Tried It: Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Tried It posts recap my journey with a food or product I've never used before.
I test it out and share the results with you.

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Let's get something straight right away: I ​LOVE carbs and never aspire to quit them. (WHEW, I'm glad we established that truth together.) However I am not opposed to creative ways to eat less carbs. Enter cauliflower crust pizza. One of my favorite bloggers, Catherine of Rabbit Food for my Bunny Teeth, shared her love for Trader Joe's (frozen) Cheese Pizza with a Cauliflower Crust and I was persuaded to try it myself.

During my next trip to Trader Joe's I purchased both the Cheese Pizza with Cauliflower Crust and the plain Cauliflower Pizza Crust.

To keep things simple we'll call the Cheese Pizza with Cauliflower Crust simply Cheese Pizza and the plain Cauliflower Pizza Crust just Cauliflower Crust.

​Below I'll tell you all about these two items and the difference between them, answer some questions, and share my recommendation on which cauliflower pizza crust to try.

Both from Trader Joe's: Left is the "Cauliflower Crust" and Right is the "Cheese Pizza"

How much do they cost? The Cauliflower Crust is $3.99 and the Cheese Pizza is $4.99.

What's similar about them? They're both frozen, gluten free, and don't have any pizza toppings. If you want black olives, mushrooms, pepperoni, and/or anchovies, you'll have to add them yourself. ​

The Cauliflower Crust from Trader Joe's

What's different about them?

Sauce and Cheese The glaring difference between the two is that the Cheese Pizza is already sauced and cheesed while you'll need to add your own sauce and cheese to the Cauliflower Crust.

Cook Time The biggest difference between the two is the amount of cook time. The cook time on the Cheese Pizza is just 10 - 12 minutes. The Cauliflower Crust requires 20 - 24 minutes for the crust alone with another 4 - 5 minutes after adding the sauce, cheese, and toppings.

Additional Steps There are no additional steps for the Cheese Pizza beyond putting it into the oven and waiting. The plain Cauliflower Crust requires to be flipped over once halfway through the cooking process and, of course, will need to be removed from the oven again to be topped with sauce, cheese, and/or pizza toppings. 

Texture The cauliflower crust on the Cheese Pizza is much crispier and more similar to a traditional thin crust pizza than the Cauliflower Crust, even with the shorter cook time. You can see that the Cauliflower Crust was only lightly toasted/crisped after the recommended cook time. 

Flavor The Cheese Pizza's is made with cheese blended into the actual crust so that's clearly a benefit for the flavor! The flavor on the Cauliflower Crust is pretty mild.

The Cauliflower Crust which I later topped with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, black olives, and mushrooms

Should you try a cauliflower crust pizza? As long as you like pizza the simple answer is YES, you should! ​

​Which one should you try? 

Try the Cheese Pizza if you:

• prefer a thin and crispy crust
• enjoy tomato sauce
• love cheese
• want a quick (less than 15 minutes) and simple pizza
• are going to feed this pizza to others without telling them about the imposter cauliflower crust

Try the Cauliflower Crust if you:

• prefer a thicker and soft crust
• are going to experiment with different sauces and/or cheese
• don't eat cheese or dairy
• have at least 25 minutes to wait

The Cheese Pizza (with a cauliflower crust) from Trader Joe's

Which one did I prefer and why?

My favorite My favorite is the Cheese Pizza because of the short cook time, easy preparation, crisp crust, and added cheesy flavor throughout the crust.

All of those things certainly beat out the added $1.00 cost.

Most importantly The most important things for me are that it's quick and easy. A frozen pizza and big salad is my go-to meal on a day when I've gone grocery shopping. After returning from the store I'm busy with a huge production of washing produce, divvying foods up into smaller containers, and putting things away. I certainly don't have energy to also cook something from scratch and/or wash the corresponding dishes. Frozen pizza for the WIN!

Another factor Keep in mind that, with the Cauliflower Crust, you'll need to make a plan for using up the remaining sauce and cheese that you don't use on your pizza. I'll have the cheese eaten within 24 hours, no problem! My concern is the open can of pizza sauce that is now somewhere in my fridge. Who knows what I'll use it for and/or when I'll rediscover it. 

The Cheese Pizza makes for a quick and easy dinner and was my favorite!

Will I try to make my own cauliflower crust? Maybe... Trader Joe's has done a great job of providing these two options so I don't feel that I need to try my hand at it.

Also, I LOVE cauliflower and don't need to "sneak it in" to my meals.

​Let me know if you've tried either of these or if you're thinking about it!