A unique, gluten-free pizza with a curried cauliflower crust. This pizza has incredible flavor synergy!
It’s two days post-Christmas and most of us are stuffed to the gills, but the holidays aren’t over yet, so if you’re not quite ready to revert to your normal eating patterns, then try making this gluten-free Curried Cauliflower Skillet Pizza with Apple, Cheddar, and Chicken. It’s healthier than most of the food you’ve likely been indulging in over the past few weeks, but because it’s “pizza”, you’ll still feel like you’re splurging.
I’ve been working on the recipe for Curried Cauliflower Skillet Pizza with Apple, Cheddar, and Chicken for quite a while so I was happy when I served it to my husband for dinner recently and he said it was one of the best pizzas I’d ever made. Quite an endorsement, especially when you consider that the crust is made from cauliflower! Using cauliflower to make pizza crust is nothing new, but the addition of curry powder really elevates the taste and adds a nice golden color. I use frozen cauliflower florets in this recipe rather than fresh, because I find them much easier to work with. There’s no trimming or chopping required, and two 1-pound bags are the exact amount needed to make the crust so there’s no waste/extra leftover.
One of the unique things about Curried Cauliflower Skillet Pizza with Apple, Cheddar, and Chicken is the sauce. I used unsweetened apple sauce, ladling it on the crust just like traditional pizza sauce. The chicken, cheddar cheese, and fresh cilantro are natural complements to the other ingredients in this pizza, but it’s the apple sauce that ties all the flavors together so that each bite is the perfect balance of sweet and savory.
Dollop some sour cream or Greek yogurt on top of Curried Cauliflower Skillet Pizza with Apple, Cheddar, and Chicken, and serve with a simple green salad on the side for a healthy, post-holiday, yet still indulgent, weeknight meal!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 - 1 pound bags of frozen cauliflower florets
- 1 cup gluten-free bread crumbs
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded white sharp cheddar cheese
- ⅔ cup (3 ounces) cooked, shredded chicken
- ½ cup (about ¼ ounce) cilantro leaves
- ⅔ cup sour cream or plain full-fat Greek yogurt
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and brush the bottom and sides of a 12-inch cast iron skillet with olive oil.
- Cook the cauliflower in the microwave according the package directions. Let sit for 10 minutes and then, using a potato masher, or the tines of a fork, mash and break apart the cauliflower until only small pieces remain. Let cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, place the cauliflower on a clean dish towel or piece of cheesecloth and twist it tightly into a ball to wring out all the water. (You can also use a nut milk bag to do this if you have one.)
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, eggs, garlic, curry, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
- Press the mixture into the cast iron pan and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
- Remove from oven and spread the apple sauce over the cauliflower crust. Top with the white cheddar cheese and chicken and return to oven until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes more.
- Scatter the cilantro leaves on top and serve with sour cream or Greek yogurt.
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