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Homemade Vegan Margherita Pizza Recipe. 20 Minute Pizza crust, 5 minute Pizza sauce and a creamy cashew mozzarella cheese sauce. Vegan Soy-free Recipe. Gluten-free and nut-free options. Jump to Recipe
Sometimes you just want a ridiculously good pizza and the pizza restaurants are too far away, have shut down, or offer sub par vegan experience. Then you just go to the kitchen and whip up a super fresh delicious margherita pizza with gooey cashew cheese, all made from scratch.
You can speed up the process by either making the components ahead of time or using store bought options. With a store bought pizza sauce, this pizza comes together in 20-30 mins and then you have to wait and fight over the fresh slices. The recipe is easily doubled!
The pizza dough (its my easy 20 minute pizza dough) doesn’t need much kneading. Just bring the dough together and let it rise for 15 mins, then shape it using some flour. This dough is shaped easily as it does not have much gluten development (which develops with longer kneading) and hence is not the stretchy traditional pizza dough, so no struggling to roll it out!
The pizza sauce is a few ingredients. The cashew mozzarella cheese sauce is the sauce from my Mushroom Quesadilla. Just blend, and simmer to thicken, and use. No chill time to let it set. The final result we want is a cheesy melty topping, So keep the state as thick saucy to begin with! problem solved.
This pizza and the mozzarella is adapted from my margherita from Everyday Kitchen book. The mozzarella recipe in the book can be set into slices, or balls or whatever and used wherever. Lets make this version for your pizza fix.
Ingredients for Vegan Margherita Pizza
- This easy Pizza sauce needs tomato paste, olive oil, minced garlic, italian herbs , onion powder, salt and pepper. Or use a store bought pizza sauce or marinara.
- Pizza dough needs just 5 ingredients: active yeast, water, flour, semolina, and salt. Or use a store bought dough
- Mozzarella Cashew cream uses cashews, garlic, onion powder, salt, miso, lemon juice, olive oil and flour or starch for thickening.
- Gluten-free: Use my Gluten-free pizza crust options(listed just above recipe), Use rice flour in the cashew cream for thickening.
- Nut-free: Use one of my nut-free alfredo sauce. Thicken the sauce with a few tsps flour if needed and then scoop spoonfuls on the pizza.
How to make Vegan Margherita Pizza from scratch
Preheat the oven. Soak the cashews for the mozzarella in hot water if you havent already. Mix the warm water with yeast and 1 tbsp flour. Mix well and let sit for 2 mins. Mix the salt and semolina into the rest of the flour. Add the flour and oil to the yeast mixture and mix.
Mix till just about combined. Let it sit for a minute.
Oil your hands and bring the dough together till just about smooth. Dont knead it more than a few seconds. Cover with a towel and let it sit near the preheating oven for 15 mins.
Drain the cashews. Blend all the ingredients under mozzarella cream until smooth. Add to a skillet over medium heat.Cook to thicken evenly. 3 to 5 mins. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking at the bottom and lumping.
Prep the pizza sauce: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Add a pinch of sweetener if needed.
Oil your hands and transfer dough to parchment lined baking sheet. Using flour shape the dough, then spread using your hands. Keep spreading to make a large pizza or make 2 small pizzas.
Spread the pizza sauce all over. Add some fresh basil and place tomato slices over the basil. Add spoonfuls of the mozzarella cream.
Drizzle a tsp of extra virgin olive oil and bake for 13 to 14 mins. Remove from oven, Sprinkle pepper flakes and fresh basil, slice and serve.
Tips to make a fabulous Vegan Margherita Pizza
- Dough: Knead the dough for a minute after it has risen to help the mixture incorporate well. Adjust the flour or water if needed.
- Spread the dough out to make thin crusts. this dough makes bready crust if too thick.
- The mozzarella cream can be made ahead.
- Drizzle drops of olive oil all over on the pizza before baking.
Can I make the this without cashews or nuts?
You can use macadamia nuts instead of cashews in this mozzarella cream. Or use my nut-free alfredo sauce. Add 1-2 tsp flour in th sauce to thicken and then use.
How to Store or Freeze this Vegan Margherita Pizza?
Freeze: Freeze the pizza dough with the sauce and tomatoes or veggies if using, and without the cheese. Freeze on a tray, once fully frozen, store in an airtight ziplock with least amount of air around the pizza.
To cook frozen Pizza: Preheat the oven. Add cheese and other toppings on the frozen pizza in the oven and bake for 16 to 18 mins
More Pizza from the Blog
- Simple Veggie Pizza with 20 minute Crust with garlicky olive oil and no cheese.
- Pizza with chipotle red lentil tomato sauce and vegan ricotta , this pizza sauce also is amazing as pasta sauce
- Sriracha BBQ Tofu Pizza with almond milk pepperjack because Sriracha!
- Deep dish Black eyed pea Pizza
- Berbere Chickpea Pizza with tahini garlic dressing. All you want in a wrap, on a puffy pan crust pizza.
- Buffalo Chickpea Pizza with celery ranch dressing. Looks time intensive but really isnt.
- BBQ Sweet Potato Pizza – With bbq seasoning and bbq sauce!
Gluten-free Pizza Crusts
- Pan Pizza Crust. Thick Soft and airy! GF
- Yeast free Pizza Crust. GF
- Chickpea flour Socca GF
- Chickpea Naan Bread. GF
- Cauliflower Crust. GF
- Potato Crust GF
- Mung Bean Crust. GF
Can I make this margherita Pizza Gluten-free?
Yes, use one of the Gluten-free crusts listed above. The Pan Pizza crust and Socca will work well.
Vegan Margherita Pizza with Cashew Mozzarella
Ingredients
Pizza Dough:
- 1 tsp active yeast
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp warm water
- 1 1/4 cup flour, , divided, (unbleached all purpose or half of all purpose and half whole wheat pastry flour/spelt)
- 1 tbsp semolina flour, or use wheat flour
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 2 tsp olive oil
Pizza Sauce:
- 1/4 cup unsalted tomato paste
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic minced or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp each dried oregano, dried basil
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme or rosemary
- 1/8 tsp onion powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- dash of black pepper
Cashew Mozzarella cream:
- 1/2 cup cashews, soaked in hot water for 15 mins
- 1 cup water
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp flour, , use rice flour or 2 tsp cornstarch for glutenfree
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp miso, , use chickpea miso for soy-free, or use 1-2 tsp nutritional yeast
- Fresh basil, extra virgim olive oil and pepper flakes for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 435 deg F (225 C). Soak the cashews in hot boiling water if you havent already.
- Pizza Base: Mix the warm water with yeast and 1 tbsp flour. Mix well and let sit for 2 mins.
- Mix the salt and semolina into the rest of the flour. Add the flour and oil to the yeast mixture and mix. Mix till just about combined. Let it sit for a minute.
- Oil your hands and bring the dough together till just about smooth. Use a tsp or so more flour(or water if you used wheat flours), if needed. Don't knead it longer than a few seconds. Cover with a towel and let it sit near the preheating oven for 15 mins.
- Cashew Mozzarella Cream: Drain the cashews. Add to a blender with the rest of the ingredient. Blend until smooth. Add to a skillet over medium heat. Cook to thicken evenly. 4 to 6 mins. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking at the bottom and lumping.
- Prep the pizza sauce: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Add a pinch of sweetener if needed.
- Oil your hands and transfer Pizza dough to a parchment lined baking sheet. Using some flour shape the dough into a flat ball, then spread using your hands. Keep spreading to make a large pizza or make 2 small pizzas (see video). You want to spread the dough thin, as it will rise quite a bit during baking and make a bready crust if it was too thick to begin with.
- Spread the pizza sauce all over. Add some fresh basil and place tomato slices over the basil. Sprinkle a pinch of salt. (you can also add other thinly sliced veggies at this point). Add spoonfuls of the mozzarella cream on the pizza.
- Drizzle a tsp of extra virgin olive oil. Then Bake for 13 to 14 mins. (Broil for a minute if needed), Remove from the oven and add fresh basil and pepper flakes. Slice and serve, See Storage and Freezing instructions in notes.
Video
Notes
- Gluten-free: Use my Gluten-free pizza crust options(listed just above recipe), Use rice flour in the cashew cream for thickening.
- Nut-free: Use one of my nut-free alfredo sauce. Thicken the sauce with a few tsps flour if needed and then scoop spoonfuls on the pizza.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made my own similar dough and sauce (balsamic, herbs, carmalized onions, fresh tomatoes + paste) so I can only vouch for the cashew mixture, but that was the first vegan pizza Ive had since going vegan nearly 4 years ago that was genuinely delicious. All the processed fake dairy products smell and taste gross to me, but this was fantastic! Great flavor, and it crisped up really nice. Definitely blind bake your dough!
Yay!! So glad you liked it. You can eat pizza all the time now.
I made the pourable mozzarella and added in a dash of mushroom powder and nutritional yeast as suggested. It was delicious and so easy!I used the mixture to top a baked pasta casserole and then heated the leftovers to save for another day. Really delicious!
Yay!! So glad you liked it.
I used the cashew cheese for a gf crust and it was delicious!
Yay!!
Wow! This pizza sauce (and pizza) is delicious and so easy to make. It is one of the best we have ever made. Thank you for the simple, yummy recipe. I am glad to have found your website!
Yay
Thank you, it came out great!
My dairy-string BF lapped it up, too
yay!
The cashew cheese is great!!! I will be using this again.
Great to hear Mun.
Could I use all whole
wheat flour for the crust?
yep!
My comment is the same as Marylou’s. 🙂 I have tried a couple other cashew cheese sauces and this one will be my new go-to! I used refrigerated dough and jarred sauce, and the pizza turned out very yummy. Thank you!
excellent!
Can the cashew mozzarella be made ahead and refrigerated or stored in freezer?
you can freeze it, but the texture changes a bit
I made the vegan mozzarella sauce and it was the first time I had made a cashew cream sauce I was satisfied with and enjoyed. I’ve tried many recipes in the past month to no avail. As it was cooking it smelled like cheese, I was wonderfully surprised. My husband really enjoyed the sauce as well It’s a keeper for certain. Next time I will be trying the dough and pizza sauce recipe as well. Thank you!
Fabulous