Foolproof Pepperoni Cauliflower Pizza
Martina Slajerova- Ready in 1h
- 6.1 g net carbs
- 369 kcal
- Serves 4
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I've always liked the taste of pizza crust made with cauliflower but I was never a fan of the cooking technique that always seemed to result in the same moist texture. This is an improved version of my original cauli-pizza recipe which I posted on my blog more than 2 years ago.
Compared to my previous recipe, I used less ingredients and also tried two new techniques that make the pizza crispier and full of flavor.
What I realized is that cooking the cauli-rice on a pan instead of steaming and squeezing the excess moisture out makes a difference. It enhances the flavor and also removes the excess water so that the cauli-crust can be cooked to perfection without being too soggy.
Another technique I used is flipping the crust throughout the baking process to further crisp it up. In fact, it's the same technique that I used to make my cauli-bread bites!
The best way to serve cauli-pizza is with a bowl of crispy greens, olive oil, lemon and your favorite seasoning to taste. If you like pizza, make sure you also check out these recipes!
Step-by-step
Preheat the oven to 200 °C/ 400 °F (fan assisted), or 220 °C/ 425 °F (conventional). Start by grating the cauliflower to make the cauli-rice by following this recipe.
Heat a large pan with 2 teaspoons of ghee over medium-high heat. Add the cauliflower rice, season with salt, and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until most of the moisture is gone. Take off the heat.
Transfer the cooked cauliflower rice to a bowl. Add 1 cup grated mozzarella, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, and garlic powder.
Add the dried oregano and egg white. Mix well with your hands until the dough comes together.
Place the dough on a pizza tray (I used a 13-inch/ 33 cm tray) lined with strong parchment paper and flatten to create the pizza crust using your hands. The crust should be no more than 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick, ideally less.
Bake for 15–20 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover with another sheet of parchment, and flip the crust onto the new paper so it’s upside down.
Peel off the top parchment (use a knife to loosen if needed). Brush the crust with the remaining 1 tespoon of ghee.
Return to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove the crust from the oven and spread the marinara on top.
Add the remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese and top with slices of Pepperoni (I put 2 layers of Pepperoni, about 30 slices).
Place back in the oven and cook for another 5-10 minutes until crisped up.
When done, remove from the oven and set aside to cool down for 5 minutes. Finish with fresh basil before serving. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat before eating.
Recipe
Foolproof Pepperoni Cauliflower Pizza
★★★★★4.7The best way to prepare low-carb cauliflower crust pizza. Once you use this double-baking method you'll never ...
- Hands on
- 20m
- Overall
- 1h
- Servings
- 4
- 6.1 g
- Net carbs
- 22.4 g
- Protein
- 27.7 g
- Fat
- 369
- kcal
Ingredients makes 2-4 servings, one medium/ large pizza
- Pizza crust:
- Topping:
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 °C/ 400 °F (fan assisted), or 220 °C/ 425 °F (conventional). Start by grating the cauliflower to make the cauli-rice by following this recipe.
Heat a large pan with 2 teaspoons of ghee over medium-high heat. Add the cauliflower rice, season with salt, and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until most of the moisture is gone. Take off the heat.
Transfer the cooked cauliflower rice to a bowl. Add 1 cup grated mozzarella, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, and garlic powder.
Add the dried oregano and egg white. Mix well with your hands until the dough comes together.
Place the dough on a pizza tray (I used a 13-inch/ 33 cm tray) lined with strong parchment paper and flatten to create the pizza crust using your hands. The crust should be no more than 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick, ideally less.
Bake for 15–20 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover with another sheet of parchment, and flip the crust onto the new paper so it’s upside down.
Peel off the top parchment (use a knife to loosen if needed). Brush the crust with the remaining 1 tespoon of ghee.
Return to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove the crust from the oven and spread the marinara on top.
Add the remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese and top with slices of Pepperoni (I put 2 layers of Pepperoni, about 30 slices).
Place back in the oven and cook for another 5-10 minutes until crisped up.
When done, remove from the oven and set aside to cool down for 5 minutes. Finish with fresh basil before serving. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat before eating.
Nutrition per serving, ¼ pizza
Carbs 7%Protein 25%Fat 68% of calories
- Net carbs
- 6.1 g
- Total carbs
- 8.1 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugars
- 2.9 g
- Protein
- 22.4 g
- Fat
- 27.7 g
- Saturated fat
- 12.8 g
- Calories
- 369 kcal
- Sodium
- 1,089 mg · 47.4% RDA
- Magnesium
- 38 mg · 9.38% RDA
- Potassium
- 423 mg · 21.2% EMR
Nutrition by ingredient
| Per 1/4 pizza | Net carbs | Protein | Fat | kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cauliflower rice, homemade (cauli-rice, KetoDiet app) | 2.2 g | 1.4 g | 0.2 g | 19 |
| Ghee, clarified butter | 0 g | 0 g | 3.8 g | 34 |
| Oregano, dried | 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 |
| Garlic powder, spices | 0.2 g | 0.1 g | 0 g | 1 |
| Egg white, fresh | 0.1 g | 0.9 g | 0 g | 4 |
| Mozzarella cheese (low moisture, for pizza) | 1.6 g | 6.7 g | 5.6 g | 83 |
| Parmesan cheese | 0.4 g | 4 g | 2.9 g | 44 |
| Salt, sea salt | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Marinara sauce | 0.7 g | 0.2 g | 2.4 g | 25 |
| Mozzarella cheese (low moisture, for pizza) | 0.8 g | 3.4 g | 2.8 g | 42 |
| Parmesan cheese | 0.1 g | 0.9 g | 0.6 g | 10 |
| Pepperoni, salami, pork or beef | 0 g | 4.8 g | 9.4 g | 105 |
| Basil, fresh | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Total | 6.1 g | 22.4 g | 27.7 g | 369 |
Serving size 1/4 pizza
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Avocado free
- Coconut free
- Fish free
- Shellfish free
- Beef free
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Comments & ratings (35)
AMAZING!!!! It is totally mind blowing how good this is! Thank you for sharing! Love from Malaysia xox.
Thank you for your lovely feedback! ❤️
Thanks for recipe made it and my husband and I loved it will make again and again. Thanks
Looks good on paper, and it took a lot of time. I had high hopes. The flavour is good, but the resulting crust was just like all the other recipes I've tried. Sloppy and soggy.
I think it may have needed more baking? This pizza will not be exactly like a "regular" pizza but it should not be soggy.
Best Cauliflower Pizza recipe I've come across. The crust has always been an issue for me, but this recipe makes it perfect. Bravo!
Today, I addded a step.
After the crust cooked in the oven, I put it in the dehydrator for 4 hours.
It came out solid and crispy.
I did not put any toppings on or rebake it.
The crust did not last that long... Had to eat it right away.
Tomorrow, I will cook crust, deehydrate, put toppings on and rebake the toppings.
I am betting it will be awesome!!
Thank you for the great tip, Craig! That sounds amazing - cauli-crisps! 😊
Is it possible to make this crust without the cheese and still have a good result?
Hi Kelly, I doubt it - mozzarella is what makes the dough bind. I suggest you try this recipe instead: Thin Keto Pizza Crust
Looks great, I cant wait to try it. One question, I am allergic to eggs and would sub in a chia seed "egg" for the eggwhite, do you think that will work or should I add in something else as a binder?
Hi Peter, I don't know about chia seed + water (chia egg) but I think it should work. Another option is to make it with flax meal. For one egg, you just mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3-4 tablespoons of water.
Has anyone tried this recipe using a pizza stone? I have one I used to put in the oven, then pre-heat (450-500ºF) for 30-45 minutes and then the pizza dough only needed a couple of minutes to cook. I would be worried about burning this 'dough' because of the cauliflower, but maybe it could be flipped only on one side, taken out and add the toppings before put the uncooked side down. I might keep the parchment paper to try it in any case.
Hi John, I would definitely keep the parchment paper. Let me know if you try it!
This recipe looks great, I will definitely try it out. I am just wondering why this version has more than double the calories than your first version?
Thank you Johana - it's because the first version lists nutrition facts per slice while this one is for 2 slices.
I'm confused. Nutrition info above says 5 net carbs is for a serving, 1/4 of pizza. But you're saying it's actually supposed to be for 2 servings, 1/8 of the pizza?
Nutrition facts are per 1/4 pizza which is a standard serving. One pizza makes 2-4 servings which means that some people will have 1/2 pizza, while others will have 1/4 pizza (standard serving). I realised that when I made it for me and my partner and he ended up eating half of it while I only had 1/4 pizza.
It still has double the calories though?
The original recipe says 1/8 of the pizza has 103 calories. By that math, 1/4 of the pizza (double serving of the original) should have 206 calories.
But this recipe says 1/4 of the pizza has 438 calories, which is more than double that or the original recipe. That also means that 1/8 of *this* pizza has 219, double 1/8 of the original recipe.
I'm confused!
Hi Josh, apart from a different technique, the "original" recipe uses fewer ingredients (nutrition facts shouldn't be compared). It's fair to say that this recipe is quite different from the original 😊
I just made this and it was INCREDIBLE! I made a few mistakes. This morning I followed the link to how to make cauli-rice. Then I cooked it in the microwave and saved it for tonight. Tonight as I finished the recipe, I saw that it said, don't cook the rice. So my crust was soggy. Rather than following the link, could I have just grated 2 cups of cauliflower? But even so, it was incredible! I used butter instead of ghee; is that ok? The marinara was delicious! I posted the recipe link on my Facebook page and my notifications exploded! Thank you!
Thank you Amy! If you cook the cauliflower (like it says in the cauli-rice link), you can still use it for the crust if you squeeze the excess water out just like I did here: Cauliflower Crust Pizza With Mushrooms and Pepperoni
I think that cooking the rice on pan (drying out) results in better taste and texture but you can use either technique 😊
I made the pizza and it was indeed delicious. But I must be the 'fool' that got away because once I covered the base with the tomato sauce it became very soggy. Loved the flavour of the cooked cauliflower base though, even without topping.
I think you may need to use less of it? When I make the marinara, it's quite thick and oily and I only spread a thin layer on top. The crust doesn't stay exactly as crispy as before adding the topping but it shouldn't get soggy. Or you may want to try skipping the marinara and use it only as a dip after the pizza is baked - that should work 😊
Good idea. Will certainly try again. Thank you.
I've been fancying a pizza for ages. This has inspired me to update my shopping list and get cracking with it. Thank you.
Thank you, hope you like it Wendy! 😊
Can the bases be made in advance and frozen?
I haven't tried freezing it but it should work. I'd bake the crust first (without topping), let it chill and then freeze. I think that if you make 4 small individual pizza crusts instead of one large it might be better for freezing. I'd then leave it at room temperature to defrost, place in the oven on low (if too moist just to dry it out a bit) and then add the topping and bake for just 5 minutes at 200 C / 400 F.
I love the topping on your original pizza so I'll add some mushrooms to this one... yum yum gotta get some cauliflower now!
Thank you Rebecca 😊
This is the best cauliflower pizza I've ever had! I wish I could post an image here, still can't believe how good it is. Thank you!!! 😊
Thank you Katie!!
What would be a good sub for ghee? Butter, coconut oil?
Coconut oil or lard would be best instead of ghee (high smoke points) 😊