Cauliflower crust BBQ chicken pizza with a healthy pizza crust made dairy-free and egg-free with only 7 ingredients! A wonderful gluten-free pizza recipe the whole family can share.
Want to make the chicken from scratch? Use my slow cooker pulled BBQ chicken on top, or go meatless with my jackfruit pulled pork.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 25 minutes at 400 degrees F
- ⏳ Total Time: 40 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 4
- ⚡ Calories: 356kcal per serving, per the recipe card
- 🥣 Ingredients: cauliflower, potato starch, arrowroot flour, baking powder, olive oil, water and salt for the crust; BBQ sauce, cheese, cooked chicken, red onion and cilantro on top
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Smoky-sweet BBQ on a thin, crispy crust
- ✋ Difficulty: Medium, squeeze out all the water
Quick Answer
Heat a pan or pizza stone in a 400 degree F oven. Rice 1 head of cauliflower in a food processor, microwave it 2 to 3 minutes, cool, then squeeze out all the water in a nut bag or towel. Whisk 1 tablespoon each arrowroot flour, baking powder and olive oil with ¼ cup water, then mix it with the cauliflower, ⅔ cup potato starch and 1 teaspoon salt into a dough. Roll it ¼ inch thick on parchment, flip it onto the hot pan, bake 10 minutes, flip, bake 10 more, then top and bake 5 to 7 minutes.
Jump to:
- Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Cauliflower Crust Gets Crispy
- Why You'll Love This BBQ Pizza
- Toppings for BBQ Chicken Pizza
- The Restaurant Pizza That Got Me Hooked
- How to Make Cauliflower Crust BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Expert Tips
- More Pizza and BBQ Recipes
- Cauliflower Pizza FAQs
- More Pizza Night Ideas
- Cauliflower Crust BBQ Chicken Pizza
How about a good pizza recipe without the bloated feeling after eating it?! 😊 This cauliflower crust BBQ chicken pizza is so flavorful, crispy, thin, light and your gut will thank you! It is packed with vegetables and protein and the option to use dairy-free cheese or Italian mozzarella cheese. This pizza crust is also a copycat version of the Trader Joe's frozen one.
Why This Cauliflower Crust Gets Crispy
Click to see why it works
- Squeeze out the water. Give the bag a good squeeze, making sure to squeeze out as much water as possible. This is key to a crispy pizza crust.
- A hot surface seals the bottom. Heating the pan or pizza stone in the oven first helps seal the bottom of the pizza when it hits a nice hot surface.
- No parchment underneath. The dough should cook on the surface, not on the parchment paper, for a crispier crust.
- Finer rice holds better. Finer is better as it will keep the dough together and have more of a flour consistency rather than any chunks.
- An "egg" base of arrowroot flour, olive oil, baking powder and water holds the dough together without eggs.
Why You'll Love This BBQ Pizza
- Crispy, flavorful, thin crust that is lower in carbs, gluten-free and dairy-free.
- Egg-free and vegan crust, so you can top it with tofu instead of chicken if you prefer.
- Only 7 ingredients in the crust.
- Packed with vegetables and protein.
- One big pizza the whole family can share with their favorite toppings.
Toppings for BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Gluten-Free BBQ Sauce - or your favorite bottled BBQ sauce.
- Cheese - mozzarella or dairy-free cheese. I like to use Trader Joe's almond cheese shreds or Daiya cheese shreds.
- Grilled chicken slices - you can cook a chicken breast ahead of time and cut it into cubes or use frozen grilled chicken strips for convenience.
- Red onion slices.
- Fresh cilantro.
- Optional - orange bell peppers for more color.
For the crust you need 1 head of cauliflower (or 24 ounces of prepared cauliflower rice), potato starch, arrowroot flour, baking powder, olive oil, water and pink Himalayan salt. See recipe card for quantities.
The Restaurant Pizza That Got Me Hooked
One thing I cannot seem to get enough of these days is BBQ pizza! A few weeks ago we went out to eat at our local Italian restaurant and they offered a large gluten-free pizza dough (although my homemade gluten-free pizza crust is better😉). This was great because usually restaurants carry individual pan pizza crusts, and instead our whole family could share one big pizza pie with our favorite toppings!
Half of the pizza we ordered with BBQ chicken on top the gluten-free crust and I have been hooked ever since! I knew I had to start making BBQ chicken pizza at home, on this new cauliflower crust recipe!
I make cauliflower crust pizza all the time for my family using this cauliflower pizza crust recipe. Only thing is it contains dairy and eggs, so I wanted to create a cauliflower crust without those ingredients for all my dairy-free readers out there😊.
How to Make Cauliflower Crust BBQ Chicken Pizza
1Heat the pan. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a baking pan or pizza stone in the oven to heat for about 15-30 minutes while making the crust.
2Rice and cook the cauliflower. Rice 1 cauliflower head in a food processor by breaking it into small pieces and doing a little at a time. You can make the rice thicker or process it really fine. Finer is better as it will keep the dough together. Microwave for 2-3 minutes until cooked. If you do not have a microwave boil it in a little water till soft. Let it cool until you are able to handle it.
3Make the "egg" base. While the cauliflower rice is cooling, in a small bowl whisk together the arrowroot flour, olive oil, baking powder, and water.
4Squeeze out the water. Put the cauliflower rice in a flour sack towel or use a nut bag. I love using Ellie's Best Nut Bags. They are durable and so easy to wash! Squeeze it over a bowl a few times until all the water is removed. You want to get out as much water as possible.
5Make the dough. In a large bowl add the cauliflower rice, potato starch, salt and the arrowroot mixture. Mix until it forms a dough. If the dough seems a bit dry, add a slight bit more water but not too much. Use your hands to knead the dough until a nice round ball forms if necessary.
6Roll and flip. Roll the dough out on parchment paper until it is about ¼ inch thick. The edges will start to crack, so push in the outer edges with your fingers. Remove the hot pan or pizza stone from the oven and carefully flip the dough on top of it, so there is no parchment paper underneath.
7Bake, top and finish. Bake the crust for 10 minutes then carefully flip it and bake it another 10 minutes. Add the barbecue sauce, cheese, chicken, and onions. Bake for 5-7 minutes depending on how dark and crisp you like the crust. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
As always, be sure to check out the full recipe details in the recipe card below.
Expert Tips
- Short on time? Use 24 ounces of prepared cauliflower rice instead of ricing a whole head.
- Preheat the surface. Here is my little trick to get a nice and crispy bottom: place the baking sheet pan or pizza stone in the oven before putting the pizza on it.
- Patch the edges. After rolling out the dough, push in the cracked outer edges with your fingers.
- Cook the chicken ahead, or use leftovers from my Crockpot BBQ Chicken.
- Helpful tools: food processor, microwavable bowl, spatula, baking sheet pan, pizza stone and a nut bag to squeeze water from the cauliflower rice.
More Pizza and BBQ Recipes
More crusts: How To Make Cauliflower Pizza Crust (contains dairy and egg, and flavorful herbs), Restaurant-Style Gluten-Free Pizza Crust, Avocado Crust Pesto Pizza and AIP Pizza Crust Without Yeast.
More BBQ: Crockpot BBQ Chicken Recipe, BBQ Chicken Stuffed Spaghetti Squash, Smoky Gluten-Free BBQ Sauce and Slow Cooker Pulled BBQ Chicken.
Cauliflower Pizza FAQs
Too much water. Squeeze the cooked cauliflower rice in a nut bag or towel until all the water is removed, and bake the crust directly on a preheated pan or pizza stone, not on parchment paper.
Yes. If you do not have a microwave, boil the riced cauliflower in a little water until soft, then cool and squeeze it.
The crust is vegan, egg-free and dairy-free. Top it with dairy-free cheese and tofu instead of chicken for a fully vegan pizza.
Yes. Use 24 ounces of prepared cauliflower rice in place of 1 head of cauliflower.
I like Trader Joe's almond cheese shreds or Daiya cheese shreds. Italian mozzarella works too if dairy is not an issue.
10 minutes, flip it, 10 more minutes, then 5 to 7 minutes with the toppings at 400 degrees F.
More Pizza Night Ideas
Try The Perfect Cauliflower Pizza Crust, AIP Pizza Crust or BBQ Chicken Spaghetti Squash next. I hope you enjoy this Cauliflower Crust BBQ Chicken Pizza! Follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for a feature and more recipe inspiration! And don't forget to leave a comment below!
Cauliflower Crust BBQ Chicken Pizza
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Ingredients
Cauliflower Crust
- 1 head cauliflower
- ⅔ cup potato starch
- 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- ¼ cup water
Pizza Toppings
- ½ cup barbecue sauce
- 1 cup cheese (I used dairy-free almond cheese)
- 1 cup chicken cooked and cubed
- ½ cup red onion sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro fresh for garnish
Instructions
Make the Cauliflower Crust
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a baking pan or pizza stone in the oven to heat for about 15-30 minutes while making the crust.
- Chop up the cauliflower and add it in a food processor. Process on high until the cauliflower is chopped up. Transfer the riced cauliflower to a microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 2-3 minutes until cooked. Set aside and let it cool until you are able to handle it to squeeze the water out.
- While the cauliflower rice is cooling, in a small bowl whisk together the arrowroot flour, olive oil, baking powder, and water.
- Using a nut bag or large flour sack towel, add the cauliflower rice in it and squeeze it over a bowl until all the water is squeezed out. Keep doing it a few times until all the water is removed. You want to get out as much water as possible.
- In a large bowl add the prepared cauliflower rice, potato starch, salt and the mixture of arrowroot flour, olive oil, baking powder and water. Mix until it forms a dough. If the dough seems a bit dry, add a slight bit more water but not too much.
- Roll the dough out on parchment paper until it is about ¼ inch thick. Remove the hot pan or pizza stone from the oven and carefully flip the dough on top of the hot pan or stone. (so there is no parchment paper underneath). This will help get a crispy crust.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes then carefully flip it and bake it another 10 minutes. Add the barbecue sauce, cheese, chicken, and onions. Bake for 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with fresh cilantro.
Notes
- food processor
- microwavable bowl
- spatula
- baking sheet pan
- pizza stone
- nut bag to squeeze water from the cauliflower rice
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