Crustless Pizza

I have been doing that keto thing for quite a while now, and most of the time I have no problems staying on it. Occasionally I miss a particular food though. Lately I have been craving pizza. I am not a pizza connoisseur by any means and it has never been one of my go-to comfort foods, but occasionally I just want it, or, at the very least, the flavors of pizza.

After  researching all of the ways to make an acceptable keto pizza and had making the fathead dough (which tastes and feels remarkably like a true pizza crust), but it requires a lot of cheese and I had rather have my cheese as a topping than as a crust. A few recipes later I had a fairly good idea about how to format the base layer. (A recipe is just a suggestion, and subject to change.) As for the pizza toppings, I have no idea why anyone would need a recipe for that. You just put whatever you like, or have on hand, or made a special trip to the store to buy.

I was stymied about the pizza sauce. I needed one that has no sugar added, but tasted like a real pizza sauce. I could have stopped at the store and grabbed a jar of Rao's pizza sauce, but it is nearly 8 bucks a jar. Uh, no thanks! After googling and finding several recipes I chose this one at I Breathe, I'm Hungry mainly because it required no cooking. It made a tasty sauce (add a little more garlic powder and some finely chopped rosemary to make it perfect) and all it took was a quick whirl in the blender.  (Plus, I have enough sauce for 2 more "pizzas" living in the freezer) I am not posting the recipe here since I added the link and used the exact recipe.

Crustless Pizza

For the base layer

1 large head cauliflower, cut into small pieces (zap in the microwave til soft then press out as much moisture as you can. I did not do this step. Learn from my mistake)
1/3 cup EV olive oil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl mix all together. Spray a 9x13 pan with non stick spray and press the mixture in the bottom.  Bake at 350 until set (about 15 or so minutes)

8 ounces grated mozzarella (divided)

Pizza Sauce of choice (there are some very tasty jarred sauces out there, or make your own)

Pizza toppings of choice. I used  browned ground beef, onions, red peppers, mushrooms and cheese because I had them on hand.

Spread the base with half the grated cheese followed by pizza sauce, add the toppings of choice, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and return to the oven for about 10 minutes until everything is nice and bubbly. I decided the oven time was not going to be long enough to cook the onions, peppers and mushrooms, so after browning the ground beef for the pizza I tossed them in the same pan and wilted them. It worked perfectly.

The verdict: We loved the flavor. After the first bite TheHub declared it was delicious. It tasted like we were eating pizza, but the consistency was not pizzaish. I will make this again, but I might add another egg and a little coconut flour to the base layer just to give it a little extra firmness. We will probably have this once a month to satisfy any pizza craving and still keeping it keto for me.

 Upside? Leftovers for lunch!