What if I told you that you could chow down on America’s #1 food obsession without the guilt and burden of excessive saturated fat and sodium? You would probably think I was crazy, right?
And you would probably think I was also crazy if I suggested that cheese (the culprit of your pizza’s salt infested and fat-laden woes) be eliminated from your toppings, right? Nod if you agree..
Regular cheese pizza will always taste better than cheeseless or dairy-free cheese pizza. Come on, even I can admit that. But if you have a dairy sensitivity or if you’re like me and committed to living a dairy-free lifestyle, there are other options. You don’t have to forgo pizza altogether. Pizza without cheese or with dairy-free cheese can still deliver on flavor.
I use to think it was absolutely absurd to even consider a pizza without cheese. I thought, “What’s the point of having pizza without cheese?” “Cheese-less pizza masquerading as the real thing is whack!”
I thought that Veganism would equate to me giving up one of my favorite weekend luxuries.
Little did I know that I was wrong — very wrong.
I decided to give cheeseless pizza a try. Yes, you read it right – cheeseless pizza would soon canvas my plate, replacing the ooey, gooey decadent variety that once adorned it. Not only was I going to experiment with a healthier version, I was determined to make it from scratch because many pizza doughs are not Vegan. What the heck! Go big or go home, right?
It turns out that I was wrong about the effort, too. D.I.Y. Vegan Pizza Dough (and not the less favorable, preservative-filled, pre-packaged store-bought crusts) was less laborious than I expected. In fact, kneading dough is actually a built-in stress reliever and fun for the kiddos.
I searched the web for Vegan pizza dough recipes. Here is one that I really like…
Vegan Pizza Dough is both crunchy and chewy, takes just a few ingredients and a little elbow grease, and tastes great! Because I’m not using regular cheese, I take it upon my greedy self to eat several slices – because the fat and calories still won’t add up the your standard pizza.
And although it can never tru-ly top the cheesy pizza you’re use to (if we’re being completely honest), my New York-style Vegan cheese-less pizza is a flavor-packed and delicious substitute. Give it a try. You may miss cheese (initially), but you definitely won’t miss the heartburn.
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large (or 2 personal pizzas)
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- 2 1/4 tsp. instant dry active yeast (or 1 packet)
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 tbsp. sugar
- 3 cups bread flour
- 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt,
- tomato sauce & favorite pizza toppings
Ingredients
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- Add the water, yeast, sugar and ½ cup of the flour into a mixing bowl. Stir well and let it sit for 20 minutes. It will get bubbly.
- Add olive oil, salt, and 2 cups of flour, and mix with a wooden spoon until it’s together enough to turn out onto a lightly floured surface to knead.
- Knead for about 10 minutes (let out that aggression), while adding more flour (a little at a time) to produce a soft, elastic and slightly sticky dough. Do not add too much flour, just enough to keep it from sticking to your work surface as you knead.
- Form the dough into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl. Drizzle a few drops of oil and coat the top of dough to prevent the surface from becoming dry.
- Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm spot for 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
- Punch down the dough, form into a ball, and place in large zip lock plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight (up to 2 days).
- Once, you’re ready to enjoy, pull the dough out of the frig and let it get to room temperature before handling.
- If you're making 2 small pizzas, divide dough in half. Using your hands, work your way around the edges and stretch out the pizza dough. Stretch out the edges until a circular pizza is formed. Place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Continue to press out the edges. Be sure pizza dough is spread out evenly.
- Add tomato sauce (keeping 1" of edge free of sauce). Load pizza up with your favorite toppings! I like to use red onions, peppers, torn spinach, mushrooms, broccoli florets, fresh herbs, banana peppers, crumbled vegan sausage, etc.
- Sometimes I like to skip the dairy-free cheese, but my husband loves it, so we make it a half-n-half.
- Bake your loaded pizza on 425 until the crust is a golden brown (about 15-20 minutes).
- Enjoy!
Tired of tomato sauce base? Use barbecue sauce or add more protein by substituting with a simple, white sauce: Place a can of drained cannellini beans, garlic, any fresh or dried herbs, diced jalapeño, and a little oil in the food processor. Blend it and use as your pizza sauce instead of red sauce.
