Cauliflower Crust Veggie Pizza

This recipe is another Pinterest find that my whole family l-o-v-e-d. I am always on the lookout for both new pizza ideas and new vegetarian meals, and this fit both requirements. My kids didn't even realize that all that they were eating was copious amounts of vegetables and cheese. Ha ha! I love sneaking in healthy foods when they are none the wiser. Score!

I made our pizza larger than the original directions indicated, so I adapted all the ingredient quantities to reflect in my recipe below.

Cauliflower Crust Veggie Pizza
Adapted From: Eat. Drink. Smile. website via Pinterest.com

Ingredients:
For crust:
1 head of chopped cauliflower florets, stalks discarded
cooking spray
3 eggs, beaten
3 cups low-fat cheese, shredded (I used a combo of sharp cheddar and mozzarella)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

For toppings:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch diced pieces
1 bell pepper, cut into strips
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 package (6 oz.) of sliced button mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 cup of jarred marinara sauce (depending on how saucy you like your pizza)
2 fresh tomatoes, sliced
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese, grated for topping

Directions:
For crust:
In a food processor "rice" the raw cauliflower florets by pulsing several times. You may have to do a couple of batches, depending on the capacity of the food processor. Also, make sure to not pulse too much; otherwise the cauliflower will be more of a puree instead of small pieces that are "riced". One head of cauliflower should yield about 3 cups of "riced" cauliflower.

Place "riced" cauliflower in a microwave safe container and cook on high in the microwave for 8 minutes. Remove to a bowl and let the cooked cauliflower cool a bit.

Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, mix in beaten eggs, spices, and 3 cups of cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Combine thoroghly and set aside.

For toppings:
Heat olive oil on in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions, zucchini, peppers, and mushrooms until browned and caramelized. Add garlic and saute for 1 additional minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.

For pizza:
Spray large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Press cauliflower mixture into prepared baking sheet, using your hands or the back of a spoon. Make sure there are no holes or thin spots in the pressed crust. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

At the end of the cook time, remove from oven and spray top of crust with cooking spray.

Switch the oven over to broil on "high". Return cauliflower back to the oven, by placing on the top rack closest to the broiler. Broil on high for 2-5 minutes, or until crust is slightly browned. Remove from oven.

Top pizza crust with marinara sauce by spreading with a spoon or a spatula. Top sauce with cooked vegetables. Sprinkle cheese over veggies and sauce. Place fresh tomato slices on top of cheese layer. Return sheet pan to the top rack of the oven and broil until cheese is melted, slightly browned, and bubbly. Remove the pizza from the oven. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over the entire pizza. Cut it into squares and serve immediately.





The Result:
As you have probably guessed, I found my camera again. Hooray! I had to do quite a bit of digging through some moving boxes, but I'm so happy I finally found it. I can now start taking blog pics again...this is really good news.

This was soooo yummy! Seriously delicious; as I said, we all really loved it. The original website mentions that this will not be the same texture or taste as traditional pizza crust, which I found to be true. It wasn't firm enough to pick up and eat with our hands, but it was totally fine to just eat it with a fork. With that said, it was still pretty darn fantastic and it will be something I wiggle into our regular pizza rotation. Yum!!!!