Putting the cheese on the bottom of your pizza instead of the top keeps the crust nice and crisp! This tasty version is topped with lactose-free mozzarella, fennel, cauliflower, and olives for a lot of flavor.
I created this recipe for my client GO VEGGIE. As always, thank you for supporting the brands that keep me inspired in the kitchen. 
Let’s talk pizza. Even though we eat it nearly every week, it had been almost two years since I shared a pizza on the blog (the last was Chorizo Pizza with Corn and Zucchini). New York City is famous for its slices, but upstate we do things a bit differently. Two of my favorite local variations are the cold slice and “cheese on bottom” (COB), sometimes called a Grandma pie.
The cold slice sounds odd but works: the pie is hot, then a handful of cold shredded cheddar is added on top so it melts a little as you eat. Cheese on bottom is more literal: instead of layering cheese over the sauce, the cheese goes directly on the crust, and the sauce sits on top. The result is a crisper crust because the sauce never soaks into the dough, and the cheese adheres to the crust so it’s less likely to slide off when you take a bite. It’s delicious and a little playful.
Some people reserve the term “Grandma pie” for rectangular sheet-pan pizzas with sauce on top, but since this pizza is made in a cast iron skillet I’ll stick with the broader COB name.
Cooking pizza in a cast iron skillet is a method I use often because it yields a super-crisp bottom that almost shatters when you bite it. This technique is especially helpful for gluten-free doughs, which can be drier; briefly crisping the crust in oil on the stovetop before finishing in the oven gives a deliberately crisp texture and helps the pie hold together better than baking alone.
For this recipe I piled GO VEGGIE lactose-free mozzarella directly on the crust, then spooned a quick homemade tomato sauce over the cheese. The lactose-free shreds melt like dairy cheese, and in a blind taste test we couldn’t detect any flavor difference. They also offer fewer calories and less fat while providing comparable calcium.
After the sauce went on, I added thinly sliced fennel, which gives a subtle sausage-like flavor, briny Kalamata olives, and small cauliflower florets for texture and extra nutrients—they’re barely noticeable in flavor but add a pleasant bite. The pizza bakes in the same skillet used to crisp the crust; it takes about 20 minutes for the toppings to cook through and the cheese to finish melting.
Carefully remove the skillet from the oven (use a pot holder), sprinkle with GO VEGGIE lactose-free parmesan, scatter fresh basil over the top, and serve.
If you’d prefer a different topping combination, try a Crispy Crust Wild Mushroom Pizza or a Puff Pastry Pizza with Summer Vegetables and Pesto. Or skip the crust altogether and make Pepperoni Pizza Stuffed Peppers for a low-carb option.
Fennel, Cauliflower, and Olive “Cheese on Bottom” Pizza
2
493kcal
Lauren Keating
Ingredients
- 15 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon olive oil divided
- 8 ounces gluten free pizza dough at room temperature
- 3 ounces GO VEGGIE mozzarella shreds
- ½ small fennel bulb thinly sliced
- ½ cup fresh cauliflower florets
- ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives halved
- 1 Tablespoon GO VEGGIE parmesan
- Fresh basil for topping
Instructions
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Heat your oven to 450ºF (230ºC).
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Combine the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium and simmer 10–15 minutes, until thickened.
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Coat your hands with olive oil and stretch the pizza dough to fit a 9-inch cast iron skillet.
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Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet over medium. Add the dough and cook until the bottom is golden and the top appears dry, about 5 minutes.
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Remove the skillet from heat. Scatter the mozzarella evenly over the crust, spoon the sauce over the cheese, then top with fennel, cauliflower, and olives. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake 20 minutes, until the toppings are cooked and the cheese is melted.
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Carefully remove the pizza, sprinkle with parmesan and fresh basil, slice, and serve.
Calories from Fat 216
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