Caprese Chicken Pizza with Cauliflower dough

Sounds crazy right?  Well I am here to tell you different...  If I told you that there is a way to make pizza with a great taste and reduce the calories of the dough by half, would that interest you?

We are always looking for low carb options on the recipe sites.  We already make mashed cauliflower to substitute potatoes.  My Spaniard found a recipe for a cauliflower pizza dough and tweaked it with his special style.  The first time we made it, was with coconut flour.  It didn't hold together as well. because you need some gluten to bind it better.  But it tasted great, for those who do need a gluten free option.  The second time we used regular white all purpose flour from Costco.  Here is the dough recipe:

1 egg
3 cups of steamed cauliflower drained and mashed and all water squeezed out in cheesecloth
1 cup flour
2 oz shredded white cheddar grated (optional)
1 tablespoon pepper (you can us less if you prefer)
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 cloves roasted garlic

toppings:

1/2 cup store bought pizza sauce
4 strips bacon cooked and crumbled
1/3 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup green or white sweet onions diced fine
1/2 cup cooked chicken breast diced into small pieces
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Mash cauliflower with garlic with a potato masher or fork, (or pulse in a food processor if you have one)   Add egg to mixture and mix well.  add 1/2 of the flour.  mix until fully incorporated.  Add rest of flour, pepper, cheese and yogurt.  Mix thoroughly.

heat oven to 450 degrees.

Spread mixture onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet or baking stone about 1/3 inch thick.  Dough will be wet and sticky, not like traditional pizza dough at all.  Bake for 15  minutes until top feels dry and bottom side is golden brown.

Remove from oven, flip dough over and bake another 15 minutes until bottom side is golden brown as well.  This will create a nice dry crust that you can top with anything.

Remove from oven, top with cheese, chicken, bacon and onion,  Return to oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  remove from oven and add diced tomatoes and basil.

Dough is soft but holds together well.  Does not have the same texture as regular pizza dough, We recommend eating it with a fork and knife.  By pre baking it for 15 minutes per side you get a better, more sturdy crust.  When you bake for the 10 minutes with toppings the edges get crispy.

This pizza is healthy low carb option for those on a diabetic or low carb diet.  We found the taste to be rich and more complex that typical pizza dough.  It was very filling after only 2 pieces.  There was enough dough to make 2 large cookie sheet rectangular pizzas which we cut into 4 pieces each.

Tip:  You can steam cauliflower in advance, puree or mash and let it drain overnight in a fine mesh strainer.  Roast garlic in advance and keep covered in a plastic container in the refrigerator.  If you want an even lower calorie dough omit the 2 oz shredded white cheddar cheese.

Nutritional information for dough only:
serving one slice (or 1/4 cookie sheet)
calories 110
protein  5 grams
carbs 12 grams
fiber 2 grams
fat 4 grams

Nutritional information of cauliflower dough without cheese in the dough
serving one slice
calories 82
protein 3.5 grams
carbs 12 grams
fiber 2 grams
fat 1 grams

Compare to traditional pizza dough:
serving size 1 slice
calories 245
protein 10 grams
fat 5 grams
carbs 45 grams
fiber .5 grams