Make the PERFECT vegan pizza at home that is easy, delicious, and just as good as anything you get delivered! Crispy whole wheat crust, a step-by-step tutorial, and ALL the toppings.
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This post has been a LONG time coming! I’ve been wanting to write this post for FOREVER, but I kept getting hung up on making it just ‘perfect’. I wanted to do a video! and step by step photos! and give you every detail ever about making the most perfect, crispy vegan pizza. But, sometimes you just gotta do the thing, rather than waiting for it to be perfect, right? So, if I miss anything or you still have questions about making pizza after this post, please let me know! I see this as becoming a really good piece of content where you guys can come to learn how to make the best pizza ever and I’ll keep adding to it as I learn more tips, tricks, and skills along the way. Ok, let’s get to how to make the vegan pizza!
Let’s go over the cardinal rules of making the perfect vegan pizza:
- Your oven MUST be hot! Turn it up as high as you can get it hot. I’ve made pizza at 350 degrees F, at 450, and as high as most ovens go (500 degrees F). 500 degrees F trumps them all and to be honest, I wish I had an outdoor woodburning pizza oven (a la The Faux Martha) to get it even hotter and live the pizza making life of my dreams.
- Invest in good equipment! If you make pizza only occasionally, this maybe isn’t a huge thing for you, but if you love pizza and make it every week as I do, you NEED a few key things.
- A good pizza stone. This ensures you get that crispy on the bottom crust that is perfect every time.
- A pizza peel. This is one of my more recent investments in the pizza making process and it is a GAME CHANGER. It seems scary and you are probably going to have a few topping mishaps the first few times, it’s ok! Make sure you just keep trying. This is the best way to transfer your pizza to your preheated pizza stone, hands down. If you don’t have a peel or don’t want to use one, I’ve had success spreading out the dough on the backside of a baking sheet and sliding it from there to the stone.
- A good dough recipe. I love love love Sara’s recipe and make it every week. I usually do partial all-purpose flour and partial whole wheat flour.
- Cornmeal, for making sure your pizza slides smoothly from your peel to your stone!
- If you don’t want to or don’t have a pizza stone, that’s totally fine! I’ve had success making this recipe on a rimmed baking sheet and it turns out just fine. The bottom doesn’t get quite as crispy, but it’s still perfectly good pizza!
- Don’t overload on toppings! I used to LOAD up on all the toppings and slather on way too much pizza sauce. It always turned out ok, but not super great because everything was really weighing down the pizza and making it all soggy. Don’t be like me!
- Quick is the name of the game when it comes to baking. Don’t leave it in too long or it will burn. Not long enough and you will get that underbaked on the inside thing, which isn’t good at all!
- Trust your instincts! If your dough feels like it needs more water or flour, do it. It’s going to take a bit to get to the point where you know what it needs, but when you do it makes for the best pizza.
- But don’t mess with your dough too much. I’ve made this mistake SO many times! I get my dough ready, let it rest, and then spend way too long spreading it and making it into a perfect circle on my pizza peel. Once you know how to spread it out without it getting too wet or sticky or not overworking it, you end up with a tender, perfect pizza crust.
Step by step to make the perfect vegan pizza:
- Prep your dough! Sara’s recipe is super easy and comes together in 10 minutes flat. I love that it’s something I know by heart, can change as needed, and let rise while I prep everything else. Make sure your yeast is fresh, or you will end up frustrated and with a very flat pizza dough (or end up making it again). No good!
- Let is rise! I love Sara’s method of letting your dough rise in a warmed oven. I’ve also tried making the dough a week before and letting it rest in the fridge, but the taste and the texture weren’t the same. I also had to let it come up to room temperature for a while, so it felt like the same amount of time as making it fresh.
- Once your dough is done rising, it’s time to take it out of the oven! Once you have it out, immediately place your pizza stone in the oven and start preheating to 500 degrees F. Getting your stone nice and hot will ensure that your bottom will be crispy the moment it hits the pizza stone!
- While your oven is preheating and your stone is heating up, make your pizza! I usually chop veggies, grate cheese, etc. while the pizza dough is rising. Then, I shape the dough and spread it out on a cornmeal dusted pizza peel and top away! Go lighter on the sauce than you think, then add the rest of your toppings. Pizza is actually one of my FAVORITE ways to clean out the fridge of veggies or things that I’m not sure what to do with, since just about anything is good on pizza.
- Once your stone and oven are preheated and your pizza is made, it’s time to bake! carefully slide your pizza from the peel onto the stone and voila, you are done!
- Let your pizza cook for 10-12 minutes. This is the pizza baking sweet spot and unless you like really well-done pizza, I wouldn’t go any longer than this!
- EAT! Extra red pepper flakes optional, but totally recommended.
There you have it! I hope this puts you well on your way to making the perfect vegan pizza while finding that it’s often easier and more delicious than ordering takeout.
Pizza crust recipe belongs to Cake Over Steak
PrintThe Best Easy Vegan Pizza Recipe
Description
Make the PERFECT vegan pizza at home that is easy, delicious, and just as good as anything you get delivered! Crispy whole wheat crust, a step-by-step tutorial, and ALL the toppings.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water (it should be just warm enough to feel like bathwater, but not any hotter or you’ll kill the yeast)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (I usually use instant yeast, but any kind will do)
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup One Degree Organics Organic Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
- While yeast is being activated, turn oven on to 200 degrees F for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, turn off the oven.
- Add the flours to the mixing bowl and stir together on low to medium-low until dough starts to come together. Depending on the temperature, weather, etc. you may need to add a little bit more flour or water to get the dough to come together. Mix until it comes together in a smooth ball.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in your warmed oven for 30 minutes to rise. The dough should double in size.
- Remove dough from the oven and set aside. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F and if you’re using a pizza stone, place it on the middle rack in the oven.
- While the oven is preheating, spread out your pizza dough onto the baking sheet or pizza peel, dusting the surface liberally with cornmeal before placing the dough down. If you’re using a peel, shake the peel a bit to make sure the dough can easily slide off.
- Top the pizza dough with your sauce, toppings, and whatever else you are going to put on your pizza.
- If you’re using a peel, slide your topped pizza onto your pizza stone. If you’re using the rimmed baking sheet, just place the pizza in the baking sheet in the oven.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. I find this is the sweet spot and wouldn’t recommend any more or less.
- Remove and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting.
Notes
- Using a pizza peel takes a bit of practice, but it gets easier!
- The key to good pizza dough is handling it as little as possible when you’re spreading it out onto the peel. Try to spread it out without over kneading it, since that can make it tough.
sweetonnh says
What kind of pizza peel would you recommend? I see they come in metal & wood.
Heart of a Baker says
I’ve linked to one in the post, but I have a metal one and love it!
Sara @ Cake Over Steak says
Yay! I’m so glad you’ve made my pizza dough recipe a weekly part of your life and adapted it to your needs. Thanks for the major shout-out to my recipe and I hope we can enjoy some pizza together soon! xoxo
Heart of a Baker says
Woo woo! PIZZA LOVE. Let’s make that pizza night happen ASAP! xoxo
Ellen Taylor says
Although I don’t love Pizza much more, but this looks perfect for my husband. Will try soon for him.
Heart of a Baker says
Hope you both love it!