Celebrity

‘The Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond Mini Cauliflower Pizza Has the ‘Easiest Pizza Crust You Can Make’

The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond showed home cooks how to make a healthy cauliflower pizza. Here's the lowdown on preparing the perfect mini cauliflower pizza.

by Sheiresa Ngo

Published on April 22, 2022

3 min read

Ree Drummond’s mini cauliflower pizza

The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond stands in the kitchen at the Today show while wearing a floral shirt.

The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond | Tyler Essary/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Drummond starts by preparing the cauliflower. She places the cauliflower in a tea towel and uses it to wring out as much moisture as possible. Once the moisture is drained, Drummond begins the cooking process.

The Accidental Country Girl takes half a head of cauliflower and cuts it into florets. She places them in the food processor and processes the vegetables until they reach what she calls “a fine, snowy powder.” She transfers the cauliflower to a glass bowl, covers it in plastic wrap, puts it in the microwave, and cooks it for four minutes until it’s soft (check out some of Drummond’s best vegetable dishes).

Preparing the pizza dough

Once the cauliflower is done, Drummond prepares to turn it into pizza dough. She uses two heaping tablespoons of Parmesan cheese (Drummond makes delicious cheese recipes). She uses the powdery version so that it blends with the cauliflower. Next, Drummond adds ½ cup of finely grated mozzarella cheese. She adds one egg to bring the crust together, followed by a pinch of salt and ½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning.

Drummond says this recipe is quite simple. “There’s no yeast, there’s no rising, there’s no kneading,” she says during The Pioneer Woman show. “This is pretty much the easiest pizza crust you can make.”

For the next step, Drummond places a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan. She sprays it with cooking oil and, using a scoop, she places some of the cauliflower mixture onto the sheet pan. She flattens the mixture by using the underside of a measuring cup. She says it’s important to make sure the mixture is very thin. She advises using your fingers to flatten it even more. This mixture yields six cauliflower crusts, which she places in the oven for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.

Ree Drummond’s tomato cream sauce

While the crust is baking, Drummond makes a tomato cream sauce. She starts by sautéing garlic and onions in a pan with butter and olive oil. She then adds one can of tomato puree, salt, and pepper. “This is the simplest sauce,” says Drummond. “And I have to say, tomato cream sauce is officially my favorite pasta sauce on earth.”

Drummond lowers the heat to a simmer and adds ¼ cup of heavy cream. She says she loves to watch the cream “swirl into” the tomato sauce. Drummond says the simmering process takes about 10 minutes. Once the cauliflower crusts are ready, she puts some of the tomato cream sauce on top. Then, she adds finely grated mozzarella cheese and places the pan back in the oven for five minutes.

Drummond once again takes the pizza out of the oven and prepares the toppings. For the final touch, she chops tomatoes and basil and places them on top of the cauliflower pizza. When Drummond offers her daughter, Paige Drummond (Paige’s “new friend” visited the Drummonds for Easter), a few slices, she says she wants “all of them.” She just couldn’t help herself. “I was just ready to dig in,” Paige says during the show. You can find the complete ingredients and directions on the Food Network website.

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