It’s about time that we added a recipe for pizza on this blog. Like I said in my bio, I grew up in a neighborhood where there was a pizzeria on every corner. A good slice of pizza is an important part of life, we all know that.
Earlier this year, a vegan pizzeria opened up in Breckenridge called Piante Pizzeria. If you’re ever in the area, we HIGHLY recommend going there. It’s a little over an hour away from Denver so it took us a while to finally have an excuse to drive that far. But O M G – it was delicious. The owners come from the east coast so they are well-versed in good pizza. And did I mention everything is VEGAN? Perfect. The owner sat at our table and chatted with us about the New York Italian food scene for a while, too. She was so welcoming! We had a lovely conversation about the health benefits of eating plant-based and the restaurant’s mission.
Matt loves it when I make pizza dough at home. He’s loves watching me knead the dough while he chops up fresh vegetables. I always get super excited when the dough starts getting smooth and elastic like, “Look at this! Look at how beautiful this dough is!” It’s quite a scene, not going to lie.
Oftentimes, we don’t bother with putting vegan cheese on. We load up on the vegetables instead – broccoli, peppers, onions, cauliflower, fresh basil, arugula – whatever we have in the fridge. BUT this last time we made pizza, we made homemade cashew mozzarella and plopped that all over to make a Vegan Margherita Pizza. It came out so good – we HAD to share. That’s where this recipe comes in.
Making homemade pizza dough is super easy, and you can make the mozzarella cheese and chop all the vegetables while the dough is rising. We have a pizza stone, peel, and cutter but these are just extra accessories that we’ve acquired over the years of making a lot of pizza… and also not being able to control myself at World Market or Home Goods (hehe). You can always just place the pizza on a regular baking sheet and cut with a sharp knife. It only takes 10-15 minutes to bake – QUICK and EASY.
https://www.facebook.com/pastabased/videos/331295750658458/
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Simple and easy Vegan Pizza Dough recipe. Topped with Vegan Mozzarella, Tomatoes, and Fresh Basil to make a traditional Margherita Pizza.
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for kneading)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 tomatoes (sliced)
- 1/2 cup fresh basil (chopped)
- 1/2 cup marinara sauce
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Mix yeast in warm water and stir to dissolve. Activate yeast for about 10 minutes or until frothy.
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Add flour, salt, and sugar to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add olive oil and yeast + water mixture and mix with a spoon until well-combined. As the mixture starts coming together, use your hands to combine and slightly knead into a smooth dough ball.
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Place dough in a greased bowl (we usually just use an oil spray) and roll it around to lightly cover it in the oil. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and set aside in a warm area to rise until doubled (about one hour).
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Once doubled, sprinkle flour on a clean counter and knead dough for 5 minutes, using the quarter-turn method, until smooth and elastic.
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Preheat oven to 425F
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This recipe will make two 12" pizzas so cut the dough ball in half to work on one at a time. Form the dough into a disc and place on lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out until flat. Roll up the edges to form a crust.
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Optional: baste a little olive oil onto the flattened dough.
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Add a few tablespoons of marinara sauce and spread evenly. Add fresh tomato slices. Plop vegan mozzarella cheese in a few places on top.
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Place raw pizza on a pizza stone, pizza pan, or baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately add chopped fresh basil.
This recipe makes enough for two 12" pizzas.
Kate
I love margherita pizza. I haven’t found a vegan “cheese” that I like yet, but that shouldn’t stop me from making vegan pizza!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
Your photos are making me so hungry! What a delicious looking pizza!
Mel | avirtualvegan.com
I totally agree that a good slice of pizza (or 3) is an important part of life. Your recipe looks so delicious. You just can’t beat a simple margarita pizza!
Strength and Sunshine
That looks like one winning pizza! Who could ever pass up a slice!
Marlena | Where You Get Your Protein
Yum! Homemade pizza’s are the best! I can’t wait to try this!
doug
Hi! I had the amazing opportunity to speak with the chef and proprietor of Piante Pizzeria on the Colorado.FM podcast.
It was fascinating to learn more about the adventure that led Jason to settle in Breckenridge and open Piante.
I hope you enjoy our conversation and feel it is worth sharing! Colorado.FM is all about supporting local Colorado businesses, so anything you can do to spread the word helps!
You can find this episode at the link below:
http://www.colorado.fm/piante-pizzeria/
Thanks!
pasta-based
Thanks for sharing, Doug. We love Piante! As former New Yorkers, we had a wonderful conversation with Jason’s wife about leaving New York, their RV journey to Colorado and opening the restaurant. The food they make is delicious, I’m happy to share this interview! 🙂
Brittany Sahatjian
What size package of yeast did you use for this?
pasta-based
0.75oz packet
Tina G
Thanks for the detailed recipe. The pizza looks so delicious!