Who doesn’t love pizza? There is something very satisfying about making a delicious homemade pizza, made to order. Some people think that when you go vegan, you have to give up pizza, but that is simply untrue. After all, all a vegan really does is replace the animal ingredients with plant-based ones. It’s easy… and most of the time it is better for you! In fact, when I became vegan, I also discovered that I really enjoy a pizza loaded with veggies without cheese at all!
But, there are definetly times when I feel like eating a cheesy pizza… & when I do, I like to use either Follow your Heart brand Vegan Gourmet mozzarella or Daiya mozarella. My husband prefers the flavor of the vegan gourmet, but I think both are just delicious! (You may want to note that the daiya “cheese” is a gluten & dairy & soy free cheese… And also, it does tend to melt better on a quick cooking time, (such as this 12 minute pizza), which is probably why our local pizza shop offers the Daiya cheese on the vegan pizzas rather than the other brand.)
delicious daiya "cheese"
So, when Im in a pinch for a quick dinner this is my go-to crust. It doesnt require any real rising time, which means by the time you blend the dough up, you can practically slap it right onto your pizza pan, top it with sauce, veggies & cheese and bake it for 10-14 minutes… so this can definetly be an under 30 min meal from start to finish 🙂
Your Vegan Neighbor’s Quick & Easy Pizza Crust
(makes one large crust)
- 1 1/4 cup unbleached flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp yeast (I use a kind that I buy in a jar in the flour aisle of Kroger, Fleishmans bread machine yeast)
- 2/3 cup hot water + enough olive oil to meet the 3/4 cup mark on my measuring cup
(If you are unfamiliar with using yeast, you should note that water that is too hot will kill the yeast. You do not want to use boiling water. In fact, I usually stick in my finger to see if it is a good temperature. It should be tolerable to the finger – it shouldn’t burn you, but it should feel hot!)
1) Preheat oven to 450 F.
2) Mix dry ingredients in the food processor. Pour the hot water/oil in through the feed tube and let the dough form a ball. Process for about 40 seconds, then transfer to a lightly-oiled bowl or a floured surface.
3) Let rest for several minutes while you prepare your toppings, then punch it down & roll it /stretch it out to fit your pan. If it doesnt want to stretch as big as you want, just let it rest another minute, and if it gets too thin & starts to tear anywhere, just pinch it back together.
4) Add sauce, toppings & bake for 10-14 minutes until cheese is melty or crust is golden brown.
making the doughball
Here is my dough ball after resting about 10 minutes while I chopped all my veggies!
It is good with cheese or just plain and loaded with veggies!
Misc pizza tips: I use a pizza pan with holes in the bottom. I think that helps the pizza cook more evenly. I also give my pan a quick spray w/non-stick cooking spray to ensure that my pizza doesn’t get stuck! When my pizza is about to go in the oven, I think that drizzling a little olive oil all around the edges of the crust gives the pizza a fantastic end result!
Your Vegan Neighbor’s Homemade Pizza Sauce
Whisk together the following ingredients and spread on prepared crust! This makes enough for 2 pizzas. (You can also freeze half for another time!)
- 1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1 can of water (use tomatoe paste can)
- generous splash of olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp basil
- 1 1/2 tsp oregano
- < 1/4 tsp thyme
- 3/4 tsp fresh rosemary (or 1/2 dry – I have a big rosemary bush so I almost always use fresh rosemary!)
Some of my favorite toppings are chopped broccoli, onion, cubed tofu, black olives, spinach, garlic, artichoke hearts… You’d really be surprised at what your kids might eat when it’s cooked into a delicious pizza! The Yves brand soy pepperoni is pretty good but my kids think it’s a little too spicy for them. And sometimes we just go for a plain pineapple & cheese pizza 🙂 Mmmmm! I think I’m ready for another slice…
Look! There's a piece of broccoli going in with that bite!
Taking a cautious bite of fresh baked (& little hot) pizza!
Your Vegan Neighbor 