Vegan Pizza: 6 Recipes for the Perfect Night in

Although the weather outside is still warm, there's still nothing like a nice night in watching movies and eating a great home-cooked meal. Regardless if you're alone, with friends, or with a date, there's something about just staying in that is so comforting. But picking food can be a chore, especially if you need the vegan option.

Here are six awesome recipes for fun, easy, and delicious vegan pizzas.

1. Eggplant Pizza With Caramelized Onions

(From My Darling Vegan)

Ingredients for the crust:

• 2 1/4 tsp fast acting yeast

• 2/3 cup warm water

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• Ingredients for the toppings:

• 1 medium eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch thick

• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

• 3-4 tbsp olive oil, divided

• 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella cheese

• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

• salt

Directions for the crust:

• Combine yeast and warm water

• Mix together flours and salt in a large bowl

• Add olive oil and mix

• While mixing, slowly add water/yeast mixture

• Turn onto a floured surface and knead for five minutes

• Place in a large oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel, and place in a warm area for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size

• Once dough is ready you can begin preparing everything else

Directions for the toppings:

• Turn oven to broil and move an oven rack to the top shelf

• Slice the eggplant 1/4 inch thick and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet

• Lightly brush each side with olive oil and sprinkle with salt

• Broil for 4-6 minutes on each side, until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool

• Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a small skillet and sauté onions until caramelized (about 10 minutes)

• Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

Directions for rest of pizza:

• Turn down oven to 450 degrees F

• Shape the dough to fit on a pizza stone or baking dish

• Lightly brush on the remaining olive oil and top with the vegan cheese

• Place broiled eggplant over the cheese, covering the entire surface

• Top with caramelized onions and fresh rosemary

• Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned

2. Hawaiian BBQ Pizza

(From Create Mindfully)

Ingredients:

• 9" pizza crust (Create Mindfully used 1/2 of Pamela's Pizza Mix)

• 2 tablespoons gluten free BBQ sauce

• 1 slice of tofu bacon, chopped

• 1/4 cup chopped pineapple

• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced red onion

• 1/4 cup chopped red pepper

• 2 tablespoons vegan mozzarella (optional)

• 1 tablespoon green onion, chopped

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F

• Mix/cook pizza dough according to directions

• Spread BBQ sauce on pizza crust 

• Top with chopped tofu bacon, pineapple, red onion, red pepper, and vegan mozzarella 

• Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until crust has slightly browned

• Top with chopped green onion, slice and serve

3. Garlic, Mushroom, and Spinach Pizza

(From Bianca Zapatka)

Ingredients:

• 1 batch pizza dough (1/2 lbs) 

• 7 oz spinach (200 g), fresh or frozen

• 3 garlic cloves

• salt and pepper to taste

• 2/3 cup dairy-free cream cheese (150 g)

• 3/4 cup dairy-free cheese (75 g), shredded

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 5 oz mushrooms (150 g)

• 2 tbsp pine nuts

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees

• Roll out pizza dough with a rolling pin. Place the pizza dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (Can also use a pizza pan or pizza stone)

• If using frozen spinach, thaw and squeeze the liquid. If using fresh spinach, bring salted water to a boil in a pot, add spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes until it starts to wilt, then squeeze the spinach well and chop roughly

• Heat up a little oil in a small pan and roast garlic for 30 seconds while stirring

• Add cream cheese and spinach

• Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine

• Spread spinach cream mixture over pizza dough, followed by vegan cheese

• Bake pizza for about 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted

• In the meantime, fry mushrooms in pan with some oil for 6-8 minutes until golden brown, add salt to taste

• Toast pine nuts in another pan without adding any oil

• When pizza is done, top with mushrooms and pine nuts

4. Spicy BBQ Chickpea Pizza

(From Jessica in the Kitchen)

Ingredients:

• 1 whole wheat pizza dough (or dough of your choice)

• 1 16 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas)

• 1/2 cup fresh tomato sauce

• 6 tablespoons sweet BBQ sauce

• 1-2 tablespoons hot sauce

• 2 cups vegan mozzarella cheese, shredded

• Few slices red onions

• 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 drizzle olive oil (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F

• Place pizza on pizza stone or baking sheet with silicone mat

• Toss chickpeas, BBQ sauce, and hot sauce in small bowl

• Spread tomato sauce over the pizza dough, top with cheese, tomato slices, and onion spices

• Add chickpeas on top of pizza dough

• Sprinkle garlic on pizza, then drizzle olive oil on top

• Bake pizza in oven for 14-17 minutes until cheese is melty and dough looks done

• Remove, let cool, top with parsley if desired

5. Thai Pizza

(From Create Mindfully)

Ingredients for peanut sauce:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter

• 1/2 cup light coconut milk

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon low sodium gluten free tamari

• 1 clove garlic minced

• 2 teaspoons minced ginger

• 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce

Ingredients for ginger garlic tofu:

• 2 teaspoons minced ginger

• 1 clove garlic minced

• 1 tablespoon low sodium, gluten free tamari

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil + a little more for cooking

• 14 oz. firm tofu

Ingredients for pizza:

• gluten free mix or dough (Create Mindfully used Namaste)

• 2 tablespoons peanut sauce + more for drizzling on top

• 4 tablespoons crumbled ginger garlic tofu

• 3 tablespoons finely chopped carrots

• 3 tablespoons chopped red pepper

• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F

• For peanut sauce: Mix all peanut sauce ingredients in a high speed blender until garlic and ginger are well blended, refrigerate for at least an hour so sauce thickens

• For ginger garlic tofu: Combine minced ginger and garlic with tamari and sesame oil

• Press tofu with a tofu press or wrapped in a towel with a heavy object on top of tofu for at least 15 minutes to get water out

• Slice tofu and put in marinade, marinate overnight for the strongest flavor, or if you don’t have time, marinate for at least an hour

• Cook in sesame oil until golden brown, then flip and cook other side until golden brown

• Mix/cook pizza dough according to directions

• For pizza: Layer peanut sauce, tofu, carrots, and red pepper on pizza, cook pizza for 10 minutes more, drizzle more peanut sauce if desired, sprinkle cilantro on top, slice and serve

6. Blackberry Basil Pizza

(From A Whisk and Two Wands)

Ingredients:

• 1 10-12″ pizza crust of choice

• 1/2 cup fresh blackberries

• salt and pepper

• 4 oz fresh mozzarella (A Whisk and Two Wands recommends Miyoko’s Creamery Fresh Veganmozz)

• 6-8 leaves fresh basil

• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar for drizzling

Directions:

• Preheat grill to to 550 degrees F

• Mash blackberries with a fork until you get a sauce-like texture

• Spread mixture on pizza crust like sauce

• Sprinkle mozzarella pieces and chunks on top

• Season with salt and pepper

• Place pizza (with parchment paper) and onto pizza stone

• Bake for 5-8 minutes

• Top with basil and serve with balsamic vinegar