You’ll Never Miss Cheese Again

For all vegans that make that final leap into veganism, we all have that one food that we can’t imagine life without. For me that was PIZZA! Simple pizza with crispy dough, tomato sauce, and gooey cheese. You know what I’m talking about! Nowadays we live in a beautiful world with creative individuals that have created a   cheese that I promise will satisfy all those pizza cravings.

This is a simple recipe with simple ingredients done to perfection. It is really versatile so if you want to add your favorite additional toppings, it will be just as delicious. This recipe calls for your pizza to be grilled on pizza stones. It could also be cooked in the oven if it isn't grilling season. Regardless if you are cooking it in the oven or grill I really do recommend you use a pizza stone. You’ll thank me when you have a fluffy and crispy crust.

Curious about my favorite vegan cheeses? Listed below are a few of my favorites store-bought cheeses. If you are really hungry and just want to know how to make delicious pizza, then keep scrolling for the recipe.

Miyokos: #Phenomenallyvegan

Miyoko’s is one of the OG’s to vegan cheese making. Miyoko creates a large variety of vegan cheeses and butter. For this recipe, I used Miyokos vegan mozzarella. It comes resembling a large ball of fresh mozzarella. My favorite way to use it is shredded. It’s creamiest this way

Another one of my favorites is Miyoko’s Spicy Revolution Vegan Roadhouse Cheese Spread. It's the perfect cheese for crackers and pretzels.

Treeline Vegan Cheese:

Treeline was one of the first vegan cheeses that I found that made me believe there is life after cheese. The Herb Garlic soft french style cheese is everything. This cheese is cashew based and so creamy. I love this one spreaded on sandwiches, or with crackers and pretzels. 

Follow Your Heart:

Follow Your Heart is another great brand with various plant-based products from cheeses to mayo. Their parmesan is perfection to top any pasta dish or even a tofu scramble. If baking it on top of a pasta dish I recommend you either just add during the last 5 mins of cooking or cover the basked dish in the over. 

Tofutti Cream Cheese:

Tofutti is a classic and I’ve been eating it for a long time at my local bagel shop in New Hampshire. It is really close to traditional cream cheese. I love to blend in chopped jalapeno, peppers and celery into a tub of this cream cheese

Kite Hill Cream Cheese:

Kite Hill is a favorite soy-free alternative with delicious products ranging from cream cheese, dips and almond based yogurts including Greek style. Their cream cheese is almond based and the texture is amazing. It comes in a lot of flavors including jalapeno, chive, plain and everything! P.S The plain greek style Kite Hill yogurt is the perfect sour cream alternative too.

Violife:

This brand came out of nowhere one day impressing me with a variety of plant-based cheeses. Plus it’s soy and nut free. Delicious! Some of my must-have from this brand include the Mature Cheddar Slices. They melt like perfection on burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches!

The block of hard parmesan is amazing too! The Shredded Mozzarella and Cheddar are also great for pizza, chili, tacos whatever cheesy cravings you might be having!

All these cheeses I typically buy from Wholefoods or Wegmans grocery stores. If you have a favorite vegan cheese I need to try, let me know below.

Now for the pizza!

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour (Plus extra for dusting)

1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil 

1 1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1 cup of warm water

2 ¼ teaspoon of dry yeast or 1 packet  

Optional: Add a few Tablespoons of fresh herbs to the dough fresh thyme and oregano are my favorite

Tomato Sauce:

1 14oz can Dice unsalted tomatoes 

Himalayan Salt 

Toppings:

1 - Miyokos Mozzarella- shredded 

½ cup Fresh Basil 

½ cup Chopped spinach 

Crushed red pepper

Prep your dough:

• Heat 1 cup of warm water pour into a bowl and sprinkle on the dry yeast. Let sit for at least 5-10minsthe mixture will start to foam 

• I prefer to use a stand mixer with a hook attachment. I think it is just easier, it can be done by hand too.

• Place maple syrup and olive oil in a small bowl, mix and set aside. 

• Place flour and salt into the mixing bowl.

•  Make a hole in the center of the mixing bowl and add the maple and olive oil mixture as well as the yeast mixture. If using dried herbs add them now  

• Blend the mixture on medium-low speed until it pulls together and becomes smooth, for a few minutes. If you added too much flour add a tablespoon of water at a time or if the mixture is too wet add a tablespoon at a time of flour. 

• When the dough has come together lift it out of the mixing bowl and spray the bowl with olive oil and place the dough back in with a clean towel on top to keep it warm.

• Let double in size in a warm area  for 1 ½ to 2 hours 

Heat up your pizza stones:

• If using an oven place pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 425 Degrees F 

• If using a grill heat up your pizza stones. I use the smaller stones for the grill since my regular pizza stone won’t fit

Make the tomato sauce:

• Drain the liquid from the can of diced tomatoes.

• Placed the diced tomatoes in a blender with a few pinches of the Himalayan sea salt

• Blend together 

• That’s it! The perfect sauce

Prep your toppings:

• Shred your Miyokos vegan mozzarella

• Chiffon your basil by stacking the basil leaves on top of each other. Rolling them together and chopping them into thin ribbons. You can also leave the basil whole if you like.

• Crushed red pepper

Time to assemble the pizza:

• You can use your hands to stretch the dough. I’ve been using a rolling pin lately. It's just easier for me and the thickness of the dough stays more consistent. 

• If using a single pizza stone take the dough out of the mixing bowl and start to evenly roll the dough out. Once you get the shape and size you want to set it with some flour onto a pizza paddle. Be generous with the amount of flour on the bottom of the pizza so it can be transferred easily.

• If using small pizza stones cut the dough into four equal parts and repeat the above steps.

• To assemble pizza ladle desired tomato sauce onto pizza top with shredded Myokos mozzarella, fresh basil, and pinches of Himalayan salt. 

To Cook: 

• Oven: Transfer to the pizza stone and bake for 15-20mins

• Grill: Transfer to pizza stone depending on the heat of your grill pizza will be done in 5-10mins 

• Slice enjoy and sprinkle with crushed red pepper

I hope you enjoyed my favorite vegan cheeses and this pizza recipe. Let me know your favorite combinations below and any future posts you want to see. 

Lyslie 

Basil & Bunny