Remember when cauliflower came onto the food scene a few years back? Now it’s become so popular that it’s hard to find a restaurant that doesn’t have roasted cauliflower on their menu. It’s even mainstream enough that Trader Joe’s makes cauliflower rice AND cauliflower pizza crust (have you tried it?).
Abra, AK marketing manager & the veggie loving queen she is, even likes to put frozen cauliflower in her morning smoothies. YOU CRAZY ‘BRA (that’s her nickname.)
Look I was skeptical about cauliflower on everything for a long time until I made this bomb ass cauliflower pizza crust that blew my mind and made me sink into a deep happy pizza coma. It was a good day.
I messed with traditional ratios of the plethora of cauliflower pizza crust recipes on the internet, and came up with my own. It’s perfect in every way. Cheesy, garlicky, crispy, chewy, AND JUST SO GOOD.
Ingredients in this cauliflower pizza crust
This cauliflower pizza crust recipe uses super simple ingredients so that you can all of the delicious toppings you like. It’s low carb, gluten free, grain free and packing the flavor. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Cauliflower: the star of the show in this pizza crust to keep it low carb and gluten free!
- Egg: you’ll need one egg in this recipe to help the crust hold together.
- Cheese: we’re adding a boost of protein and delicious flavor with mozzarella andn parmesan cheese baked right into the crust. The cheese also helps it hold together.
- Coconut flour: a bit of coconut flour helps to firm the crust up to perfection.
- Spices: you’ll also need some garlic powder, dried oregano, salt & pepper.
- For topping: the options are endless! I usually start with some pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese and get wild after that.
How to make cauliflower pizza crust: a step-by-step tutorial
Trust me when I saw I know that making your own cauliflower pizza crust might seem daunting, but I assure you it isn’t at all. The crust is actually fairly easy to make and FUN too! And because I wanted to make sure you guys got step by step instructions, I’m even including a video on how to make this delicious cauliflower pizza crust plus photos.
Step 1: Chop your cauliflower
First, chop your head of cauliflower into florets and put it into your food processor.
Step 2: Pulse it
Pulse the florets until they resemble rice or couscous. You may need to pulse it in batches. Add the cauliflower “rice” to a large bowl.
Step 3: Steam it
Next, microwave the pulsed cauliflower for 5 minutes OR steam it in a pot with one inch of water for about 5 minutes. You do you. I’ve got instructions for both in the recipe below.
Step 4: Cool it
Wait till it cools so you don’t burn your hand like I did. Very important step here people.
Step 5: Squeeze it! This is the key to a crispy crust
Once the cauliflower is cool enough to handle, take a clean dish towel or cheesecloth and put the steamed cauliflower ‘rice’ into the middle and wrap the dish towel around it. Squeeze all the water out. It will look weird like the photo above.
I MEAN ALL THE WATER. You’re gonna get an arm workout here. This is the key for nice, crispy pizza crust!
Step 6: Mix your pizza “dough.”
Good job. Now place the cauliflower in a large bowl and add cheeses, coconut flour, egg, spices and salt. Mix it well. It’s going to be soft and slightly wet — don’t worry!
Step 7: Shape your crust
Dump that ball onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread it out with your hands (just press out) and leave a 1/4 inch thickness as pictured above. It should be about 9-10 inches in diameter.
Bake
Prebake the crust without any topping on it so that it sets and turns a nice golden brown color.
Step 8: Top it & bake again
NOW TOP IT with anything your heart desires. AND BAKE AGAIN until that cheese melts and becomes perfectly bubbly. Cheese bubbles, I love you.
Delicious topping recommendations
We love to experiment with different toppings using this cauliflower pizza crust. Here are our team’s favorites (yeah, we’re fancy):
- Monique: tomato sauce, jalapeño, pineapple, black olives and mushrooms with fresh mozzarella and red chili pepper flakes.
- Abra: pesto, sausage, mozzarella, parmesan, fresh basil and hot honey.
- Rebecca: tomato sauce, mozzarella, goat cheese, red onion and chopped pistachios.
What are your favorite pizza toppings? Leave a comment on the recipe and let us know!
Can you freeze cauliflower pizza crust?
Yes! Here are two ways to do it:
- Freeze the crust without toppings. After baking the crust, you can wrap it in foil and freeze it for later. When you’re ready to use it, simply bake the pizza at 425 degrees F for about 20-30 minutes, then top your pizza and bake as directed.
- Freeze the crust with toppings. You can also freeze your crust after adding your toppings! After adding everything you’d like, wrap the crust well and freeze it. To bake it simply do so at 425 degrees F until the cheese is nice and bubbly (20-30 minutes).
Storing tips
Store any leftover pizza in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Simply reheat in the microwave or back in the oven to keep it crispy.
Recommended tools
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I hope you love this easy cauliflower pizza crust recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
How to Make the Best Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1 medium head of cauliflower, broken into florets
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 ½ tablespoons coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- For topping:
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Any other toppings your heart desires
Instructions
- Put ½ of the cauliflower florets into bowl of food processor, pulse until it resembles rice (about 30 seconds). Transfer into a large bowl and place other ½ of florets into food processor to repeat above.
- Microwave pulsed cauliflower for 5 minutes OR add all to a pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil to let it cook for 5 minutes with a lid on. Alternatively, you can also steam the cauliflower.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper.
- Let cauliflower cool for 15 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, transfer cauliflower to a clean dish towel or cheesecloth. Squeeze of excess moisture -- make sure to do this until virtually no water comes out and the cauliflower is dry This is very important to the success of the recipe.
- Next transfer cauliflower pulp to a large bowl and add in egg, mozzarella, parmesan, coconut flour, garlic powder, oregano, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine and form a soft dough.
- Place dough in the middle of the prepared pan and push out with your hands to form a 9-10 inch circle, with about ¼ inch dough thickness.
- Bake for 20 minutes until crust is firm and slightly golden brown. Remove from oven, then top with pizza sauce and cheese (or whatever your heart desires).
- Bake for 5-10 more minutes until cheese is melted, then turn broiler on for 1-2 minutes to get cheese nice and golden brown and bubbly. Make sure to watch carefully!
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes minutes before cutting into 8 slices and serving. Serves 4, 2 slices each.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published in 2017, but has was updated and republished with photos and more tips on March 19th, 2021.
What can i substitute for coconut flour?
I’ve only tested this recipe as written, but commenters have used regular gluten-free flour and tapioca flour with success. Let me know if you experiment with a different flour!
I made this pizza today and my husband and I really enjoyed it. I topped it with onions, mushrooms and carrots
So happy to hear that!
HI! Can you please tell me if the nutrition information is just the crust or does it include the pizza sauce and cheese that you added in the last section?
Hi! It includes the sauce and cheese 🙂
Just an absolutely terrible outcome. Cooked the crust for 20 minutes and it wasn’t done, ended up cooking it about 18 minutes more. It never turned into crust. Put the sauce on put the cheese on put all the toppings on, ended up with pizza ingredients on a Base of cauliflower mush. My understanding is you can buy these crusts ready made at the market. That’s my next go to. This was hugely disappointing. If they had zero stars, I would go for that. Bon appétit.
So sorry to hear that, Gary! Did you squeeze out all of the moisture from the cauliflower? What did the texture look and feel like when you mixed the crust ingredients together?
This looks great and easy. I buy my cauliflower already riced. Can you provide a measurement of cauliflower to execute this recipe? Thanks!!!
Hi! I haven’t tested it but another commenter said 5 cups worked well 🙂
I prepared the culiflower a different way. I ran the whole cauliflower head through the fine shredder attachment of my stand mixer. Then I put the riced cauliflower in my Instant Pot and cooked it using the low Saute setting alternately with the Keep Warm function. I stirred it frequently to keep it from overbrowning. This had the benefit of reducing any water remaining in the cauliflower while giving it a slightly toasted flavor. There was barely any water to wring out of the cauliflower after I cooked it long enough.
I don’t’ like the taste of coconut flour. Because the riced cauliflower was already prety dry, I could get away with using tapioca flour instead of coconut flour.
Perfect! I’m glad that worked out well 🙂
Can I use almond flour instead of coconut flour?
Hmm I think that should work!
I’m on cloud 9 with this crust. Currently stuffing my face with it as I’m tying this lmao. The play by play instructions were spot on and SO helpful. The pizza came out crispy, AND firm! With the size Cauliflower I had, I was only able to make a personal size pizza and honestly I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want pizza like THIS from now on. I had to use organic flour cause I didn’t have coconut flour but it still came out great. I put onions, ham slices and freshly steamed mushrooms with garlic on one side and just cheese on the other side so I could see how the Cauliflower came in. I’m in love and will DEFINITELY be making this again. Thank you so much for the recipie 🧡🧡
Amazing!! So glad you loved this!
I absolutely loved your cauliflower pizza crust recipe! It was delicious. I am interested in finding more healthy recipes on your website!
So happy to hear that! I hope you find more recipes here that you love 🙂
This took forever to make. Like 3 hours for double the recipe. Squeezing water out of cauliflower took so much time. Saddest part is in my family sitting down to enjoy the fruits of my hard work, the parchments was completely adhered to the crust and was impossible to separate. Biggest disappointment ever and all my kids were so sad I ruined the pizza when they’d been anxiously waiting. However, I followed the recipe exactly. No where did it say remove parchment paper and pictures even show to put it in the oven with it.
So sorry to hear that this happened! Did you use a dish towel or cheese cloth to squeeze out the cauliflower? It should squeeze out pretty well after it’s nice and steamed. I always bake the crust on top of parchment paper and haven’t run into the sticking issue, so I’m not sure what could have gone wrong here. I would double check the ingredients, making sure the right amount of flour and cheese were added (the cheese should help prevent sticking, too.)
I don’t have a food processor. Will a package of riced cauliflower from the produce section (or the freezer section) of my grocery store work as well?
I haven’t tried it so I’m not 100% how the texture will come out! If you try it, I’d suggest thawing the rice cauliflower before squeezing out the excess moisture and continuing with the recipe.
Can you use a blender instead of food processor? For cauliflower crust.
Yes, a high-powered blender should work!
Excellent recipe. I used a 12 oz package of frozen riced cauliflower microwaved for 7 minutes instead of fresh. Also I used cheddar cheese instead of the mozzarella and it came out great. Using a dishcloth for squeezing worked well and I could also use the dishcloth to put on top so I could use a roller to flatten the crust. Coconut flour is a great tip.
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
amazing recipe
I make this crust all the time! It’s so good. Last time I made it I used gluten free flour instead of coconut flour and it was so good!
Perfect! Glad this one’s a hit!
I really liked reading this. I am surely gonna try this at home.
Best Article on how to make best cauliflower pizza crust.
The pizza crust is delicious but it wasn’t crispy on the bottom. I’m wondering if I did something wrong or any suggestions for getting the bottom of the crust crispy??
Hi! Sorry to hear that. Did you squeeze as much water as possible out of the cauliflower?
I made this recipe
Delicious.
I think I’ll make it before and freeze next time. This way I can put it directly onto a rack in the oven. I feel this way it will be crispier.
Excellent blog you have got here.. It’s difficult to find quality writing like yours these days. I seriously appreciate people like you!Take care!!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
Such an amazing recipe!!!
This is just amazing! I know it’s not bread, but I also can’t tell it’s cauliflower. Mine didn’t turn out crisp. The edges were, but not the middle. Either I don’t have the strength to get all the water out or I made it too thick, maybe? Would that make it less crisp? Regardless, it’s really, really delicious. I will most definitely keep this in the regular rotation! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Anne – yes, too much liquid leftover will cause the crust not to crisp up as well. Did you prebake the crust? That also makes a big difference. I am glad you enjoyed this recipe! ❤️🙂
Yes, I pre-baked the crust – just as you said. I’m thinking cheesecloth would be better for me than a dish towel for getting the water out. Will try again. Even if I can’t get enough water out, I love the flavor and will keep making it!
I can’t rate it yet as it’s still in the oven. 🙂 My question is what do you consider a “medium cauliflower”? Approximate weight? I’m running into either HUGE ones or ones that look quite small to me. Hard to know if I’m getting the ratio of ingredients right. I will say — so far — it smells heavenly! Hope I squeezed out all the water.
THIS WAS AN EXCELLENT RECIPE AND I HAVE BEEN USING IT FOR THE PAST YEAR. I HAD NEVER EVEN USED THE GF COCUNT FLOWER AND ENDED UP FINDING THIS RECIPE WHEN I LOOKED UP WHAT I COULD MAKE WITH IT.
Do you know how much is the weight of the cauliflower used in this recipe? Thanks.
Looks wonderful. I’ll be using frozen riced cauliflower. How many cups? Thanks.
Hi! I haven’t tested it but another commenter said 5 cups worked well 🙂
This cauliflower pizza crust is perfect! I made it over the weekend for the first time and had some tiny doubts. The store bought ones don’t appeal to me, but the idea of making it fresh seemed to be just the ticket. When it came out of the oven (the first bake), I was so excited. It smelled heavenly, browned up lovely, and it held together beautifully.
It’s true it IS some hard work to squeeze out all the water, but do it! I used 2 flour sacks, one at a time, which I figured would be better than an ordinary kitchen towel.
Yes, I’m making another one as I write this.
Note: I used a head of cauliflower that had been in the fridge for about 6 days the first time. Today I’m using one I got just last night. It might be my imagination, but it seems to me the “older” one had way less water to it? Am I crazy or would they dry a little each day?
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Pizza is my favorite food
Oven Temperature?
Scroll down to step 3 of the recipe — it says 425ºF 🙂
Sounds delicious. My favorite toppings are mozzarella cheese (not too much), gorgonzola cheese ( not too much) mushrooms, red pepper, and red onions. Some times I add pineapple chunks as well or pepperoni. Sprinkle oregano on top and bake.
Sounds amazing and I LOVE pineapple on pizza, too! Hope you can try the crust soon 🙂