Try something new for pizza night.. A veggie-based crust!
Have a family fun, vegan + gluten-free pizza night with this Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Crust with pizza-y herbs and chickpeas. Load on your fave toppings, add a big side salad and maybe some fizzy drinks like ginger ale, sparkling water with lemon or kombucha. And dive into a few warm slices of pizza.
This was my first attempt at making a cauliflower pizza crust (I was dying to see what all the fuss is about) and now I totally get why this recipe is so hot right now! This is a delicious, healthy option for pizza night. LOVE.
And I was so happy that I pulled off a vegan, egg-free version of this popular recipe! Check it out..
I was seriously doubtful that this was A) going to work and B) taste good. But I had to try, right? So I whipped up these pizzas on a sunny Saturday afternoon. In just 40 minutes we had the most amazing pizzas! I was pretty surprised how much I LOVED these.
Cauliflower pizza crust. Kathy approved! New dinner night fave.
The mixture of "pizza dough" aka cauliflower goodness!..
It actually tastes really yummy baked just as is!..
But of course we added sauce and toppings..
For sauce.. try pesto, marinara, BBQ sauce... so many options!
Toppings.. vegan pepperoni, mushrooms, onion, vegan cheese, garlic..
Warm from the oven!..
Vegan + gluten-free + grain free pizza night..
So, what does it taste like? The crust is tender and has a caramelized and hydrated texture while being bread-like in a strange and lovely way. The flavor is salty and cheezy and again, caramelized. The cauliflower has a mild and lovable roasted veggie flavor that pairs well with the cheeziness and herbs. Truth be told, it is really hard to describe. You just need to give it a try for yourself. (And really try to snag some of the egg replacer I link to in the recipe... I haven't tested it with other replacers yet.)
The cauliflower crust thing is awesome! I kept ogling them on blogs, but they always had eggs. But I did a few things to make this work and improve the nutrition profile of the crust.
- I added chickpeas! When in doubt, use chickpeas, right? That is the vegan chef way! This totally worked because the mashed beans binded the crust well and also added nutty flavor and loads of added nutrients like fiber, iron, protein and b vitamins.
- I used Follow Your Heart's new egg replacer! I had tried it for scrambled "eggs" a good month ago and really wasn't very impressed. Tofu scramble works much better for a vegan scramble. BUT for baking and egg replacer uses like this, this egg replacer ROCKS. It has a VERY eggy flavor which is perfect for a cauliflower pizza crust.
So really try to find the Follow Your Heart egg replacer for this recipe... it adds a lot of flavor and binds perfectly.
I listed a few other options in the recipe if you need those. And side tip, black salt is a great 'eggy' flavor accent too if needed.
Oh and so what did we do with our fresh-from-the-oven afternoon pizzas? Nibbled as much as possible and placed them back in the fridge for an easy re-heat and done dinner tonight.
*this post contains Amazon affiliate links
Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 3 cups riced cauliflower ** I specifically used Trader Joe's frozen riced cauliflower and had success. I have tried using a larger "grain" cauliflower rice with mixed results and less binding power. I highly suggest using the TJ's frozen riced cauliflower! -- Otherwise, you will need to grate or "rice" a whole head of cauliflower. The bits need to be about the same size or smaller a white rice. The smaller the "grain" the easier the binding will be. I would also try experimenting with steaming and freezing your riced cauliflower to achieve the same quality of texture that the TJ's product that I used has.
- 1 ½ cups chickpeas, canned or boxed, drained/rinsed
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil*** You could try subbing with water or lemon juice if you are trying to use less oil.
- 1 Vegan Egg (see options below)
- 1 teaspoon salt-free pizza herbs (oregano, thyme... - I used Penzey's Spices Frozen Pizza Blend)
- 2-3 tablespoon shredded vegan cheese (I used Daiya cheddar)
- optional: 1-2 teaspoon nutritional yeast (I skipped this, but it would add an extra cheezy flavor -- or use this in place of the cheese shreds)Vegan Egg Options:
- 1 - I used the Follow Your Heart VeganEgg egg replacer -- 1 egg worth
- 2 - Try a flax egg or some silken tofu, pureed or even a mashed sweet potato (about ½ cup)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degree. Line a pizza baking tray or baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a blender or food processor (or with a hand masher) puree or mash the chickpeas with the extra virgin olive oil until a chunky puree/mash forms. It should look like really thick and chunky hummus.
- In a large bowl, combine the riced cauliflower, bean puree, herbs, cheese, egg replacer and optional nooch. Stir and fold to create a very thick 'cookie dough' texture pizza 'dough.'
- Using your hards, press out mini pizzas onto the parchment paper. I made two mini and one medium in size.
- Bake the crusts at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until the edges start to brown lightly.
- Pull pizza pans out, add toppings, crank oven up to 450.
- Bake pizzas with toppings for 10-15 minutes longer at 450 degrees. (Longer time is needed for larger thicker crusts)
- Slice and serve right away! The pizza cools off pretty quickly, so keep it in a warm oven until ready to serve.
Andrea Joy says
Made this tonight. Yummy add, the chickpeas! The instructions never mentioned cooking the cauliflower, or squeezing it out. Omitting these steps seems to be the reason it comes out so soggy. I riced fresh cauliflower, thought it woułd be ok, since not pre-cooked, but I'm guessing that was the reason mine came out soggy in the end, as well, since the baking cooks it, releasing the liquid then. So, my guess is that the best option is to pre-steam, and squeeze it out. THEN continue with the recipe, adding the chickpea, egg replacer, etc. I had added 2 Tbsp Almond flour, and used 1/4 plus 1Tbsp nooch, that didn't soak up the moisture.
Perhaps the author could give some input?
😊
Jennifer says
Ah, I am in love with the Follow Your Heart Egg Replacer! I have the exact same review too-faces poorly as a scramble versus tofu but as a binder in baking it seems to be spot on! I am looking forward to trying your crust version out. I made a cauliflower crust in the past and while it was tasty it was not as hearty as yours looks, which tome, is half the point of pizza-to fill you up! Yum !
Terry says
Just made this. I did add the step of squeezing the liquid out of the cauliflower. I mixed everything together and left in the fridge for about an hour and a half, then baked it. I love it!! I just used Italian seasoning. Will definitely be making this again!
celeste1234 says
I made this last night,but the crust didn't harden at all. It ended up as mush. I followed the directions, and the consistency was the same as you described. What might I have done wrong? Also, it didn't taste all that great. It was OK, but not very interesting.
Cort Cort says
what do you mean by "riced cauliflower?"
Kathy Patalsky says
cauliflower grated or processed to be the size of a grain of rice.. http://www.popsugar.com/food/photo-gallery/37707003/image/37707005/Pick-Up-Organic-Riced-Cauliflower-2
Maya Khan says
Thanks Kathy! I am also vegetarian. I like this "Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Crust", In the other hand cauliflower is my favorite veggies.
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Valencia - Life of a Vegaholic says
Cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies, so I was immediately intrigued when I saw the word cauliflower. Haha! I've heard of cauliflower crust, but I've always been a little apprehensive about trying it. I wasn't sure if I would like the texture of it you know? I see you added chickpeas to the mix. What made you want to add chickpeas?
Kathy Patalsky says
I added the chickpeas to boost the nutritional content and also help in the texture. I wanted more of a fluffy, and soft crust and opposed to just really crisping the crust at a super high temp. The beans really worked well to give the crust its own body. I wouldn't say that this pizza crust tastes and looks like flour pizza crust at all really -- but for what it is I loved it! I have made it two more times and love it more and more each time. I even love it just on its own without any toppings. It reminds me of a flat bread or fluffy pita.
Terri Chrisman says
Kathy I made this last night and it was just a soggy mess. I used fresh cauliflower. I even left it in the oven longer to get stiffer. I wonder if there is a way to crispy it up. (I did not use the vegan Daiya because I had none and agree with VV about the processed cheeses). Any thoughts?
Terri
Kathy Patalsky says
Weird! Did you use the egg replacer from follow your heart? Did you use anything to replace the daiya? I will have to do a video for you guys so you can see how it goes maybe.
Veronica Rechten says
This happened to me the first time and then I got my answer from another recipe. You have to squeeze all the water out of the cauliflower. Put it in mine in a dish towel after you cook/microwave it, and twist the crud out of it! I squeezed almost 1/3cup out of mine. I also skipped the "cheese" and used an extra egg. It came out perfect when I did it that way!
Kathy Patalsky says
Awesome! Thanks for that added info Veronica. I have seen the squeeze trick on a few recipes like this as well. I didn't need to squeeze the raw cauliflower when I tried making the crust without cooking the cauliflower first, but the overall crust was more moist. So good tip to know! I am so curious also as to why the TJs frozen cauliflower rice works so well. I wonder if they have a squeezing process before they bag it!
VV says
Will try this but will definitely omit Daiya. Packaged, processed foods have to place in this awesome recipe!
Sophie says
I already tried other cauliflower chickpea crust recipes & loved them so I know that your tasten recipe Will work too,.....Yum Yum yumm! I also love your divine toppings
Kathy Patalsky says
thank you!
Heather McClees says
This is such a great recipe! I love how simple this recipe looks, and it's the first one I've actually thought I might give a try. This is some gorgeous looking vegan pizza, for sure!
Kayla @ Blondes Have More Run says
I love cauliflower pizza crusts but have never heard of using chickpeas in it before! What a great idea to add some protein to this popular meal!
Kathy Patalsky says
Yes! And it really made for an interesting and lovable crust texture. Great way to add legumes to pizza night.
Monica says
how you I make the riced cauliflower with frozen cauliflower?
Kathy Patalsky says
Hmm I have not tried this, but I bet you could very easily process it in a blender or food processor while it is frozen, let it thaw a bit after processing and use a paper towel to squeeze out any excess water moisture, then use the riced frozen cauliflower in the recipe. It should work well! The key is to make sure you can process it into small enough bits.
Meredith Depuydt says
can you provide a bit more detail about the "riced" cauliflower? how do we prepare it? raw or cooked? thanks so much!
Kathy Patalsky says
It is raw cauliflower that is grated into tiny bits (the size of rice). You can use a box cheese grater, a food processors or blender or you can buy it already in "riced" form from stores like a Trader Joes.
Meredith Depuydt says
ok! so we're using raw riced cauliflower to make the dough? sorry, the reason I wanted clarification is that I have seen several other vegan cauliflower pizza crust recipes that call for steaming or boiling the riced cauliflower first before creating the "dough"
Kathy Patalsky says
You know I haven't tried all methods so I really can't say how they vary right now. I just know that the method I used worked very well. I used Trader Joe's frozen cauliflower rice which appears to be just raw and frozen -- it doesn't say pre-steamed or pre-cooked anywhere on the bag. I think the oven cooks the cauliflower pretty well so I wouldn't think steaming is necessary, but I will definitely try a few different versions in the coming weeks and report back.
I found this neat cauliflower rice comparison here.. http://www.today.com/food/trader-joe-s-cauliflower-rice-better-homemade-we-put-it-t89001