Procrastination Recipe: Cauliflower Pizza (Gluten Free)

I was in Trader Joe's the other day and discovered they had Riced Cauliflower in both the produce and freezer sections. I had never noticed it before and was thrilled. I'd seen pictures of pizza made with a cauliflower crust on Instagram and wanted to try it. When I told the cashier what I planned to do with the cauliflower (he suggested using it in place of rice or in soups) he was intrigued. We agreed it would certainly need seasoning as cauliflower is fairly bland on its own.

I defrosted half of the bag (the entire bag is 12oz.) and mixed in about a half cup of Gluten-free panko crumbs and one egg. Then, because seasoning would be key, I threw in a few shakes of garlic salt, some salt and pepper and then some red pepper flakes to really jazz things up. 

It was a wet but crumbly consistency, as opposed to how wheat dough comes together into a ball, so I poured it onto a baking sheet that I'd sprayed (you could also use parchment paper if you have it), smushed it and shaped it into the thickness I wanted, and drizzled a little olive oil (that came straight from Italy after the last time I puppysat Sir Nemo, and trust me it's delish).

I baked it in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes (keeping an eye on it), until the outer edge started to turn a light brown. Then, leaving the oven on, I pulled it out to top it.

I don't often keep tomato sauce in my cabinets, but I always have BBQ sauce, and honestly, pizza is delicious with BBQ sauce. I sliced up a tomato, some cheddar cheese, slathered on some BBQ, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and then for good measure I laid a couple horseradish cheese from the deli on top.

Then I continued to bake it for another 5-7 minutes, until the cheese was totally melted. And then, just because, I grabbed a big ole handful of arugula and covered the pizza. 

I was wary of the first bite, because it could have tasted bland, or been wet still (no one likes a soggy pizza), or just not tasted good at all. And maybe the key is to cover it with delicious flavors such as cheese and BBQ sauce and arugula, but this was absolutely delicious. And now I can feel like I'm eating pizza at home without the catastrophic results of eating regular wheat pizza. And even if you aren't gluten intolerant, this is a super healthy alternative to making regular dough. 

Happy Eating!!

~Stephanie