There is a common misconception that once you go vegan you need to forget about having pizza ever again.
After all, its main feature is usually cheese, some pizzas including several varieties of it.
However, due to popular demand, vegan cheese is easy to come by. Many supermarkets now have a free-from range and there's a number of individual brands.
Vegan pizza is popular, and even major pizza franchises like Dominos and Papa John's have vegan options.
But while being able to go out for vegan pizza is great, making pizza at home gives you the opportunity to choose your own toppings.
Some like it spicy, some like it sweet (pineapple, anyone?).
It also means you can eat as much as you want as a much lower cost!
Below are two recipes for a quick and easy vegan pizza you can make at home.
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 10-15 mins
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
- 2 pizza bases
- 200ml tomato sauce
Feta and olive pizza:
- 2 mushrooms
- 1 spring onion
- 2-3 cherry tomatoes
- 6-8 kalamata olives
- 50g vegan feta cheese
- Rocket, lettuce and spinach to garnish
Falafel and mushroom pizza:
- 2 mushrooms
- 1 spring onion
- 2-3 cherry tomatoes
- 6 falafel pieces
- 80-100g vegan cheese
Equipment:
- 2 oven trays
- Chopping board and knife
- Spatula or spoon
- Cheese grater
- Pizza cutting wheel
Method:
1. First, prep your toppings. Slice the mushrooms thinly to allow them to cook quickly. Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Chop the spring onions. Cut the olives in half and remove the pits.
2. Now, prepare the cheese alternatives. You can buy ready grated mozzarella or cheddar alternatives, or if you got your cheese in a block form, use the cheese grater. Cut the feta alternative into small cubes.
3. Arrange pizza bases on oven trays and divide the sauce between the two bases. Use a spoon or a spatula to cover the bases evenly.
If your oven trays are non-stick, you can place the bases straight on; however, if you think the pizza might stick to the trays, you could brush the trays with oil or use baking parchment to line them.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
5. Arrange the toppings in a desired formation, ideally creating an even spread of toppings around the bases to allow it to cook thoroughly and evenly.
Remember, vegan cheese alternatives are often made with coconut oil and will therefore melt somewhat unpredictably, so it might be a good idea to keep the cheese slightly further away from the edge.
6. Place your pizza trays in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes. Check the manufacturer's instructions for the pizza bases to give you a bit more guidance.
We want to make sure the base is cooked but isn't burned. A good pizza will have a nice crust along the edge but will stay soft toward the middle. We also want to make sure the cheese is thoroughly melted.
Other than that, we shall not worry – all other ingredients are either cooked already (falafel, olives, tomato sauce) or suitable for consumption in raw and cooked forms, or anywhere in between (tomatoes, mushrooms, onions).
7. Once you've taken the pizza out of the oven, transfer onto a flat plate or wooden board and use the cutting wheel to slice it.
Garnish with greens and add your favorite condiments!
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