicious pizza. You should know that it’s not *exactly* like pizza. The crust isn’t crispy like pizza, and the flavor isn’t quite the same. But it’s a delicious nonetheless, and a worthwhile addition to your gluten free repertoire. Even if you’re not gluten free, it’s much more nutrient dense than regular pizza dough, and still worth a try if you want to eat pizza without the guilt.
Some of the cauliflower recipes call for steaming or microwaving the cauliflower: this isn’t necessary. The high water content of the cauliflower will steam it as it cooks in the oven. I used a pizza stone in the form of an unglazed quarry tile, which can be obtained at home depot for less than $2. If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can flip a cast iron pan upside down and place the pizza on it, or use a cookie sheet that’s been preheated in the oven for 30 minutes.
For the crust recipe:
- 2 cups cauliflower crumbles (about one small cauliflower or half of a really big one)
- 1/4 onion, chopped
- 1 cup almond meal (I used closer to 1 1/4)
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast
- 2 eggs
- salt
And the instructions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 500 with a pizza stone, cookie sheet or inverted cast iron pan 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Cut the cauliflower into florets, and place in the food processor along with the onion. Process until the size of rice, but don’t puree it completely if you can help it. If you don’t have a food processer, you could grate the cauliflower and onion, but the food processor really helps turn this into a malleable dough.
3. Add the almond flour, the eggs, salt, and parmesan cheese if using. Process until all of the ingredients are blended, but for as short of a time as possible. You don’t want to over process the cauliflower. If the mixture is too wet, add a little more almond flour.
4. Divide the mixture into two balls. On a sheet of parchment paper, spread out the dough into a round circle. This dough will feel more like a batter than a bread dough.
5. Place the parchment paper with the dough on a pizza stone, cast iron pan flipped upside down or cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 500 oven for 10 minutes, or until the dough looks cooked through. Remove from oven and add toppings: I used pesto, black olives, crushed chilies, and goat mozzarella on one, and pizza sauce, serrano chilies, thai basil, and goat mozzarella on another. I kept it light on the toppings to make sure the crust wouldn’t fall apart, but it could have definitely fit more.
6. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. If you find that the bottom is cooking too quickly, use the broiler instead to melt the rest of the cheese.
I’m so excited to try this! I was on a pizza making kick not long before I went (mostly) gluten-free and haven’t used my pizza stone for a while. I like that this is more nutritious than regular dough, too. Thanks for the recipe!