When cauliflower crust took the world by storm about five years ago, restaurants and grocery stores knew they had to create their own versions of this low carb, veg forward pizza crust option. Everyone from Walmart to Domino’s created a cauliflower crust of their own. It’s no surprise that Trader Joe’s, the store most known for hoping on trends, has a frozen cauliflower crust pizza in their freezer section.
We wanted to know if an affordable take and bake cauliflower crust pizza could live up to the cauliflower crust pizza from a restaurant. We ordered a traditional cheese cauliflower crust pizza from California Pizza Kitchen to taste alongside Trader Joe’s offering. Let’s see which cauliflower crust pizza reigns supreme (or should I say cheese?) in our blindfolded, side-by-side taste test.
Takeout: California Pizza Kitchen Traditional Cheese Pizza with Cauliflower Crust
The most important thing to note is that this six-slice pizza is $22.22 (and that doesn’t include delivery or tip). To me, that price is shockingly high for a pizza that is certainly not intended for sharing.
But in its defense, the crust is great. It has a faint cauliflower taste that I actually thought was nice. It’s super crunchy. The sauce is sweet and tomato-y. I liked it so much, I thought there could’ve been more of it. There was a good layer of cheese that was perfectly melted. If I got this pizza at a restaurant, I’d be very happy with it.
Unfortunately, CPK’s website states that their cauliflower crust is not “validated” gluten-free. My understanding of this crust is that it’s for people staying away from carbs and not people who have celiac disease. That’s a huge bummer. Why wouldn’t they just make it gluten-free? Because of that, I have to deduct some points for this otherwise delicious pizza.
Trader Joe’s: Gluten Free Cheese Pizza with a Cauliflower Crust
This frozen cauliflower crust pizza is $4.99 for 12 ounces. It’s around the same size as the California Pizza Kitchen pizza. I’m into any product that I can keep on hand and make quickly.
While I love the fact that it’s fast and affordable, I’m devastated to report that it does not taste good. The crust is not nearly as crispy as the CPK crust. The sauce is bland yet sweet with a hint of dried herbs. There’s not enough cheese. This just isn’t it, sadly.
One bonus: This cauliflower crust pizza is actually gluten-free. Celiac and non-celiac friends alike can share this pizza. Yay!
Conclusion …
I hate to give this round to a $22 personal pizza, but I must. The Trader Joe’s cauliflower crust pizza just couldn’t stack up. It’s bad. While I wouldn’t typically spend over $20 on a pizza, I definitely wouldn’t spend $4.99 on the Trader Joe’s pizza. If you simply must choose between a cauliflower crust from a place like California Pizza Kitchen and Trader Joe’s, dish out the dough (lol) and get the more expensive pizza.
