Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Lunch Made Easy: Cauliflower Crust Lunchbox Pizza (with recipe)

Pizza is a favorite of Little Miss (and me too)! One reason since going gluten-free, I've been enjoying finding and making her fun alternatives to the "traditional crust" (such as the Chebe pizza muffins I made previously).

There are endless cauliflower crust recipes out there, most are very similar but with a twist on the seasonings and toppings used.
Here's my version which yields two crusts that fit perfectly inside this EasyLunchboxes container:



First, let me go over the rest of the lunch -
Top left are red seedless grapes and freeze dried banana slices.
Top right is a baby spinach salad with dry broccoli slaw. (Small container with dressing not pictured.)

Now for the pizza, yum!

Crust Ingredients:
3/4 of a whole head cauliflower
1/2 of a large beaten egg
1 tsp garlic salt w/ parsley seasoning
1/2 tsp Italian Herb (grinder) seasoning
1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese



First, I took approx 3/4 of a cauliflower head and chopped it into small dices, florets only - no stems or leaves. This yielded about 1 cup of cauliflower bits when complete. I then ran it trough my blender on process until it became a "flour" like texture.
In a large glass bowl, I microwaved the "flour" on high for five minutes.

After microwaving, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
I then added my egg, seasoning, and cheese to the bowl with the cauliflower and mixed with my hands.

On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, I began to form two mini lunchbox sized pizza crusts, approx 4.5" in diameter.
Give them a light spritz of cooking spray on the top and place in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes.


After they're done baking, top with pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings of choice.

We were out of pepperoni, buuuuut I made her something better...
Chicken bacon pizza! Yum!


Taking small bits of diced up (cooked) chicken breast and GF bacon pieces, I topped the pizzas and then placed back in the oven on broil so the cheese could melt for approximately 5 minutes.


All done! Gorgeous and yummy!!



PS: My giveaway for a FREE Bee Nut Free Sampler Box of Goodies ends THURSDAY NIGHT! Don't miss your chance to win these delicious treats!! CLICK HERE to enter!!

10 comments:

  1. You amaze me! I am so trying this recipe! It looks so good!

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  2. This looks great! I'm going to try it, and share it on my blog if you don't mind. :) A question - I'm wondering if you can cook the cauliflower instead of microwaving it? I wonder if it was steamed if that would suffice. ? I just hate using a microwave that's all!

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  3. This is an amazing idea. Does it taste like cauliflower? My girls love their tomato/marinara sauce. I'm thinking this is a great way to sneak it in, and they probably freeze well too if you make a big batch, no? Awesome idea, Keeley!

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  4. Looks great. Can't wait to try it.

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  5. I'm not sure since this was my first experience making it but I don't see why you couldn't steam it instead! :)

    You can absolutely freeze it Sarah!
    To me, it didn't have a "cauliflowery taste" (but I love cauliflower so it wouldn't bother me, haha) that's why I chose to use the garlic w/ parsely and italian herb seasonings, to help give it that "authentic" pizza taste for Little Miss. I made them last night and then this morning I popped hers in the toaster oven before packing it in her lunchbox cooler, just to give it a "warm up" and she loves room temp, even cold, pizza so she was already gushing at the smell!

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  6. Looks great but I don't belive in microwaving. I wonder if toasting an/oror dehydrating the cauliflower will keep work since that would keep its nutrient intact. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  7. Loving this! I am totally going to try it this weekend!

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  8. I made this for supper tonight! I cooked them in my muffin top pan and they were perfect size. Then my girls (3 1/2 & 2 years) helped me put the toppings on. Huge success! Thanks

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    Replies
    1. That is so great to hear!!
      Thanks for coming back to let me know :)

      Little miss always loves decorating her own pizzas too!

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  9. I love your cauliflower pizza crust! Your bentos are awesome and I enjoy following your blog. I featured this bento today on my blog: http://bishopsfamilysite.blogspot.com/2012/04/this-weeks-bento-roundup.html

    Blessings to you and thank you for helping us Mommies get creative with our childrens lunches!
    Janiene

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