Raw Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Cauliflower is an interesting vegetable. It certainly isn’t a glamour girl and often, I forget it even exists. But I shouldn’t. And it really is a star. Just a quiet one.
As a cruciferous vegetable, cauliflower is positively associated with cancer prevention. It is an excellent source of vitamin C and magnesium and is full of antioxidants and phytonutrients. It is anti-inflammatory, and also provides cardiovascular and digestive support!
Cauliflower also has a mild taste and adapts to many different uses. Mashed cauliflower (cooked) can easily replace mashed potatoes. It is delicious raw, and we have made it into “rice“, soup and a wonderful cauliflower mash that replaces mashed potatoes. We have even made cauliflower steaks! Cauliflower loves all kinds of different flavors and is extremely versatile.
Today, I am bringing you a raw cauliflower pizza! I am sure you have seen all of the cauliflower pizza crust recipes out there…but they are traditionally filled with cheese and eggs. This one is raw, vegan and delicious. We have even included baking instructions for the crust if you don’t have a dehydrator.
The ingredients are pretty simple. Cauliflower, pine nuts, ground golden flax, hemp seeds, garlic, basil, oregano and sun-dried tomatoes all come together to make a delicious, healthy, nutritionally packed crust. A little bit of lemon juice and optional nutritional yeast round out the flavor. You could eat this without any topping!
The cauliflower waiting for the rest of the ingredients.
The “dough” ready to be shaped.
Ready to go into the dehydrator.
The crust ready for toppings.
I have to say, I am thrilled with how this turned out. The taste is lovely and the toppings, tomato sauce and pine nut “cheese” spread go well with the basil, tomatoes and onions. The recipe for all, follows. Don’t be intimidated by this one. It comes together quickly with a food processor and blender.
Sources: WHFoods.org
Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Basil Tomato Sauce and Pine Nut "Cheese" Sauce
serves 4
Crust:
- 1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 4 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped or 1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 cup ground golden flax
- 1/3 cup hemp seeds
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, softened
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
- Place half the cauliflower in the food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Remove to bowl and set aside.
- Process the remaining cauliflower in the food processor. Add the previously chopped cauliflower to the chopped cauliflower in the food processor.
- Add pine nuts, garlic and basil. Pulse to combine.
- Add flax and hemp seeds. Pulse to combine.
- Add remaining ingredients, pulse to combine. You may have to stop and scrape down the sides.
- On a non-stick dehydrator sheet, shape 1/2 cup mixture into 5 to 6-inch circles that are 1/4-inch thick.
- Dehydrate at 145 for 30 minutes, then at 115 for 5 hours.
Tomato Sauce
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, softened
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- pinch Himalayan salt
- pinch fresh ground pepper
- Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
Pine Nut “Cheese” Spread
- 1 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon light miso
- 1/2 lemon, juice from
- pinch himalayan salt and pepper
- Place all ingredients in food processor and blend. Be careful not to over blend or you will get a nut-butter consistency.
Assembly
- 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
- nama shoyu or braggs liquid aminos
- 2 tomatoes, sliced
- fresh basil leaves
- Toss sliced onions with nama shoyu, braggs aminos or soy sauce alternative of choice.
- Place onions on dehydrator screen with tomato slices. Dehydrate for 2 hours. I do this while the crust is dehydrating. You want these wilted but not super dry.
- Spread a layer of pine nut “cheese” spread, then a layer of tomato sauce onto the crusts. Top with basil leaves, tomatoes and onions.
sandi wrote on September 14, 2015
I made these today, at the end of the 5 hours they were still raw on the underside, so flipped them over. They are still in the dehydrator and not as crisp as I would like after another 3 hours. ?? I made one anyway and loved the taste, I guess I should have turned them over after 3 or 4 hours. ?? Recipe says nothing about flipping ??… I will work with this as flavor is great., Thank you
Patty wrote on September 13, 2015
I’m excited to try this recipe!
Your photog is beautiful!!!!
Susan wrote on September 13, 2015
Thank you, Patty! I hope you love it as much as I do. Cheers!
Nthl wrote on September 7, 2015
Hello,
From what I understood of ‘Raw’ diet, the temperature of the dehydrator cannot exceed 100 degrees…after that it is call cooking the food.
Susan wrote on September 7, 2015
Hi, It’s not the temperature of the dehydrator, it is the temperature of the food. And the temperature that is commonly accepted is 118 degrees. You can start the dehydrator at a higher temperature because the food is just throwing off water. It is like when you are sweating…the water cools. It is actually healthier to start at a higher temperature because it cuts down the dehydration time which prevents bacteria growth and also unwanted fermentation. After dehydrating for 45 minutes to an hour at 145, you drop the temp to 115. That way, the food temperature never gets over what is considered safe for raw. 🙂
AlixE wrote on August 28, 2015
Oh my gosh finally a easy, plant based way to go..thank you so much. Going to make this weekend !!
Tracy wrote on August 25, 2015
Crust is amazing!!!! The fresh basil and sun dried tomatoes really made this taste great! A little extra time in the dehydrator (not crunchy) and you have a great cracker to eat with cashew cheese n chives . I have been making a baked cauliflower crust but I won’t be making that anymore! Raw for me! Thanks for making these recipes. You are definitely the Queen of Raw!
Adriana wrote on August 23, 2015
Hi, I just made this crust as it sounded delicious and baked it in the oven. I did the first 20 minutes and when I went to flip them over, they were completely stuck to the parchment paper! Has anyone else had this problem when baking?
Susan wrote on August 23, 2015
Hi, Adriana, Did you lightly oil the parchment?
Patsy wrote on June 30, 2015
Just looking into raw eating and your recipes sound exciting. I really would like to know if it’s okay to eat so many nuts?
Susan wrote on June 30, 2015
Nuts are very healthy for you. They protect against cardio vascular disease, provide healthy fats, omega 3s, fibre, good plant phenols and health-promoting compounds. They also are packed with protein, rich in vitamins, minerals and flavonoids, which help protect blood vessels and lessen inflammation. That said, it is recommended that you keep your consumption to around 2 oz a day. This recipe has 1.8 oz of nuts per serving so you are within your daily allowance. Cheers!
vanessa wrote on September 22, 2015
I wish I had known that from the start when I first started eating raw back in 2003 I was overdoing it with the nuts! I would recommend, from personal experience, that you germinate and sprout the nuts first before eating them to eliminate the natural enzyme inhibitors in them which I highly suspect caused my mysterious pains on my right side only after eating nuts that weren’t sprouted.
Susan wrote on September 23, 2015
Hi, Vanessa! Yes, that is why we recommend soaking nuts. It’s a great idea! Cheers!
Su wrote on June 27, 2015
Hey there, these are some awesome looking raw crackers. How long can they last in air tight containers?
Susan wrote on June 29, 2015
Hi, Su, This recipe is for a pizza crust, no crackers. Were you referring to another recipe? Cheers!
Sue wrote on June 25, 2015
I tried this, subbing the hemp seeds with sesame seeds (because I had no hemp seeds). I didn’t have a temperature-controlled dehydrator, only one of those round types with no fan. I used the silicone mats. It took 18 hours before the crusts were crisp and by the time they were, they had separated into tiny pieces, like cracked soil in the desert 🙁 . I decided it was time for a better dehydrator so I bought a small excaliber. I will try this recipe again and not sub out the hemp seeds. Maybe it will work out better.
Susan wrote on June 25, 2015
Hi, Sue,
I doubt it was the hemp seed substitution. Most likely it was your dehydrator. Dehydrators without fans or temp controls tend to run very hot. 18 hours is way too long for this recipe at that heat. And you do need to flip the crusts onto screens to finish the dehydration process. Basically your dehydrator dehydrated them to dust. I am happy you were able to get the Excalibur! You will notice a huge difference. Cheers!