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Okay, so I've never actually had cauliflower rice before...like ever...never seen the point. Every time that I buy cauliflower to make it, I get lazy and just do my regular thing with cauliflower.  But this week, I was determined to try something new!!

I decided that cauliflower rice wasn't going to cut it for me today.  And with it being a weekend, and having a bit more free time, I thought I'd be adventurous.  So I set out to make a cauliflower rice crust for pizza.  Plus, my daughter has been asking for pizza all week for supper.  So, I thought double-whammy!

From what I've heard from many other people, their cauliflower rice crusts never really hold up and you end up eating your pizza with a fork.  I'm one of those weird people who actually always has eaten pizza with a fork, even before I went vegan & plant-based.  So I truly didn't mind if our pizza ended up just looking like a big pile of toppings in the middle of our plate being scooped up with our forks.

My word, this recipe blew me away!  Not only did this crust taste INCREDIBLE, but it actually held ALL of the ridiculous amounts of toppings that I loaded onto it after the fact ... and NEVER crumbled! I was seriously blown away by it!!

I researched a number of different vegan recipes to get the gist of what I needed to aim for.  Then I made my own rendition based on my cooking style.  This pizza is dairy-free, gluten-free, plant-based, oil-free*, and loaded with plant-based protein, veggies, and healthy fats!

Everything we ate tonight was homemade, so I'll list links to my hummus and cashew cheese recipes in the notes below!  Truthfully, I wouldn't consider this to be a meal we eat regularly, just because it was not my usual, lazy way, of cooking.  However, it was delicious enough that this will be put into our weekend rotation meals! I mean, like, my husband has told me that we're going to eat it every night! I'm thinking more like Saturday family pizza nights. The meal definitely takes some planning ahead, so save it for when you know that you have time to commit to it.  I think in all, it probably took me about 40 active minutes to make this meal, and then 40 minutes of cooking. However, you can definitely cut back on time if you already have hummus and chopped veggies on hand. I normally do but have not yet done any meal prepping, so I had to start from scratch.

Pizza Crust Ingredients (Makes a 13-15" pizza)

• 1 head of cauliflower, washed well - or 3 cups of cauliflower rice
• 1 2/3 cups of chickpea flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking soda
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking powder
• 1/4 cup of ground flax seeds
• 1/4 cup of ground chia seeds (or whole is fine)
• 1 tbsp of garlic powder
• 1 tsp of each salt & pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon of basil
• 1/2 tablespoon of oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon of parsley
• 2/3 cup of warm water

Instructions

1. Mix 1/3 cup of warm water with the chia seeds in a small bowl. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the dough.
2. Mix 1/3 cup of warm water with the flax seeds in a small bowl. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the dough.  
3. Chop the cauliflower into florets and then put them all into a food processor or blender and pulse until the cauliflower resembles rice.
4. Put the cauliflower rice and all of the ingredients into a large bowl.
5. Mix well and turn over the dough several times.
6. Put it into the fridge for about 30 minutes while you prep all of your toppings.
7. Once you take it out of the fridge, spread it onto a baking tray or pizza pan (on parchment paper, or use a small amount of oil* on the pan first) so that it's about 1/2" thick.
8. Bake in the oven at 400 F for 30 minutes, until the edges are brown and the center is no longer doughy.  It will still be soft, but not sticky.
9. Add your toppings and put back in the oven for about 10 minutes, then take out and enjoy!

I topped the crust with tomato sauce, homemade (oil-free) hummus, portobello mushrooms, yellow peppers, broccoli, shredded artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, and manzanilla-stuffed olives before spreading a homemade, ooey-gooey cashew-based cheese on top!

Notes