Crispy Cauliflower Pizza Crust made with fresh cauliflower, rice flour, egg, grated cheese, and Italian seasoning! This homemade cauliflower pizza crust recipe won’t fall apart and it’s all made from scratch, easy! Learn how to make the best thin and crispy crust without cooking the cauliflower including how to freeze cauliflower pizza! We made these with roasted veggies but use any pizza toppings!
Cauliflower pizza is a healthy way to eat pizza crust. This California-style thin crust is gluten-free, low-carb, and Keto friendly packed with savory flavor! Cauliflower is a low-calorie vegetable great for quenching your carb cravings as you can easily make mashed cauliflower or this cheesy cauliflower pizza! This pizza and creamy Cauliflower Salad taste so good!
What is Cauliflower Pizza?
A Cauliflower pizza crust is made from cauliflower rice, rice flour, egg, and cheese. Typically, the pizza base can be as simple as riced cauliflower, cheese, and eggs but we found that adding rice flour and cornstarch binds the dough and makes a cauliflower crust stronger and chewier.
My love for cauliflower crust pizza was after trying Milton’s Cauliflower pizza from Costco. We re-created our favorite Costco cauliflower pizza right in our kitchen and tested this recipe over again for consistent results. This is the best cauliflower pizza crust because it’s truly a no-cook dough and compatible, with wheat-based dough, only low-carb and crispy!
How To Make Cauliflower Rice:
The best way to cut cauliflower florets is to use a food processor, in a few pulses, you can have crumbled bits of cauliflower, which is key to making pizza crust. Another way to make riced cauliflower is to use a box grater. Start with a firm white cauliflower head, remove any brown spots and cut away the green leaves. Cut the florets into smaller pieces for the food processor or leave them whole if using a box grater. You’ll want grain-sized bits of cauliflower for the dough.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust Ingredients:
The recipe for Cauliflower pizza crust requires both brown rice flour and white rice flour, which you can buy at Amazon. I use my grain mill to grind long-grain brown rice and short-grain white rice. You could use 1 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour for white rice flour but it wouldn’t be gluten-free. We’ve also found that using 1/2 cup of white rice flour was much lighter and more flexible, but we preferred it chewier. Here is everything you will need to make this crust;
- Cauliflower- 1 head of white cauliflower will be plenty! Use enough to make 1 cup of riced cauliflower which is about 1/4-1/2 of a head. If you do grate some extra cauliflower, you can always freeze it.
- Rice Flour- Both white and brown rice flours are used, to strengthen and bind the crust. Using gluten-free flour like rice is a great way to absorb any moisture from the cauliflower and makes it taste, more like a bread crust.
- Cornstarch- or any other starch such as potato starch or Tapioca starch can be used.
- Egg- use 1 whole egg to bind the dough.
- Seasonings- I use Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt to flavor the pizza crust and it’s what the frozen Cauliflower pizza from Costco had in its crust.
- Cheese- mozzarella cheese is used for the crust but you can use any semi-soft or hard cheese available. Keep in mind some cheeses are saltier than others so adjust the salt accordingly.
How To Make Cauliflower Pizza Crust:
To make pizza crust with cauliflower make the cauliflower rice or buy a bag of frozen cauliflower rice. I love that you don’t have to cook, cauliflower rice to make the crust here! Using parchment paper will help keep the crust from sticking but if you have this 12-inch USA Pizza pan, it will truly be non-stick!
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Combine all the dough ingredients. Shape into a log and divide the dough into three equal parts.
- Roll the dough out on parchment paper or over this non-stick pizza pan. I like to dust the top of the dough with rice flour when rolling out with this pastry roller or pat out to an 11-inch circle.
- Bake each crust for 6 minutes and remove from the oven. Cool on wire racks.
- Top cauliflower crusts with your favorite pizza toppings. Bake for an additional 5 minutes. (See freezer instructions below for freezing.)
- Let pizzas cool for 2-3 minutes before serving.
How To Freeze Cauliflower Pizza:
Can you freeze cauliflower pizza? Freezing cauliflower pizza is a great way to make-ahead meals! Whether you freeze the cauliflower rice, crust, or assembled pizza, they all freeze well. To freeze cauliflower pizza crust simply cool and wrap each crust in plastic wrap. Then stack into a jumbo freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Top frozen crust with pizza toppings and bake for 12-15 minutes in a 425°F oven.
To Freeze Cauliflower Pizzas: arrange cooled crusts with pizza toppings of choice. Place pizzas on a large tray and flash freeze until solid. Then wrap each pizza in plastic wrap and freeze in a Jumbo freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Frozen Cauliflower Pizza Cooking Instructions: unwrap the pizza from plastic wrap and place it on a pizza pan. Bake at 425°F for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.
Pizza Variations:
We made this pizza with cauliflower crust and garlic-roasted vegetables. The roasted vegetable variation is so flavorful and all the veggies are done in the oven under the broiler! Need more Cauliflower pizza topping ideas besides cheese pizza? Here are creative ways to top your crust!
- Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza- top crust with 1/4 cup ranch dressing, 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup cooked chicken breasts tossed in buffalo wing sauce (about 2 Tbsp of wing sauce), and drizzle with more ranch.
- Margherita Pizza- top with 3 Tbsp of marinara sauce, 1 1/4 cups of Italian Italian four cheese blend, 1/2 Tbsp of dried basil, and 1/4 cup of diced Roma tomatoes.
- Pepperoni Pizza- top with 3 Tbsp marinara sauce, 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, and 6 oz of thick pepperoni slices.
- Meat Lovers- top with 3 Tbsp of marinara sauce, 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, 2 oz of cooked Italian sausage, pepperoni, and bacon.
- Cauliflower steak pizza- top crust with 1/4 cup of ranch dressing, 1 1/4 cups of shredded mozzarella and provolone, 6 oz sliced and cooked Philly steak pieces, and 2 oz of green bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms.
Note: our Roasted Vegetable Pizza was topped with 3 Tbsp of marinara sauce, 1 1/4 cups of mozzarella cheese, 3 Tbsp of parmesan cheese, and 1/3 cup of roasted veggies.
Q&A
What is Cauliflower Rice?
Cauliflower rice is basically cauliflower florets that have been pulsed or grated into small “riced” sized pieces. A boxed grater, blender, or food processor can be used to cut the cauliflower into small crumbled pieces.
Is Cauliflower Good For You?
Cauliflower is a vegetable with many health benefits. It is a low-calorie food high in fiber and B vitamins.
How Much Cauliflower Rice Does One Head Make?
A 2-pound head of cauliflower can make anywhere from to 4-5 cups of riced cauliflower. This cauliflower pizza crust needs only 1 cup of cauliflower rice which is about 1/4 of a head of cauliflower.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust Without Cheese?
To make a dairy-free cauliflower pizza crust omit the cheese and increase the rice flour by 1/4 of a cup.
Tips for Cauliflower Pizza Crust:
- For a thinner crust, roll out to a 12-inch circle and make a 10-inch circle for a thicker crust.
- Make a hefty batch from a whole head of cauliflower then assemble and make pre-made pizzas for the freezer.
- Use non-stick USA pizza pans and you won’t have to use parchment paper!
- Cauliflower pizza dough is sticky, using a pastry roller helps stretch and roll out the dough. Simply dust it with rice flour before rolling it out.
- Don’t overbake the pizza crust, set the timer! Baking the crust long in the oven can dry out the crust.
How To Make Cauliflower Pizza Crust:
Cauliflower Pizza Crust (Costco Copycat)
Equipment
- 1 food processor or box grater (for making cauliflower rice)
- 1 pastry pizza roller
- 2 non-stick pizza pans (parchment paper is needed if not using non-stick pans)
- 1 measuring cup
Ingredients
Yeast Mixture:
- 2 tsp yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup warm water
Cauliflower Crust:
- 1 cup riced cauliflower (1/4 of a 2lb head of cauliflower, pulsed or grated into small pieces)
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 3/4 cup white rice flour
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 TBSP Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Toppings for 1 Pizza:
- 3 Tbsp marinara sauce
- 1 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
How To Make Cauliflower Pizza:
- In a 1-cup measuring cup, mix together the yeast mixture and proof for 2 minutes.
- In a separate large bowl combine the riced cauliflower, brown rice flour, white rice flour, corn starch, salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, egg, and mozzarella cheese. Add the yeast and mix until well combined. The mixture will be sticky but flexible.
- Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces.
- Roll out each piece of dough, on top of parchment paper or in a non-stick pizza pan to an 11-inches circle.
- Bake each crust for 6 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
- Assemble baked crusts with sauce, cheeses, and roasted vegetables. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese just starts to melt nicely.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition per serving