Blue Cheese Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe

With the popularity of low-carb diets these days, the cauliflower pizza crust has risen to unexpected fame. Who would have ever guessed this humble, and honestly sort of bland, cruciferous vegetable would become the must-have foundation for an array of healthy pizza topping?! We’re riding that food trend and magnifying the flavor exponentially with the addition of aged blue cheese baked right there in the crust. That’s right, blue cheese in the crust!

Making a Blue Cheese Cauliflower Pizza Crust that turns out crisp and crunchy every time is really quite simple, if you follow a few essential steps. Initially, you must decide what type of cauliflower to use – a fresh head of cauliflower that has been pulsed into bits in a food processor, a store-bought bag of fresh riced cauliflower (sometimes called “bits”), or even thawed frozen cauliflower florets.

After chopping up cauliflower into small, rice-like pieces in a food processor or by hand, it will need to be steamed in the microwave or on the stove-top and then squeezed dry. Unless you want a soggy pizza, DO NOT skip the step to place the steamed cauliflower in a clean dish towel and squeeze repeatedly until water and excess moisture is extracted.

After getting the cauliflower as dry as possible (it will still be a tad moist), stir it to a bowl with almond meal, cheese, and an egg. Line a round pizza pan with parchment paper cut to fit and pour out “dough,” pressing down with fingers to spread out, flatten, and create an approximate 9- to 10-inch diameter circle. Cooking the crust is a two-stage process after the first 12 minutes, slide the parchment paper off the pan with the crust still intact. Replace pan on top of exposed side of crust, invert quickly and then carefully peel off the parchment and dispose. For maximum crispiness, the crust is baked a second time – it should be firm and able to pick up gently when cooled.

This Blue Cheese Cauliflower Pizza Crust is flavorful enough to slice into wedges and eat unadorned. But, of course, the toppings are what makes pizza so special, so feel free to add your favorite pizza toppings and stick under the broiler for a few minutes, watching carefully and removing when additional cheese is bubbling and veggies softening. Word of caution, if you use too much sauce or juicy vegetables, the crust could soften up. An alternative is to sauté toppings in a pan and then add to the warm crust, along with cheese sprinkles, right before serving.

I dressed my Blue Cheese Cauliflower Pizza Crust with fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced tomatoes and cremini mushrooms!