Pizza bases made from cauliflower?! No, I’m not mad! Honestly cauliflower crust Margherita pizza is the most delicious thing and an easy way to sneak more vegetables into your diet.

Cauliflower crust pizza ingredients

This cauliflower pizza crust is much more nutritious than ordinary pizza crust because it’s made from vegetables and other good things like eggs. It’s also full of fibre, being made from vegetables, and with extras like ground almonds and ground flaxseeds. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Vegetables: I’ve used a combination of cauliflower and broccoli in this recipe, but you can just use cauliflower. If you’re only using cauliflower then use 600g instead of 300g of each. Use only the florets and discard the stems.
• Ground almonds, flaxseeds and eggs: These are to help bind the cauliflower ‘dough’.
• Nutritional yeast: This is a species of yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae grown to be used as food. The yeast is inactive and I used it in this recipe for a cheesy flavour. If you’re avoiding dairy you can use it as a substitute for parmesan cheese and sprinkle it on soups, salads and recipes like my easy weeknight vegan chilli. I prefer unfortified nutritional yeast because fortified nutritional yeast contains poorly absorbed forms of nutrients like vitamin B12. However, if you’re vegan you may be using nutritional yeast as a food source of vitamin B12, in which case look for a fortified version.
• Italian seasoning, salt and pepper: Flavour-boosting essentials.

Pizza toppings

Top these pizzas with homemade classic tomato sauce, you can’t beat it for flavour and freshness. Use mozzarella or a dairy-free alternative), and top each pizza with a handful of rocket (arugula) leaves or your favourite salad leaves for extra green goodness. I also love to top pizza with ferments like quick pickled onions or dill pickle sauerkraut.

How to make cauliflower pizza crusts

These cauliflower pizza crusts aren’t difficult to make, but the first time you make them, follow the instructions carefully. The ‘dough’ isn’t going to be like a pizza dough made from gluten, it’s not stretchy and you can’t roll it out. Instead you divide the mixture in half and then press it down into two circle shapes. Here’s how to make cauliflower crust pizzas in three easy steps:

1. Rice the cauliflower: First, place the cauliflower and broccoli (if using) in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. You can also use a box grater and grate the cauliflower and broccoli if you don’t have a food processor. Then, transfer the veggie rice to a clean tea towel (I usually place the tea towel in a large bowl then pour in the riced veg). Next, squeeze out as much moisture as possible over a sink or over the bowl (don’t skip this step or the recipe won’t work – see below).
2. Make the ‘dough’: Transfer the cauliflower rice to a large bowl with the ground almonds, ground flaxseeds, eggs, nutritional yeast, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and mix to form a soft dough. Then divide the mixture in half and gently press into 25cm circles on the prepared trays.
3. Bake: Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Remove the pizza bases from the oven, leave to cool slightly then loosen from the parchment with a palette knife. Spread with a thin layer of tomato sauce (1-2 tablespoons per pizza), and top with the cheese and basil leaves. Return the pizzas to the oven for another 8–10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.

That’s it! After you’ve made these pizzas once it gets easier – just keep making them!

Troubleshooting

• Don’t be tempted to skip the step where you squeeze out the water from the cauliflower. This is essential to the success of cauliflower pizza – in fact please spend extra time squeezing out as much as you can! Excess water will make the mixture too sloppy. This is why I also recommend discarding the stems as they contain more water than the flower.
• If you find that your mixture is too watery and you can’t press the bases out, then add extra ground flaxseeds, one tablespoon at a time, to help the mixture to firm up. You can also refrigerate the mixture for 15 minutes to firm up.

Want to see a cauliflower pizza base demo?

See how to make cauliflower pizza crust in this Instagram cook along. In this video, I use salsa verde to top the pizza for Green goddess cauliflower pizzas.

I hope you enjoy this cauliflower crust pizza recipe. If you make it, let me know how it turned out. I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below, or post in The Fertility Kitchen Community.