Battle of the Crazy-Healthy Pizza Crusts
A lot of you have seen on FB and Instagram that I've been making both spaghetti squash and cauliflower pizza crusts this week. I promised you the recipes, so here they are!
Spaghetti Squash Pizza Crust
4 cups cooked spaghetti squash
1/2 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
3 egg whites
2 tea Italian seasoning or fresh herbs like basil, rosemary, parsley, etc.
2 cloves minced fresh garlic
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cook the spaghetti squash as you normally would, and remove excess moisture using a strainer. Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl with hands until mixed thoroughly. Place parchment paper on a pizza pan or cookie sheet, and lightly spray non-stick cooking spray. Some liquid will have settled around the mixture in the mixing bowl. Lift out the mixture letting the liquid drain off. Flatten and shape spaghetti squash into a round or rectangle shape. Bake for about 15 minutes or until slightly browned around the edges.
At this point, you can top it with whatever you would like! Put pizza sauce on first, then toppings, then cheese. I didn't list toppings because those are up to you. The first one I made, I topped with Canadian bacon and pineapple on one side, and mushrooms, green peppers, onion and black olives on the other.
The second one I made, I got really creative! I decided to try prosciutto, dates and goat cheese drizzled with a balsamic reduction. All you have to do is put about 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar into a small pot, and warm on low until it thickens into a syrup.
After you top the pizza, bake for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and a little bit browned if you like it that way. If you're making the prosciutto, date and goat cheese pizza, drizzle with balsamic reduction right after you remove from the oven. Enjoy! (Make sure you use a fork to eat it, because you won't be able to hold pieces in your hand.)
Cauliflower Crust Pizza
I have had a recipe for this sitting around my apartment for like 6 months. Cauliflower is a pain in the ass! I really do like it for so many things, but it's messy and just not the easiest thing to cut up and get how you want it. This recipe actually doesn't require the cauliflower to be cut up any certain way, though. You just cut it into a few medium sized chunks, and run it through a cheese grater to prepare it for the crust. Here's what you'll need:
1 head cauliflower (ends up being close to 2.5 cups of shredded cauliflower)
1/2 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
One egg
2 tea Italian seasoning, or fresh herbs of your preference (I used fresh basil and fresh rosemary)
1 tea minced garlic
The recipe says to warm up the cauliflower in the microwave for a few minutes to soften it, but I actually forgot. It still turned out great, though.
Preheat oven to 450. Mix the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Place parchment paper on a pizza pan or cookie sheet like I explained above, and shape the mixture into a round or rectangular, flat crust.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Take out, top with sauce, then toppings, then cheese, and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
It turned out really good!
After having both of these pizzas for lunch all week, I have to say I think I like the spaghetti squash crust better. I feel like the flavor of the spaghetti squash is more neutral than the cauliflower. It seems to not be such a pronounced flavor and compliments the different toppings better. That's just my opinion, and you should try them both and see for yourself! If you aren't a fan of either crust and prefer to avoid gluten, try Dominos gluten free crust. It does run the risk for cross contamination being made in the same kitchen as other pizzas, but it's ok for those of us that are just gluten free without Celiac disease. For a GF crust, it is amazing!
I hope you guys have good luck making these! Let me know which one you like the best!
Happy Trails!
Stacey
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