Friday, March 25, 2011

Clean Eating Cauliflower Pizza Crust (and Cauliflower Bread Sticks!)

Makes 4 servings, 1 slice each
When I first saw this recipe HERE I thought, “No way! How could that possibly work?” But it totally did and let me just tell you it is AWESOME. I think this might be the ultimate veggie sneak :) Matt hates cauliflower. He calls it albino broccoli. But he loves pizza so he now loves something primarily involving cauliflower (insert evil cackle… and then remember that Matt reads this blog every day to find out what we’re having for dinner so he now knows that his pizza crust is made of albino broccoli… oops). Whatever, Matt, you know you’ll still eat it anyway.

This is seriously a bread stick made out of cauliflower!!! How cool is that?!
Ingredients:
  • ½ a head of cauliflower
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 tsp fennel
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 2 tsp parsley (you can use Italian seasoning or garlic or any spice combination you like instead of these three)
ONE: Wash cauliflower and remove leaves. Grate it until it is the size of rice. I use the shredder blade on my food processor but you could use a hand grater or a chef knife as long as you chop it VERY finely.

I literally took a bag of frozen cauliflower, shoved it into the top of my food
processor fitted with the shredding/grating blade, and turned it on.
TWO: Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe dish and cover. DO NOT ADD WATER because the cauliflower will absorb it all and turn to mush. Microwave on high 4-5 minutes until tender but not mushy.

THREE: Preheat oven to 450. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Scoop out one cup of the cooked cauliflower rice and mix with the egg and mozzarella.

FOUR: Press evenly onto the pan in a pizza dough shape and sprinkle with spices. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes (15-20 minutes if you double the recipe).

TO USE IMMEDIATELY: Spread pizza dough with a little bit of sauce and sprinkle with toppings and some mozzarella cheese. Place under the broiler on high heat and grill just until the cheese is melted.

TO FREEZE: Freeze leftovers or whole plain pizza crusts using the flash freeze method to feed your freezer stash.

TO MAKE BREAD STICKS:
ONE: Double the recipe. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of a cookie tray. Take that same piece of parchment paper and line an 8x8 baking dish with it. Don’t cut it. (Or use a single batch and put it in a loaf pan... but it doesn't make as many breadsticks and I PROMISE you you'll want more... immediately)

Single batch in a loaf pan
TWO: Spread the unbaked “dough” into the baking dish, pressing down with a spatula to cover the bottom evenly. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 20-25 minutes until dough is set, just starting to brown around the edges and not wet on top.


THREE: Remove pan from oven and increase temp to 450. Transfer the parchment and set dough to the baking sheet. Cut the dough into strips and separate carefully. Sprinkle with garlic powder and a little parmesan or shredded cheese if desired (I did).


FOUR: Bake another 15 minutes in 450 degree oven until top is slightly browned and bottoms are crispy. Cool on a wire rack.


NUTRITION INFO:

Per serving (1/4 of the recipe) - 121 Calories (62 Calories from Fat), 7g Total Fat, 4g Saturated Fat, 62mg Cholesterol, 188mg Sodium, 5g Carbohydrates, 2g Dietary Fiber, 2g Sugar, 10g Protein, 6% DV Vitamin A, 60% DV Vitamin C, 24% DV Calcium, 5% DV Iron

:)

19 comments:

  1. This looks amazing, I'm going to try this soon!

    I tried your whole wheat pizza recipe and it came out great. I didn't take photos of the dough though b/c I didn't make it real pretty. I will reference it on my blog later this week though when I share the barbecue chicken pizza recipe I made with it!

    Mandy

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  2. Mandy, this seriously rocked my world :) You know what a goofball I am so I know you can picture me running around squealing and doing my happy dance when it actually worked. This was up there with the first time I made homemade yogurt and it was actually yogurt in the morning. But I IMMEDIATELY regretted only making a single batch so I recommend doubling or tripling the recipe if you're doing breadsticks :) I think we need to have a playdate on BBQ Chicken Pizza day, hehehe.

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  3. I tried these tonight and they turned out ok. I think I made them too thick so they didn't firm up too well. But they tasted yummy, so I'll try them again.

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  4. I made these last night. They were yummy! Even my husband liked them.
    Danette

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  5. Ok Briony...how can this possibly work? I see it but I don't believe it! Is the cauliflower smell super strong? I tried mixing pureed cauliflower into scrambled eggs and the smell was so overpowering that I couldn't eat them. I love cauliflower though, so I will give these a try!

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  6. Cheryl, thickness is DEFINITELY important as far as getting the right texture goes. Just like any other dough, a thicker dough will make squishier bread and a thinner dough will make crispier bread.

    Jen, I don't know but it TOTALLY does and it's the coolest thing EVER!! This rocked my world :) Matt loathes cauliflower but still scarfed these down.

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  7. These ROCKED!! Anyone who knows me knows I'm definitely not a healthy eater (or a great cook!). But I will definitely be making these at my house!! Oh, and I couldn't even taste the cauliflower, which is another great selling point to me :)

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  8. I can't wait to try this. I have made the mock mashed potatoes w/cauliflower and I loved it. What would be the best way to thaw and reheat the bread sticks and pizza crust.

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  9. Hi. I just wanted to clarify....you bake the crust alone first, then freeze or top it?

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  10. Yes, bake first then freeze or top.

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  11. Hi,
    wanted to know how I can "cook" the cauliflower rice without
    using the microwave.
    Any suggestions?
    I was thinking of putting it in my dehydrator and that way it will soften up a bit.
    Thank you in advance!
    I cannot wait to try this!!!!!

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    Replies
    1. You could steam it. I've never used a dehydrator so I'm not sure how that would work. Good luck!!!

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    2. I just steam in a basket steamer on the stove. It still works!

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  12. We made these tonight and they turned out so yummy... The kids also had pizza and loved it... Any thoughts on doing dairy free?

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  13. Just made them -- too thick though. But still tasty! My kids didn't care for it, but that's okay -- more for me! Thanks for the great recipe.
    :)

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  14. These breadsticks sound delish!! I made the cauliflower pizza crust a couple of times and LOVE IT!! I had to eat it with a fork, but I don't mind....anyways, how would i freeze the plain crust? Do I pre-bake it and then freeze it? Or put it all in raw? And do you think I could pre-assemble the ingredients and put it in a baggie? Like, rice the cauliflower, add the cheese and spices, then freeze (because it takes a long time for me to hand-grate the cauliflower!)? Defrost it and then press it in a pizza pan? Also . . . if I wanted to pre-make the breadsticks, could I bake those individually and then freeze them? or what would the best method be? Thanks!!

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  15. Do you have to use mozzarella or can you use cheddar??????

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  16. Such great recipes!! I absolutely love your humor too! We have a soon to be 4 year old and a 2 year old so ive been looking for much healthier recipes for my family. I want them to eat right and get the nutrients they need (we have some picky eaters, husband included!). Look forward to reading more of your blog.

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  17. I would love to know how to use the cauliflower pizza dough after freezing. Defrost first?

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