Though cauliflower is a low-carb vegetable, not all cauliflower crust pizzas are keto-friendly. In fact, most store-bought products and rest...
Though cauliflower is a low-carb vegetable, not all cauliflower crust pizzas are keto-friendly. In fact, most store-bought products and restaurant-made cauliflower crusts have around the same amount of net carbs as traditional flour-based pizza.
As with most of your favorite dishes, your best option is to make it yourself — especially when you want pizza. This is the most reliable way to get all the flavors and textures you crave without slowing your progress.
All you need is the right combination of ingredients and cooking techniques, and you can craft a keto pizza that satisfies your palate and helps you burn fat at the same time.
With this pizza recipe, you’ll learn how to do this with four simple and healthy keto ingredients: Egg, cauliflower, cheese, and low-carb marinara sauce.
The Problem with Store-bought and Restaurant-made Cauliflower Crust
The premade cauliflower crusts in your local grocery store or pizza restaurant are rarely crafted with the keto diet in mind.
If you check the ingredients, you are likely to find corn starch, corn flour, potato starch, chickpea flour, potato flour, and/or tapioca starch. Even though these ingredients are gluten-free and can make the crust healthier, they are far from low carb.
There are, however, a few keto-friendly cauliflower crust products you may find in the store. As with any pre-made item you purchase, we recommend double-checking the nutrition facts and ingredients to make sure it is keto-friendly for you.
That being said, store-bought keto-friendly products will not be as budget-friendly, healthy, flavorful, and customizable as your homemade keto pizza. With this recipe, you’ll learn how to make one of the simplest keto pizzas with three common keto ingredients.
Essential Ingredients for Cauliflower Pizza Crust Made Keto
It may be hard to believe at first, but the only ingredients you need to make this crust are:
- One large egg. It may not sound like much, but one egg is all you need to bind the ingredients together into a homogenous pizza dough.
- Riced cauliflower. Whether you rice it yourself or get pre-riced cauliflower (fresh or frozen), this recipe will work.
- We prefer the combo of shredded parmesan and mozzarella, but this crust can also be made with shredded mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar, or any other hard cheese. Just make sure to use at least ½ cup of cheese in the dough.
Though we include several herbs and seasonings, this isn’t crucial for a crisp keto crust — They are simply used to give each bite a satisfying flavor boost. The secret to the perfect cauliflower crust is how you prepare the three essential keto ingredients.
How to Get A Crisp Keto Cauliflower Crust
The one thing that may prevent this from becoming a crisp and thin crust is water, particularly the cauliflower’s water content.
When cauliflower rice has too much moisture, it can prevent the crust from crisping up in the oven. This can result in a keto dish that is more like a pizza casserole than a thin crust pizza.
To prevent that from happening, make sure to squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the cooked cauliflower rice before adding it to the dough mixture. Feel free to use a kitchen towel, cheesecloth, nut milk bag, or any cloth that will allow you to squeeze the water out without losing any precious cauliflower.
Time-saving tip: Use pre-made cauliflower rice. Though this can be more expensive, it will allow you to skip the ricing process and keep your clean up time to a minimum.
What Toppings Can I Put on My Keto Cauliflower Crust?
After baking your cauliflower crust, you can craft virtually any pizza you’d like. However, before adding each topping, make sure it won’t add too many net carbs to the recipe.
For some inspiration, check out following keto pizza variations:
- Keto BBQ Chicken — Shredded chicken, keto-friendly BBQ sauce, mayo, low-carb marinara, and cheese.
- Buffalo Chicken — Shredded chicken, hot sauce, and blue cheese
- Pepperoni
- Thai Chicken Pizza — Shredded chicken, peanut sauce, chopped peanuts, mozzarella cheese, green onion, cilantro, carrot, and mung bean sprouts.
- Pesto Chicken Pizza — Shredded chicken, 5-minuted pesto sauce, mozzarella cheese, sauteed spinach, and garlic cloves.
- Margherita Pizza — Marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, fresh tomato slices, and basil leaves.
- Greek Pizza — Feta cheese, kalamata olives, extra virgin olive oil, roasted red pepper, red onion, spinach, and dried oregano.
Check out our top 10 keto pizza recipes for more delicious keto-friendly ideas.
How Do I Store My Keto Pizza & How Long Will It Last?
Given how light this keto crust is, most people won’t end up with leftovers. However, if you want to save some slices for later, you can store it in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Depending on the liquid content of your toppings, the crust can get softer as it rests in the fridge. This will make it more challenging to get the same crispness and flavor as it had fresh from the oven.
Your best chance at emulating your first bite from the night before is by reheating it in the oven with a pizza stone. The round ceramic material can help reheat the crust evenly and whisk away excess moisture.
On the other hand, if you would rather store the cauliflower crust without toppings for a future keto meal, I recommend following the tips in the next section and freezing it.
How to Freeze Your Keto Cauliflower Crust for Later
You can make your very own frozen low carb pizza crusts and store them anytime you want a quick, easy, and cheap keto pizza. To make this recipe freezer-friendly, let the crust cool after it is baked and place it into an airtight container or freezer-safe bag.
By storing it like this, your keto cauliflower crust will last for up to 3 months. By using this method, you can simply take your premade crust from the freezer, instead of meticulously searching the store for an over-priced low-carb option.
To thaw the frozen crust, bake it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes. Take it out once thawed, add your toppings, and bake for another 10 minutes (or until cooked through).
If you find the full-size keto crust to be a difficult freezer fit, try making two half-sized crusts (or double the recipes for four!) After the smaller crusts have cooled, you can stack them in the same freezer bag, separating each one by a sheet of parchment paper.
What If I Don’t Have a Microwave?
You can still make keto cauliflower pizza crust without using a microwave. As long as the cauliflower is tender all the way through and has lost most of its moisture, it doesn’t matter how you cook it.
The two most common alternative cooking methods are the following:
1. Boil the florets. Boil florets until fork tender. Drain, process, and squeeze the water out of the riced cauliflower.
Or
2. Stir fry the cauliflower rice. In a stovetop saute pan, stir fry the cauliflower for about 10 minutes or until it is very soft.
Can I Replace the Egg and Shredded Cheese? How to Make a 100% Vegan Keto Cauliflower Pizza Crust
If you want to eliminate eggs and/or dairy from your keto diet, this doesn’t mean you have to cut keto pizza out too.
To convert this recipe into a 100% vegan keto cauliflower crust, use ½ cup of almond flour to replace the ½ cup of cheese and three tablespoons of ground chia or flax seeds to replace the egg.
Bake the crust at 400ºF for around 45 minutes, checking on it after the first 30 to make sure it’s not burning. The crust should be dry to the touch with a beautiful golden color.
For some topping ideas that are both vegan-friendly and keto-friendly, check out our vegan keto food list.
Yields 3 servings of Keto Cauliflower Pizza Crust (with toppings)
The Preparation
- 1 medium head of cauliflower
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 cup low-carb tomato sauce, like Rao’s brand
- 1 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
The Execution
1. Pre-heat oven to 500F.
2. Wash and dry the cauliflower. Cut the cauliflower florets off from the stems.
3. Using a food processor, pulse the cauliflower florets until it resembles small crumbles (similar to pieces of rice). If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a knife to finely chop or a grater to finely grate.
4. Microwave the riced cauliflower in a microwave-safe bowl for 4-5 minutes or until slightly softened and cooked.
5. Let the cauliflower cool for a few minutes, then squeeze as much liquid out of it as possible. You can use a kitchen towel or cheesecloth to help with this.
6. Add the egg, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and spices. Stir together well until combined.
7. Spread the cauliflower mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden brown and slightly crispy on the edges.
8. Top with tomato sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese. Return to the oven for 5-7 minutes, or alternatively broil the cheese on the pizza for 2-3 minutes.
9. Slice and serve!
This makes a total of 3 servings of Keto Cauliflower Pizza Crust (with toppings). Each serving comes out to be 350 calories, 22.2g Fats, 8.6g Net Carbs, and 25.6g Protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 1 medium head cauliflower | 132 | 2.6 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 11 |
| 1/2 cup parmesan cheese | 215 | 14.5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 |
| 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese | 84 | 6.3 | 0.6 | 0 | 0.6 | 6.2 |
| 1 egg | 72 | 4.8 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | 6.3 |
| 1/4 teaspoon salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder | 5.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 |
| 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano | 1.9 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 3/4 cup low-carb tomato sauce | 120 | 7.5 | 9 | 1.5 | 7.5 | 3 |
| 1 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese | 420 | 31 | 3.1 | 0 | 3.1 | 31 |
| Totals | 1050.1 | 66.7 | 40.6 | 14.8 | 25.8 | 76.9 |
| Per Serving ( /3 ) | 350.0 | 22.2 | 13.5 | 4.9 | 8.6 | 25.6 |
The Preparation
- 1 medium head of cauliflower
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 cup low-carb tomato sauce, like Rao's brand
- 1 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
The Execution
- Pre-heat oven to 500F.
- Wash and dry the cauliflower. Cut the cauliflower florets off from the stems.
- Using a food processor, pulse the cauliflower florets until it resembles small crumbles (similar to pieces of rice). If you don't have a food processor, you can use a knife to finely chop or a grater to finely grate.
- Microwave the riced cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl for 4-5 minutes or until slightly softened and cooked.
- Let the cauliflower cool for a few minutes, then squeeze as much liquid out of it as possible. You can use a kitchen towel or cheesecloth to help with this.
- Add the egg, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and spices. Stir together well until combined.
- Spread the cauliflower mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden brown and slightly crispy on the edges.
- Top with tomato sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese. Return to the oven for 5-7 minutes, or alternatively broil the cheese on the pizza for 2-3 minutes.
- Slice and serve!
Notes
This makes a total of 3 servings of Keto Cauliflower Pizza Crust (with toppings). Each serving comes out to be 350 calories, 22.2g Fats, 8.6g Net Carbs, and 25.6g Protein.
The post Keto Cauliflower Pizza Crust appeared first on Ruled Me.
via Keto Diet
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