Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Crust with Garlicky Mushroom & Tomato Topping
A crispy & delicious vegan cauliflower pizza crust recipe that’s easy to make and full of plant-based goodness. Top with garlicky mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes for a fuss-free dinner!
If you love crusty pizza, but hate the bloated feeling you get after eating it, this vegan cauliflower pizza crust is for you! A more nutritious option than some other gluten-free pizza bases, it’s packed with plant-based protein, is low-carb, and casually keto!
Some vegan cauliflower crust recipes call for a lot of faffing around and steaming the cauliflower before using it. But I haven’t found that to be necessary.
This easy cauliflower pizza recipe can be prepared in just 10-15 minutes (plus cooking time) and only requires 6 ingredients!
We love to pair ours with a simple topping of tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms and fresh herbs, but you can use whatever toppings you have on hand! For a chunkier pizza, you could even add some vegan pepperoni slices and vegan mozzarella, or try the toppings from our easy vegan chili pizza.
If you have fussy eaters in your house, this healthy cauliflower pizza is also an excellent way to sneak more vegetables into their diets. My son doesn’t like cauliflower rice on its own, but he’ll happily munch on cauliflower pizza!
Serve with a side salad, and maybe some crispy baked potatoes for a filling, healthy, and sumptuous vegan dinner or lunch. It also packs well and can be eaten cold for picnics and road trips!
Benefits of Cauliflower Crust
Our cauliflower pizza base is naturally vegan, low carb, gluten-free, oil-free, sugar-free and keto. But it has some other amazing credentials too:
- High in fiber
- Cauliflower is a natural anti-inflammatory
- It’s low in calories
- High in Vitamins K and C
- Contains antioxidants
Vegan Keto Cauliflower Pizza Ingredients
This gluten-free cauliflower pizza crust has just 6 simple ingredients.
- Cauliflower head
- Flaxseed Egg
- Coconut Flour
- Smoked Paprika
- Salt
- Dried Parsley
To make the optional vegan pizza toppings:
- Pureed Tomatoes or Pizza Sauce
- Mushrooms
- Sun-dried Tomatoes
- Garlic
- Dried Basil
- Dried Oregano
- Olive Oil
How to Make the Keto Cauliflower Base
Preheat your oven to 450°F/ 230°C
Make the flaxseed egg by mixing the flaxseed with water. Let it sit & become jelly-like while you make the rest of the pizza.
Chop your cauliflower head into florets. Then, using your food processor, or a hand-held grater, process the florets into cauliflower ‘rice’. Squeeze out any excess liquid with a tea towel.
In a medium bowl, place the dried cauliflower rice, flaxseed egg, coconut flour, smoked paprika, salt and parsley. Stir very well to combine.
It’s important the flaxseed egg is well mixed in, as it’ll become the glue that holds it together.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread the pizza dough out on it – it doesn’t matter if you want to make a circle or a square – go with the shape of the baking tray you have on hand.
Press with a spoon or your hands to get it set nice and firm on the tray.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown, before adding the toppings of your choice, or as suggested below.
How to Make the Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Toppings
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by mixing your pureed tomatoes or regular vegan pizza sauce with basil and oregano. Set aside.
Chop the mushrooms into slices and crush the garlic cloves.
Place olive oil in a heated skillet and add crushed garlic. Cook until fragrant and remove garlic from skillet. Add sliced mushrooms and cook until tender.
Once your pizza crust is ready, coat it with a layer of sauce and top with garlic-infused mushrooms and sundried tomatoes.
Put it back in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove, garnish with fresh herbs and cooked minced garlic.
Tips & Notes for Making Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Base
- Make cauliflower rice ahead of time and store it in bags or containers, already pizza-portion-sized in the freezer for even quicker meal prep. Or to enjoy vegan cauliflower pizza year-round (even when cauliflower isn’t in season). Just make sure to defrost it thoroughly and squeeze out any water before proceeding.
- Speaking of water, cauliflower is bursting with it, so you’ll want to make sure the cauliflower rice has been strained of any excess. If you try to make cauliflower pizza crust with wet cauliflower, it simply won’t hold together.
- You can use almond flour, oat flour, or spelt flour instead of coconut, depending on your diet restrictions/preferences.
- Don’t skip pre-cooking the pizza crust! If you just plonk the toppings on without cooking the crust first, you’ll end up with a soggy crust and/or burnt toppings.
- Experiment with different toppings and flavor combinations.
How to Store Cauliflower Pizza Crust
You can cook the cauliflower pizza crust ahead of time and store it in the freezer for quick weeknight dinners. Simply pop it in a sealed bag, or container, after cooking and cooling.
When you’re ready to use it, you can add the toppings directly and cook from frozen.
Other Vegan Dinner Ideas:
Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Ingredients
Pizza Crust
- 3 tbsp flaxseed
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 small cauliflower head approx 4-5 cups florets
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried parsley
Sauce & Toppings
- 1/3 cup pureed tomatoes or pizza sauce
- 2 cups mushrooms
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- For the pizza crust:Preheat oven to 450°F/ 230°C
- Make the flaxseed egg by mixing the flaxseed with water. Let it sit & become jelly-like while you make the rest of the pizza.
- Chop your cauliflower head into florets. Then, using the grating attachment on your food processor, or a hand-held grater, grate the florets into cauliflower ‘rice’. Squeeze out any excess liquid with a tea towel if necessary.
- In a medium bowl, place the cauliflower rice, flaxseed egg, coconut flour, smoked paprika, salt and parsley. Stir very well to combine. It’s important the flaxseed egg is well mixed in.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread the pizza dough out on it – it doesn’t matter if you want to make a circle or a square. Press with a spoon or your hands to get it set properly.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- For the sauce & toppings:Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by mixing your pureed tomatoes or regular vegan pizza sauce with basil and oregano. Set aside.
- Chop the mushrooms into slices and crush the garlic cloves.
- Place olive oil in a heated skillet and add crushed garlic. Cook until fragrant and remove garlic from skillet. Add sliced mushrooms and cook until tender.
- Once your pizza crust is ready, coat it with the pizza sauce and top with garlic-infused mushrooms and sundried tomatoes.
- Put it back in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove, garnish with fresh herbs and cooked minced garlic.
