Cauliflower pizza is our most popular low carb recipe, because the base needs no flour yet holds together firmly enough to be topped. The key is squeezing: anyone who skips pressing the water out of the cauliflower after steaming will end up with mush instead of a firm crust.
We have been making this pizza for years and know exactly why most attempts fail: too much residual moisture in the steamed cauliflower. Even with the correct cooking time in the Varoma, so much water remains in the vegetable that the base never firms up during baking. Pressing with a fork is therefore not optional, it is essential.
Low Carb Cauliflower Pizza, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 12 ✓
- 200 g Gouda (40% fat, dry weight)
- 400 g cauliflower
- 300 g water for steaming
- 200 g tomatoes
- 60 g mushrooms
- 3 spring onions
- 2 eggs
- 3 tsp Italian herb mix dried
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 10 g olive oil
- 30 g poultry salami
Instructions 0 / 9
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1
Grate the Gouda.
Cut Gouda into pieces, place in the mixing bowl and grate for 8 sec / speed 8, then set aside.
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2
Steam the cauliflower.
Wash and trim the cauliflower, cut into pieces, place in the mixing bowl and chop for 7 sec / speed 6 using the spatula. Spread evenly in the Varoma tray and Varoma insert. Add water to the mixing bowl, place the Varoma on top and steam for 14 min / Varoma / speed 1.
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3
Prepare the vegetables.
Meanwhile, wash the tomatoes, quarter them and remove the stalks. Clean the mushrooms and slice thinly. Wash and trim the spring onions and slice into thin rings.
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4
Press out the cauliflower.
Remove the Varoma, open the lid and leave to cool for 3 minutes. Press the cauliflower out well with a fork.
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5
Preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C, gas mark 3-4) and line the baking tray with baking paper.
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6
Mix the dough.
Place the cauliflower mash, 140 g grated Gouda, eggs, 1 tsp Italian herb mix and 1/2 tsp salt in the mixing bowl and combine for 8 sec / speed 4.
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7
Bake the pizza base.
Spread the dough on the baking tray and press down with your hands to about 0.5 cm thick. Bake the pizza base on the middle shelf for 15 to 20 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and increase the temperature to 230°C (fan 210°C, gas mark 5).
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8
Cook the sauce.
Meanwhile, place the tomatoes, 2 tsp herb mix, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and olive oil in the mixing bowl and sweat for 3 min / 120°C (TM31 Varoma) / speed 1. Then cook for 8 min / 100°C / speed 2.
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9
Bake.
Spread the tomato sauce, poultry salami, mushrooms, spring onions and remaining cheese over the pizza base and bake on the middle shelf for 8 to 10 minutes.
Tip: Feel free to top the pizza with whatever you like, for example tuna.
Nutrition per serving
Why cauliflower works instead of flour
Cauliflower is made up of roughly 90 per cent water. After steaming and chopping it becomes a pulp that is bound together with eggs and grated cheese. The cheese provides fat and protein, the eggs provide structure. Without pressing out the moisture, however, too much liquid remains in the dough and the binding never takes.
The Thermomix® steams the cauliflower evenly in the Varoma at speed 1. The 14 minutes are enough to open the cell structure so that the water can easily be pressed out afterwards. Steaming for longer gains nothing, as the cauliflower becomes mushy and absorbs even more water.
The three minutes of cooling are not a luxury
After steaming, the cauliflower needs three minutes to cool before you press it out. Straight from the Varoma it is too hot to handle with your hands or a fork. Hot cauliflower also releases more water than warm cauliflower.
The pressing itself takes about one minute per Varoma insert. Press the cauliflower against the edge of the Varoma insert with a fork and let the water drip into the mixing bowl. Once no more water comes out, the cauliflower is ready for the dough.
Why the base needs two rounds in the oven
The first bake at 200°C for 15 to 20 minutes stabilises the dough. Without this step the base would go soggy under the topping. The surface needs to turn lightly golden, at which point the structure is firm enough.
The second bake at 230°C takes only 8 to 10 minutes. This stage is all about the topping: the cheese melts, the tomato sauce reduces slightly, the mushrooms cook through. Baking for longer would burn the base; shorter leaves the topping undercooked.
Cook the tomato sauce at the same time
While the pizza base is in the oven, cook the tomato sauce in the mixing bowl. The fresh tomatoes are sweated at 120°C for three minutes, then reduced at 100°C for eight minutes. The sweating releases the flavours, the reducing concentrates the liquid.
The sauce must be thick, otherwise it will make the base wet. If the sauce still looks watery after cooking, let it reduce for a further two to three minutes at 100°C / speed 2.
Mistakes that ruin the base
The most common mistake is not pressing the cauliflower enough. If the dough looks more liquid than thick pancake batter after mixing, there was too much water in the cauliflower. The base will not firm up during baking.
The second mistake is spreading the dough too thinly. The dough needs to be 0.5 cm thick. Thinner and the base becomes too fragile; thicker and the centre stays raw. Pressing with your hands works better than a rolling pin because the dough spreads more evenly.
The third mistake is adding the topping before the first bake. Without that initial stabilising bake, the base goes soggy and tears when you cut it.
Toppings to suit your taste
Salami, mushrooms and spring onions are our standard topping, but the base also works well with tuna, peppers, courgette or spinach. The only rule is that water-rich vegetables should be fried off first, otherwise they release too much liquid.
Drain canned tuna well. Slice courgette and fry in a pan for two minutes. Briefly blanch spinach and squeeze out the water. Raw peppers work fine because they contain little moisture.
Leftovers the next day
The finished pizza keeps for two days in the fridge. Stored in a sealed container, the base stays firm. Reheating at 180°C for eight minutes makes it crispy again. The microwave makes the base soft.
Freezing does not work well. The cauliflower releases water as it thaws and the base goes soggy. If you want to prepare ahead, freeze only the unbaked dough. After thawing, bake it as if freshly made.
Goes well with: Tzatziki and rocket salad.
More low carb recipes: linseed quark bread, carrot and broccoli salad, buttermilk slimming shake.
