Saturday, October 16, 2010

Cauliflower Crust Veggie Pizza

Update: At the time I posted this recipe I had no idea who came up with it but I got an email from Jamie VanEaton, National Low Carb Examiner at http://blog.yourlighterside.com/ who created the recipe back in 2008 and I just wanted to give her proper credit for it. You can find her recipe for this pizza on her blog here http://blog.yourlighterside.com/2008/02/i-cant-believe-its-cauliflower-pizza.html and in her national column here http://www.examiner.com/low-carb-in-national/cauliflower-pizza-crust-worth-its-wow-gold . Check it out she has a wonderful blog with lots of other awesome recipes.


Earlier today I asked for healthier versions of foods that aren't so healthy.  Well Deb from http://debwillbethin.blogspot.com/ left me a comment about a Cauliflower Crust Veggie Pizza.  Well I just couldn't wait to make it so I looked up a version of it online at http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/entrees-phase-1/168163-cauliflower-pizza-crust.html.  I ran to the grocery store and got all the ingredients needed to make it plus what I wanted to top it with.  Here is what I used:

Crust
2 cups steamed cauliflower, mashed
2 eggs
2 cups mozzarella cheese
Italian seasoning, sprinkle over crust before baking

Mix cauliflower, eggs and mozzarella cheese and press evenly on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkle with italian seasoning.  Bake crust at 450 degrees for 15- 20 minutes or until browned.  Remove from oven and top with ingredients.

Topping
1/2 jar of pizza sauce
1 medium onion, sauteed
1 red pepper, sauteed
1 jar of sliced mushrooms, sauteed
16 turkey pepperoni
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Here is my pizza after baking the crust and topping with the ingredients and before I baked it:
(click to enlarge)
The recipe said to put the pizza under the broiler but I just continued to bake it at 450 degrees until the cheese was melted and browned.  Remove from oven and enjoy.

Here is my finished pizza:
(click to enlarge)

I have to say this was one of the best pizzas I've ever had, even my kids loved it.  I took a slice next door to my mom and dad and both of them loved it to so I have converted alot of people with this recipe.  Once I had enjoyed my pizza I returned to my blog where I found that Deb had left me comment letting me know where to find her posts on how to make this pizza.  Her posts can be found at the following links http://debwillbethin.blogspot.com/2010/06/pizza-pizza-pizza-no-wait-veggies.html and http://debwillbethin.blogspot.com/2010/06/pizza-questins-answered-here.html.   I have to say a big thanks to Deb for telling me about this pizza and I will never make my unhealthy version again. 

I also figured out the nutritional information on this pizza but I do have to say its kind of high because the grocery store that I went to didn't have lowfat cheese so I had to get the full fat kind.

Here is the nutritional info compared to a restaurant vegetarian pizza.

              Vegetarian Pizza(1/8 pizza)    Cauliflower crust pizza(1/6 pizza)
Calories              270                                             226
Fat                      4.5g                                            14g
Sodium               530mg                                        441mg
Carbs                  32g                                              9g
Fiber                    2g                                               2g
Sugar                   4g                                               3g
Protein                 13g                                             19g

The fat would have been alot lower if I had used a lower fat cheese which I will make sure I use next time.  Give this recipe a try you will not be sorry I can promise you.

10 comments:

  1. :D So glad you liked it! My version uses less cheese--which probably means that yours tasted better! And mine did not use the egg yolks. Both of those difference would change the fat and calories. Either way, it was good, healthier AND gluten-free. So a winner in my book. :D.

    Thanks for the mention. Wahoo, healthier pizza!
    I'm so thrilled that you liked it.

    Deb

    ReplyDelete
  2. Holy cow! I have SO got to try this! Thanks for sharing Deb and Christina!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Deb I'm definitely going to use lower fat cheese next time and it didn't even cross my mind to use egg beaters instead of regular eggs. I think I could do both those things and this would still be an incredible pizza. I did see your notes on reducing the water content in the cauliflower and I may try that next time. I'm also going to dice up the red pepper instead of slicing it just so its more uniformly distributed. I've never even had red pepper before so thats a new veggie added to my list I like.

    Kalena let me know how you like it because we all loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sure wish I liked cooked cauliflower but I'm working on a "pizza crust" using flaxmeal. Sounds overall good tho. Vee at http://veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Okay, I'm finally going to try this. My 3 year old just got really into helping make pizza. She loves loading it with veggies, but I still don't like the idea of the crust.
    I'm going to check out Deb's recipes.
    Thanks for the great photos. Hard to resist those!

    ReplyDelete
  6. OMG. This sounds so freaking good. This is going on the menu for next week. I love the cut in the amount of carbs.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Vee you can't even taste the cauliflower or at least I couldn't, the cheese mask the taste.

    Rock Paper Tree I was skeptical about the crust to but once I tried it I loved it. It does have a different texture then regular crust and you have to eat it with a fork but it is so good. Definitely check out Deb's post because she has so wonderful tips to make the crust even better.

    Kimberly you are in for a treat with this recipe and I promise you it will be a permanent add on to your menu from now on.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I made homemade pizza for my sister and niece... my niece was so skeptical that she wanted to bring her "own" regular crust. I politely refused. And guess what? They loved the homemade pizzas with the cauliflower crust!
    And no, it doesn't taste like cauliflower. I added a little garlic and Italian seasoning to the crust. Yummmm!

    Loretta
    =^..^=

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rettakat I forgot to list that on my ingredients I did sprinkle italian seasoning over my crust before I baked it I will correct that right now on my recipe.

    I loved this pizza so much that tonight I'm making a chicken alfredo pizza with this same crust. I will be posting the recipe and review here in alittle while.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey there! :)

    I just started a weekly baking meme if you'd like to add it to mine. This would be perfect and looks delicious!! :)

    http://goobergrapemonkeyman.blogspot.com/2010/10/goober-monkey-bakes-pumpkin-patch.html#comments

    ReplyDelete