There's a funny (and kind of sweet) meme going around: "If cauliflower can somehow become pizza... you, my friend, can do anything." With the gluten free trend not going anywhere and more people trying to sneak vegetables into their daily meals, using cauliflower as everything from "steak" to bread to pizza crust has become a thing.
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However, making cauliflower pizza crust is something of an undertaking. It requires a food processor (or tons of intensive grating cauliflower florets by hand), careful wringing out all the water from cooked cauliflower wrapped in a dish towel, and a fair amount of prep time.
Good news: There are some great ready-made options for those nights when you just don't have time to go through the whole thing. Grocery stores are putting these kinds of products into the main stream, so you don't have to shop at specialty stores only to find these either. (Though it helps if you've got a Costco or a Trader Joe's in the area.) Here's where you can buy frozen cauliflower pizza crust, either plain or with toppings.
1. Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's has two popular cauliflower pizza crusts: one is just the crust, the other is a cheese pizza. The crust is so popular that some stores sold out of it when it was first offered. Several reviewers have noted that they like the taste of the pre-made cheese pizza better, but with a few tips the crust can be a great alternative. From the store:
"How to best enjoy this veggie-centric crust? The key is in the prep: bake it in a 450 degree oven without toppings, and once its crisped to your liking, add your desired toppings and broil for a few minutes more. And for breadsticks, simply crisp the plain Crust in the oven and slice into pieces for snacking or dipping."
Other tips include: use a thicker pizza sauce or treat it more like a flatbread and brush it with olive oil or butter instead of a sauce.
This gluten free crust is a made from cauliflower blended with corn flour, corn and potato starches, olive oil, and sea salt, it's designed to be baked right on the oven rack and then topped with your favorite toppings. The crust will run you $3.99. The cheese pizza is the cauliflower crust topped with sauce and mozzarella and provolone cheeses; it costs $4.99.
2. Costco
Costco now carries frozen pizzas with cauliflower crusts made by Milton's Craft Bakers that are huge hits with customers. The pizzas come in two flavors: roasted vegetable and Margherita four cheese. Both are certified gluten-free. The pizzas come two to a pack, and cost $14.
According to reviews, the crust turns cracker crisp as it cooks and you'll never know there's cauliflower in it. One satisfied pizza lover on Instagram noted that even her kids loved it, so if you're looking for a way to sneak a few more veggies into your family's daily diet these pizzas might be a good option.
3. Kroger
Kroger carries the Caulipower frozen crust that you can customize with your favorite pizza recipe, as well as the brand's three cheese, veggie, Margherita, and pepperoni frozen pizzas. Caulipower founder Gail Becker says that the company was born because of a Pinterest fail. She tried to make homemade cauliflower pizza crust for her two sons, who both have Celiac disease, but the process was such a mess and the end result not worth it. But sensing that the idea was good, Becker left her job and created Caulipower.
The folks over at Popsugar tried it and had nothing but good things to say about the pizzas.
"Is this really cauliflower?"
"Never would've guessed this is cauliflower — so good."
"It's not delivery, it's not DiGiorno . . . it's better."
"Cannot believe it's not bread!"
"This feels like a lie because it's so good."
Online Options
There are a couple of other cauliflower crust makers, and though you may find them at local natural food stores or even in Whole Foods in a few locations, the best way to get them is online directly from the company.
Cali'flour offers handcrafted flatbread-style pizza crusts, including flavors like red pepper and Italian. They also offer an entirely plant-based crust.
Cauli-crust is made by The Blooming Oven, a company whose two founders are New York pizza industry vets, so you know they know good pizza. The crust is also nut free, soy free, corn free, and kosher.
