I love Italian food! I mean, if I could eat it a few times a week without all the calories and carbs, I totally would. I’ve been attempting to eat a gluten free diet since the beginning of the year and with a few exceptions, I’ve been successful. There are so many gluten free alternatives these days, it’s pretty easy. This recipe for cauliflower calzones is one of my recent favorites!
A few weeks ago I experimented with riced cauliflower for the first time! I found a big bag at Costco and immediately began researching recipes I could make with my new purchase. I found one for cauliflower calzones that stood out to me so I decided to give it a try and guess what….my family loved them! I actually made pasta for the kids that night and the calzones for my husband and I, but the kids ate most of the calzones!
The second and third time I made them I used a bunch of different toppings and let the kids customize theirs. It’s such an easy meal that can be adapted for every family member, and it doesn’t even taste like you are eating cauliflower!
Start by microwaving the riced cauliflower for about 8 minutes on high. Once microwaved, I usually let mine stand for a few minutes to cool down before trying to squeeze all of the moisture out. Otherwise, it’s HOT! The key to getting a golden brown, crunchy calzone is squeezing all of the water out of the cauliflower so make sure you really give it a few good squeezes. Then, transfer to a mixing bowl and combine the cauliflower with the mozzarella cheese, egg, salt, pepper and oregano. Once mixed, form 3 round discs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper using your hands. I like to get mine pretty thin…making the discs around 5-6 inches in diameter.
Bake for 10 minutes then quickly top with your favorite pizza toppings! In the image below, I used a combination of pasta sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, sautéed spinach & mushrooms and ground Italian sausage. Just make sure to cook all of your toppings beforehand.
Cauliflower Calzones
Ingredients
- 3 cups riced cauliflower
- 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3/4 tsp oregano
- your favorite pizza toppings
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Microwave the riced cauliflower on high for 8 minutes.
- Using a towel, squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the cauliflower. This is super important because if you don't get all of the liquid out your calzones will be mushy rather than crusty!
- Mix together the cauliflower, mozzarella cheese, egg, salt, pepper and oregano.
- Form three small discs with the mixture using your hands.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and quickly top with your favorite toppings.
- Fold one side over the other to form a calzone and place back in the oven for 12 minutes or until the top is a golden brown. Enjoy!