I don’t know about you, but pizza is a top comfort food for me and staple in our diet growing up. I am from the Chicago area, which means we do pizza a bit differently than, say New York with it’s thin crust.
I have fond memories of deep dish (at least 4 inches) brick-oven baked gooeyness that probably capped out around 1,500 calories a slice….we even had ‘double-crust’ option (as if one wasn’t enough) in which there was a second layer of dough in the middle of the pie. And my fond memories are conflicted with subsequent memories of feeling gluttonously full and sluggish and wishing I would have had a bit less. 🙂
Traditional pizza is a calorie, carb and saturated fat nightmare. But here’s the good news: you can still have much (I didn’t say all) of the flavor and enjoyment of pizza in a healthier manner, for a fraction of the calories and carbs by making a few substitutions, you can make this delicious low carb cauliflower pizza crust recipe and eat pizza ’till your hearts content.
Serving Suggestions
This cauliflower pizza crust makes a great combination of low starch veggies and healthy protein foods, especially when topped with tomato sauce – a simple version is to just thin out some tomato paste and add a bit of oregano and basil for a pizza-y flavor. Add a bunch of veggies – green peppers, mushrooms, olives, even spinach! And of course, a bit of cheese. And you have yourself a great low carb pizza!
Avoid high processed meat add-ons (ie pepperoni, sausage) and stick with grilled chicken.
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Low Carb Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe
Traditional pizza is a calorie, carb and saturated fat nightmare. By making a few substitutions, you can make this delicious low carb cauliflower pizza crust recipe and eat pizza 'till your hearts content.
Steam or microwave cauliflower until tender (approx 6 minutes).
Drain and let cool. Then squeeze out as much water from the cauliflower as possible (squeezing through cheesecloth or blotting with paper towels).
Blend with remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.
Spray a 12-14 in pizza pan lightly with oil, or alternative line the pan with parchment paper.
Spread the cauliflower mixture evenly on the pan and bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow to cool. Add your toppings and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Notes
While this pizza crust has a delicious flavor, it does have a very different texture from a regular pizza crust since there is no flour and therefore no gluten to provide structure. It will fall apart more easily, so you may have to eat this pizza with a fork. 🙂
Additions:
To make pizza: top with tomato sauce, cheese and additional veggies or preferred toppings. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Storage:
Cauliflower pizza crust is best used right after baking and baked pizza will last 3-4 days refrigerated. Alternatively you can bake the crust, top with sauce and pizza toppings and freeze until ready to use, then bake from frozen (will take longer to bake - approximately 15-20 minutes).
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Kitchen Tools
You always need a food processor on hand because it makes all kinds of cooking tasks a breeze. A set of stainless steel bowls are essential in the kitchen because it doesn’t matter what you mix or store in them, they are super easy to clean, are very hygienic and never smell.
And to make pizza, you’ll need a pizza pan and pizza cutter – well, you don’t really need it because you can make a square pizza and cut with a knife. But there is something nice about using a pizza cutter. It feels more authentic!
Cauliflower pizza crust can fit gluten-free, diabetes-friendly, low carb, or weight loss diets. Cauliflower has recently skyrocketed in popularity since it can be used to lower the carb and calorie content of many traditionally high carb foods, such as pizza.
As for carbs, cauliflower pizza crust comes in at 16 grams of carbohydrates. Compared to our deep dish, gluten-free, original, and skinny crusts, cauliflower crust is middle of the road for carbohydrates. It's equivalent to a deep dish, which has 15 grams of carbohydrates.
Cauliflower itself isn't bringing the carbohydrates to the table–it's everything else that gets mixed in to complete the crust. Ingredients like rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch, and sugar add to the carb count of some cauliflower crusts you buy at the store.
Obviously, cauliflower pizza is more “diabetes friendly” than traditional types of pizza with flour crust. It's not rocket science — fewer carbs means less spiking of glucose levels, so there's no need to “chase it” with large amounts of insulin.
Both the cauliflower crust and the whole-wheat crust offer fiber and protein, which play a key role in weight loss by helping to keep you feeling full and satisfied after a meal. But if you're not trying to cut carbs and are looking for that traditional pizza pie flavor, the whole-wheat crust is what you want.
How many carbohydrates do you need? The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that carbohydrates make up 45% to 65% of total daily calories. So if you get 2,000 calories a day, between 900 and 1,300 calories should be from carbohydrates. That translates to between 225 and 325 grams of carbs a day.
Because of these toppings, there's not much difference in the nutritional composition when compared to regular pizza, because cauliflower-crust pizza isn't low in calories or fat and still contains carbs. So this means eating it often likely won't help you reach your weight-loss goals.
“You can save the calories and carbs from a regular pizza crust by using a cauliflower crust, but if you load it with meat and cheese you've negated your healthy swap,” explains Lincoln. While everyone's tolerance is different, too much cauliflower can create G.I.distress, like excess gas and bloating.
Unfortunately, cauliflower doesn't make everything keto-friendly. Though the first ingredient in Caulipower Pizza is cauliflower, it also contains rice flour and some sugar. Our homemade Cauliflower Pizza recipe is only 20g net carbs for the whole pie, but a Caulipower Pizza contains 66g net carbs!
Cauliflower is high in fiber which we all know is super important for our bodies. Fiber works to reduce inflammation and help your digestive system. Vegetables that are rich in fiber are also known to lower the risk of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
If you are trying to avoid the effects of gluten and feel better in a healthy way while still enjoying pizza, cauliflower crust is a great option. Cauliflower crust has fewer calories than traditional crust. It also has also fewer carbohydrates for those trying to reduce carbs in their diet.
Opt for a thin-crust pizza instead of a deep-dish. Skip the stuffed pizza crusts and dipping sauces. Enjoy your slice of pizza with a side salad or cooked vegetables. Top your pizza with lean protein, like chicken strips, instead of processed meat, like pepperoni.
“Cauliflower is another vegetable that's low in carbs, but also very high in vitamins and phytochemicals,” Fear says. Add chopped cauliflower to your salads, or top with paprika and garlic powder and roast in the oven. Riced cauliflower also makes a great low-carb replacement for traditional rice.
Introduction: My name is Lidia Grady, I am a thankful, fine, glamorous, lucky, lively, pleasant, shiny person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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