Vegan Pizza

For me, the hardest thing about Vegan dinners is nixing the cheese. Kids love pizza, and for pizza cheese is a necessity.

We tried the pizzas with Daiya Mozzarella cheese. meh. It's definitely lacking... and wowza that "cheese" is pricey!

A while back, I experimented with making a pizza using The Sexy Vegan's Not-zarella Sauce recipe. We were hooked. This stuff is simple to make, a heck of a lot cheaper and more importantly... a way more tasty alternative to a Daiya pizza.

Here we go with my version of Vegan Pizza...

There are 4 parts to a pizza: (1) The crust (2) the pizza sauce (3) the 'cheese' and (4) the toppings.

The crust. I pick up a ready made pizza dough from my Publix bakery, it's just easier than making my own, but if you feel like making your own, or just buying your favorite pizza shell from your grocery store... either way, you end up with a pizza crust. (Don't forget to preheat your oven according to your dough's instructions.)

The pizza sauce. I like to make my own pizza sauce, it's super easy and cheapy cheap. I start with a small 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, add in some basil pesto and garlic powder to taste (we love our garlic around here). Mix it together with a spoon in a small bowl and set aside.

The 'cheese'. Not-zzarella Sauce!
(makes 3 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole raw cashews
• One 12-ounce package soft silken tofu
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon yellow miso (this is optional, in my humble opinion)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons nooch (aka nutritional yeast)
• 2/3 cup water

In a small pot, cover the cashews with water, and boil for about 8 minutes to soften them up. Drain and let cool. In a food processor or blender, process the cashews until they're finely ground.  Add the tofu, mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder, miso, salt, oil, basil, nooch and water. Puree until the sauce is smooth.

Excerpted with permission from
The Sexy Vegan Cookbook: Extraordinary Food from an Ordinary Dude ©2012 by Brian Patton. 
Published with permission of New World Library http://www.newworldlibrary.com

This recipe makes plenty of enough sauce for 2 large pizzas. I usually put half in an airtight container, refrigerate and use it later. It's a good thing to have on hand. I'm thinking about whipping up some version of baked ziti and lathering my leftover Not-zzarella Sauce on top. Mmmmm.

The toppings. I like to keep it healthy, so I slather on the broccoli. For tonight's pizza we used broccoli, diced green peppers, diced onion, Bac-Os, and some Tofurky Pepperoni Slices.
Remember when I said we love our garlic? I like to marinate my veggies in a drizzle of olive oil and some garlic salt. I put them in a large ziploc bag and shake it up to make sure all those little veggies are nice and covered.

Set your toppings aside and prepare your dough.

Now it's time to put it all together. Gather the pizza sauce, your Not-zzarella and your toppings and build your pizza. Tonight, we made two. Since my kiddos aren't keen on the large amount of broccoli I like on my pizza, we just put a little bit of veggies on theirs. As you can see, I like to put my veggies under the Not-zzarella Sauce, but you can build yours however your heart desires. Once your pizza(s) are built, pop it in the oven and cook according to the dough's instructions.

Ta Da!!!

Slice it up and serve with a tall glass of icy lemonade... or whatever you like to drink at dinner. :)

There are bunches of yummy recipes in The Sexy Vegan Cookbook. It's one I totally recommend checking out at your library, downloading to your iPad or buying the book. Book recommendations don't come lightly from me... this is the first book I checked out from my library after going 'Veganish' and I ended up buying it because the library wanted it back.

Enjoy!

<3, Tabi :D