Last night I taught a Cauliflower Crust Pizza making class via my Everything Erica cooking school on Dabble.
Normally, if there are any dietary restrictions, my students e-mail me before hand and I can figure out a way to take care of it. This time, one of the attendees forgot to let me know that she was completely dairy-free (yikes!). If you’ve seen or made my cauliflower crust pizza before, you know the “dough” is packed with cheese. The last thing I wanted to do was send this girl home with something she couldn’t eat, so I had to think on the fly.
First, I figured we could try making the pizza crust with no cheese and just use the cauliflower and the egg. When we mixed it up, I noticed the dough was a little too loose and watery and I needed something to tighten it up. I had some zucchini leftover from the toppings bar I created, so I grated that up, and threw it in with a heavy pinch of salt.
What started as a stressful situation turned into a recipe that I will make all the time! This crust came out INCREDIBLE and omitting the cheese makes this pizza even healthier! My student was so thrilled with the new recipe and it honestly reaffirms that the work I am doing is meaningful.
You need to try this!
Cauliflower/Zucchini Crust Pizza (No Dairy OR Gluten )
Ingredients
- 1 head Cauliflower
- 1 Zucchini grated or blended until finely chopped
- 2 Egss beaten
- Pinch of Salt
- Favorite Pizza Toppings sauce, fresh vegetables etc.
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees and get a pot with about 1 inch of water boiling on the stove. Break down your cauliflower into small pieces to prep it for your blender/food processor.
- Add your cauliflower to your blender/food processor and process on low until a rice like consistency forms. I would do this in batches to make sure the size of the “rice” is consistent.
- Take your cauliflower “rice” and boil it (covered) in the 1 inch of water for 4-5 minutes. It might start to boil over, so watch it carefully.
- Strain the cauliflower “rice” in a wire mesh strainer and put on a dry kitchen towel. You might have to do this in batches if your mesh strainer is small like mine is!
- Once all the cauliflower is strained and on the towel, let it cool for a few minutes. Once it’s cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the towel and SQUEEZE all the moisture out. I got almost 3/4 cup of water out just by squeezing. Do this until the “rice” is dry. Do not rush this process.
- Once it’s dry, add it to a bowl and mix in the shredded or blended zucchini, egg and salt. Mix it up (just use your hands). It won’t feel like traditional pizza dough, but it will come together.
- Once your dough has come together, place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Try to keep the dough about 1/3 inch thick, and make the edges a little higher so you have a “crust”.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
- Top with all your favorite toppings and put it back in the oven until golden and bubbly! If you use too much sauce, the crust will get soggy.
That’s it! It’s almost the exact same recipe as the Cauliflower Crust Pizza except you’re substituting zucchini for the cheese! For my version, I always top it with this yummy tomato sauce.
I hope you dairy-free foodies enjoy this Cauliflower/Zucchini Crust Pizza. Oh, if you’re not dairy free, you can still make this and top it with cheese (because this crust is honestly delicious).
Love always,
Erica
Going gluten free has been tough and these cauliflower recipes are going to be great additions ! I can’t wait to try them
Will this work with only egg whites!
I never tried!
I made this and I was completely amazed. This pizza crust is delicious. I am curious about the nutritional information though. I was unable to find it. Do you k.ow the nutritional information of this pizza crust?
If you add it as a recipe on food.com it should be able to calculate it. There’s another app too but I can’t remember what’s it’s called lol.
Oh my gosh, this is so good! I just made it and wow, it tastes great! I added mozzarella goat cheese to keep it dairy fee, uncured pepperoni, and organic pizza sauce. I will be making this a lot! I have a pair of silicone oven mitts that can handle hot temperatures, which made it super easy to squeeze out the water from the cauliflower. I didn’t have to wait for the cauliflower to cool down much. Thank you for this healthy amazing recipe!
I made this and it was tasty! As a newly diagnosed diabetic trying really hard to eat low-carb, this is a God-send! Has anyone ever tried baking and freezing the crust? It is time-consuming to make and would love to grab the crust for a quick meal.
Love this recipe!!! Topped it with home made pizza sauce and fresh herbs from the garden, homemade vegan mozzarella, tomatoes and mushrooms. Will be making lots more!