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This best vegan pizza recipe is a total crowd pleaser! The veggie pizza toppings are so full of flavor no one notices it’s cheeseless.
What are your “I could never”s? We all say it, right? I could never…go to the gym. Eat healthy. Run a marathon. Speak in public. For the longest time mine was, “I could never learn to cook.” (After years of practice, I got over that one.) Guess what? This pizza recipe was born of another “I could never” — I could never eat pizza without cheese. Yes, this pizza is so full of flavor, you won’t even notice it’s not there! Hold onto your hats: this one is the best vegan pizza ever.
Video: How to make vegan pizza (1:45 minutes)
Let’s start with a video! So much of making pizza dough is about watching and learning. So we’ve made you a step-by-step video to show you exactly how to make this vegan pizza! Here’s the entire process, from kneading to shaping to baking. We highly recommend watching this before you dig in!
Pizza without cheese?
Alex and I are huge (huge!) pizza aficionados. We eat mainly vegetarian in our daily lives, so there’s always a place for cheese at the table. Cheeseless pizza was a stretch for us. But we’re always up for trying new things.
This vegan pizza recipe—good news—tastes incredible, no cheese needed! The umami of mushrooms and artichokes, our favorite tomatoes (Muir Glen Organic fire roasted), a little fresh basil make an explosion of flavor. The one caveat is that vegan pizza doesn’t stick together quite as easily as with the glue of cheese-ladden pizza, so watch for sliding toppings when you grab a slice. But it’s a small price to pay. Consider it another “I could never,” accomplished.
How to make a great vegan pizza
Here are a few hints to making the best vegan pizza recipe:
- “Meaty” veggie toppings. Pizza without cheese needs big flavors, especially in the umami department. (Umami is known as the “fifth flavor,” savory or meaty.) Mushrooms and artichoke hearts add big meaty flavor to the vegetarian pizza toppings.
- High-quality pizza sauce. Since cheeseless pizza can’t make up for flavor with cheese, the tomatoes you use have to add mega flavor. Fire-roasted tomatoes bring a lovely sweet flavor to our best pizza sauce that takes only 5 minutes to make. You could also substitute with a very high quality marinara sauce.
- Great pizza dough. There’s no hiding a bad dough in a vegan pizza! Use a best quality dough: we recommend Pizza Dough Master Recipe or Thin Crust Pizza Dough.
Though it’s a no cheese pizza, our best vegan pizza recipe has been a hit with our friends and family! Vegan comfort food, at its finest. What do you think of pizza without cheese — would you try it? Let us know in the comments below.
The best veggie pizza toppings?
What are the best veggie pizza toppings for a homemade vegetarian pizza? Because it’s a dairy-free pizza, it needs loads of flavor in the toppings. Of course, you can use these ideas as vegetarian pizza toppings on a pizza with cheese as well! Here’s are some of our favorite veggie pizza toppings to add to vegan pizza:
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Lightly sauteed spinach
- Red onion slivers (raw or lightly sauteed)
- Chickpeas: a unique addition that made the vegan pizza more filling!
- Jarred roasted red peppers: slice them into strips for a beautiful vibrant topping
- Kalamata or black olives
- Shaved raw Brussels sprouts
- Canned artichoke hearts
- Green onion
- Roasted sweet potatoes or squash
For best results, use a pizza stone & peel!
To step up your pizza game, there are two pizza making tools you need! While they’re not required, they make for the absolute best pizza possible.
- Pizza stone: Using a pizza stone bakes the dough at very high heat, and results in a crispy outside and a chewy inside.
- Pizza peel: When you use a stone, you need a pizza peel to remove the dough from the stone. We recommend this Aluminum Peel or Super Peel.
We aren’t the only ones making homemade vegan pizza!
Here are a few more vegan pizza recipes from around the web:
This vegan pizza recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, naturally sweet, and refined sugar-free.
Best Homemade Vegan Pizza
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 7 minutes
- Yield: 1 large pizza 1x
Description
This best vegan pizza recipe is a total crowd pleaser! The veggie pizza toppings are so full of flavor no one notices it’s cheeseless.
Ingredients
- 1 ball Best Pizza Dough (or Food Processor Dough or Thin Crust Dough)
- 1 jarred roasted red pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 8 baby bella mushrooms
- ¼ red onion
- ½ cup cooked chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing dough
- 3 cups spinach, packed
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup Muir Glen Organic fire roasted crushed tomatoes or our Homemade Easy Pizza Sauce
- 6 canned artichoke heart quarters
- 4 large leaves basil
Instructions
- Prepare the dough using the Best Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe (follow this video instruction for more). Follow the preparation instructions in the dough recipe if prepared in advance.
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here’s the pizza oven we use).
- Prepare the toppings: Slice the jarred red pepper into thin strips and set aside. Mince 3 cloves garlic. Slice the mushrooms and red onion. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic, mushrooms, onion, chickpeas, and spinach and ½ teaspoon kosher salt; saute until the mushrooms are tender and the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes.
- When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!) Stretch the dough into a circle; see How to Stretch Pizza Dough for instructions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
- Quickly assemble the pizza: Spread a thin layer of crushed tomatoes across the dough and sprinkle with a few pinches kosher salt. Add the sauteed vegetables, then top with red pepper strips and artichoke quarters.
- Transfer the pizza to the oven on the pizza peel, and bake until the crust is browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. While the pizza bakes, cut the basil into thin strips (chiffonade). Allow to cool slightly, then top with basil and serve.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
Looking for more pizza recipes?
In addition to this vegan pizza, we’ve got one more plant based pizza on our website (see below)! In addition, here are a few of our favorite homemade pizza recipes if your diet allows some cheese or if you have a great vegan mozzarella brand:
- Pizza Marinara There’s no cheese in this classic pizza, so it’s all about the tomatoes, garnished simply with garlic and oregano.
- Margherita Pizza The classic! It features basil, mozzarella, and bold tomato pizza sauce.
- Taco Pizza Topped with refried beans, romaine, tortilla chips, and of course — ranch.
- Veggie & Avocado Pizza Stars bell peppers, fresh basil, and creamy goat cheese!
- Perfect Neapolitan Pizza Inspired by the best pizza in Naples Italy!
- Easy Calzone Recipe This easy calzone recipe features homemade pizza dough and a veggie and two-cheese filling. Dip it in zesty pizza sauce and prepare to be amazed.
- KitchenAid Pizza Dough This has been made by thousands and become their go-to pizza dough recipe.
- How to Make Artisan Pizza All our tips on pizza making!
Last updated: February 2020
I didn’t use chickpeas and I didn’t have enough spinach so I added arugula too. I definitely want to try it with the chickpeas and I think I’ll add some red pepper flakes too. This pizza was delicious! I topped it off with grated vegan parm.
This is an awesome recipe thank you for sharing! I tried it for the first time and thought the pizza came out pretty good. I am definitely going to make this again.
This pizza is made by my DREAMS! Vegan Pizza here I come!
I made this pizza a few weeks ago and it was so good. So. So. good. I am not by any means a great cook, but I do cook almost every night for my family of three toddlers. We went vegan/vegetarian 6-months-ago and have been struggling to find dinners that aren’t just eating tofu every night. I loved this pizza! The crust was flavorful and the pizza was super flavorful and tasty. We really enjoyed it. We are making it again tonight, which is why I thought to add a review. :)
I’m so glad to hear this! Thank you for making it :)