Broccoli and Kale Pizza Crust — Trader Joe’s vs. The Homemade Version
In case you weren’t aware, vegetable based pizza crusts are all the rage these days. Cauliflower crust was the first to gain fame. Heavily promoted by fitness and wellness fans of lower carbohydrate, ketogenic and gluten free diets, brands such as Caulipowered, Cali’flour and Trader Joe’s have competed in creating what many want to consider a healthier splurge option.
Trader Joe’s decided to jump ahead on the creative wagon and move forward to create a butternut squash crust and most recently, a broccoli and kale crust. The moment I saw this creation on shelves in the frozen aisle, I had to grab it and take a look at the nutrition facts and ingredients.
Why Homemade?
While I commend Trader Joe’s for making this crust low in calories and saturated fat, I am a bit confused on how a crust with broccoli and black kale has NO FIBER. One cup of broccoli has around 5 grams of fiber. One cup of kale has around 2 grams of fiber per serving. The ingredients say broccoli and black kale, no powders or extracts, so I am a bit confused as to where the fiber went.
Potato starch and cornstarch are great thickeners. Corn flour keeps this product gluten free, but is refined. None of these products are necessary in making this crust at home.
I only need a few things to recreate this recipe. Minimal simple ingredients. Of course, using REAL cheese is going to make this crust higher in fat, but also higher in protein and overall more nutrient dense.
A few candid shots of the homemade broccoli and kale crust process…
Steamed broccoli getting ready for the food processor.
The broccoli and kale post food processor.
All the ingredients in a bowl ready to be mixed together and shaped into crust!
Homemade broccoli and kale crust ready for the oven!
20 minutes later, the crust is cooked and ready for toppings!
The final product!
Broccoli is a low moisture vegetable. Combined with the mozzarella and parmesan, it did dry out better and created a crispier crust than expected. This crust could be eaten with no toppings as a bread substitution as well.
Next, I cooked the Trader Joe’s crust. It looks exactly the same before and after cooking. I attribute this to the addition of MORE of the starches and flours and less of the broccoli and kale that the crust ideally would contain.
The final Trader Joe’s product. I did cook it on both sides to ensure it was cooked thoroughly. I added the toppings before cooking it on the second side.
Last photo is of both pizzas side by side on a serving tray. You can clearly see the differences in color, size and texture.
Homemade Broccoli and Kale Pizza Crust
A homemade version of a popular vegetable based crust used as a pizza or flatbread.
- 1 large head of broccoli (steamed)
- 1 cup of lacinato kale (de-stemmed and chopped)
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. oregano
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- In a food processor, pulse steamed broccoli and kale until grated. Squeeze water out as best as you can. Transfer broccoli to a large bowl and add egg, 1 cup mozzarella, and ΒΌ cup Parmesan. Season with garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Grease a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Transfer the dough to the sheet and shape it into a thin and round crust.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and dried out.
