Cauliflower Crust “Pizza” with Chickpea “Pepperoni”.

Oh man, I never thought I’d go here…

But then I did, and I was like, “it’s definitely not REAL pizza, but I mean, it’s pretty freaking good.

The way I look at cauliflower pizza is this, with plenty of cheese and veggies, something you know I am so A-OK with, how could you not at least give it a try?

People who are not OK with this pizza? The brothers… like all of them, except Brenda (…ooops meant to write Brendan, but Asher calls him Brenda, so we’ll go with it) who is the odd brother and actually eats, and loves, pretty much any and all foods, including veggies. So Brendan was all for this, but the rest of them were pretty freaked.

ANYWAY, the point is that I made a cauliflower pizza crust and I was into it! Granted, I think my chickpea “pepperoni” played a pretty delicious role in this pizza too. Alright and the buffalo mozzarella too, oh how I love buffalo mozzarella.

First though until we get into this recipe. Let’s talk weekend things!!

Mine was umm full. Full of jam-packed days… and food, so much food. If you follow along on snapchat (follow hbharvest) than you already know this. In fact, people have been leaving me messages about all the food that was made. Comments like, “did you really make all those recipes in ONE day” and, “how the heck are you so tiny” and, “who’s going to eat all that food” and, “oh man, send me those drinks”. I can’t lie, it has been A LOT. Too many recipes for sure, but oddly I am really enjoying it. I find the busier I am the better, so I guess all is cool with the world.

Also, I spent my last day for quite a while filming with Kai. We made some new shorter, quick videos that I think you guys will really love. He’s back at school finally, longest spring break I have ever heard of. Although I can’t say he really had much fun. Getting your tonsils out sounds like the worst. Kai has a huge pain tolerance (think broken femur, hip surgeries and finally a hip replacement – at 13!) but he thought getting his tonsils out was pretty painful. Not being able to eat (necessary for taking pain-killers) was huge for him. Swallowing water was necessary yet so very painful. Gotta say, I’m pretty glad I don’t have any of the issues he did!

On the flip side, I am jealous of his LA lifestyle. The really good news though? On Saturday, I was out hiking and you guys?!?!?! Guess what?!?!

FLOWERS!!

I saw little yellow flowers peeking out of the dirt and it made my day. YEAHH!! Spring is coming to the mountains, about time! 🙂

So yeah, that’s kind of my weekend in a nutshell.

NOW.

Pizza time!

If a cauliflower crust kind of sort of scares you, don’t let it. It’s not a hard or a tricky thing to make. It’s also really great for when you want cheese, but maybe not the carbs…

Wait, is that even a thing? I mean, carbs? They’re my favorite. Which is probably why I totally had a side of toast with my pizza. Sorry not sorry.

Here’s the deal. The crust is simple, just pulse your cauliflower in a food processor until it looks kind of like rice. Then dump it into a clean lightweight kitchen towel and ring out all that extra water. Now add the cauliflower to a bowl with an egg, some cheese and some salt. Mix, place it on a baking sheet and pat it into a pizza shape.

Bake.

Flip.

Bake.

Add your toppings, which for us today means tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella (or regular mozzarella, but if you have yet to experience the deliciousness that is buffalo mozzarella, now is SO the time!), parmesan and lots and lots of fresh basil.

Going all Margherita style today!

Oh but those chickpea “pepperoni”? THOSE… let’s talk about those.

Chickpea pepperoni are maybe the best thing to happen to chickpeas – like ever. They are a vegan’s dream. If you previously loved pepperoni, but then went vegan and can no longer enjoy them, these are your answer. They are DELICIOUS. The flavor is so spot on pepperoni it’s insane. Obviously the texture is different, but promise, these are SO good. They make the pizza – spicy, herby and simply addicting. A must make, really for anytime. Think pasta, snacking, on toast, bagel pizzas, subs, salads the options are endless!

I feel like a lot of you are wondering about the texture of the crust though. Like does it hold up against all the sauce and the cheese??

Answer?

Totally depends. If you don’t pile on the cheese (like me) than yes, it holds up surprisingly well. If you add too much cheese though the crust gets a little moist and you may need to break out a fork to eat it. I’ve made this pizza three times in the last month. Twice with a normal amount of cheese and once with umm, a mass amount. All three were delicious, but if you’re going for more of a traditional pizza, just don’t over do it on the toppings and all will be good.

If all you want is some freaking cheese and don’t care about holding a slice of pizza in your hands, then please pile it on high.

Either way, this Cauliflower Crust “Pizza” is going to be GOOD.

And remember, DON’T even think about not trying those chickpeas, SOOOO GOOD.

And DONE. Happy pizza Monday guys!! ?

Oh and one other thing, I’m running a giveaway on Instgram for this amazing spiralizer. Announcing winners tonight, so check out my Instagram (check out the pasta post) for details!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Chickpea "Pepperoni".

3.90 from 29 votes

6 Servings

by Tieghan Gerard

calories 363kcal

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Prep15 minutes mins

Cook45 minutes mins

Total1 hour hr

The way I look at cauliflower pizza is this, with plenty of cheese and veggies, something you know I am so A-OK with, how could you not at least give it a try?

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

Cauliflower Crust

• ▢ 1 medium size head of cauliflower, cut into florets + roughly chopped
• ▢ 1/2 cup goat cheese
• ▢ 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ pinch of salt

Chickpea "Pepperoni"

• ▢ 1 ounce can chickpeas, drained + rinsed, 14
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• ▢ 1-2 teaspoons crushed red peper flakes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• ▢ 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• ▢ 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt

Toppings

• ▢ 1 cup of your favorite tomato sauce or crushed san marzano tomatoes
• ▢ 8 ounces buffalo mozzarella, sliced (or regular mozzarella)
• ▢ pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• ▢ 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• ▢ 1 cup fresh basil, roughly torn or chopped
• ▢ fresh arugula, for topping (optional)

Instructions 

Cauliflower Crust

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Add the roughly chopped cauliflower florets to a food processor and pulse until a rice like consistency is achieved. Dump the cauliflower out onto a lightweight clean kitchen towel. Gather up the sides of the towel and ring out as much water as possible from the cauliflower. This step is really important in achieving a good crust.
• Add the dry cauliflower to a large mixing bowl, add the goat cheese, parmesan cheese, egg and a pinch of salt. Mix until evenly combined.
• Dump the mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet and press into a 1/4 inch thick round or rectangle shaped crust. Make sure there are no thin spots in your crust and that it is packed tightly together.
• Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is dry and golden yellow. Using an extra large spatula to help, carefully flip the crust over and bake another 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the chickpea pepperoni, heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add all of the ingredients and toss well to evenly combine. Cook, stirring often until the chickpeas are warmed through and are golden crisp about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Once the crust is ready, remove it from the oven. Spread with pizza sauce and top with sliced mozzarella and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes + parmesan cheese. Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Add the chickpea pepperoni (you may not need to use/add all of the chickpea pepperoni) and bake another 5 minutes or until warmed through. Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil + arugula. Slice and serve with grated parmesan if desired. EAT!

Notes

*Chickpea "Pepperoni" inspired by Delicious Magazine February 2016 issue.

Nutrition

Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 819mg | Potassium: 274mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 2285IU | Vitamin C: 12.2mg | Calcium: 1032mg | Iron: 1.7mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.

Now let’s eat…slice after slice, with extra parmesan. Obviously. ???