Look carefully at the pictures… can you spot what’s ‘missing’ from the pizza? That’s right – this is a cheese-less pizza, but an extremely tasty one! I posted pictures on my Instagram feed of a couple of pizzas I made during Veganuary and had requests for recipes, so, (two months later), here you go.
The key to a perfect pizza without cheese is to pack it with flavour and texture. I steer clear of soft toppings like mushrooms, grilled peppers, artichokes etc which melt in the mouth, (a mushy-topped pizza won’t cut the mustard), and instead go for crispy and crunchy toppings which will do the same job as a crispy cheese crust.
Similarly, it is really important to pack flavours on to the pizza, so I usually add sun-dried tomatoes which replace the saltiness of cheese, along with plenty of fresh chillis, (seeds and all, though how spicy you go is up to you!), oregano, black pepper and extra virgin olive oil.
For toppings, I’ve used curly kale, (which has just enough time to roast and crisp up in the oven), as does purple sprouting broccoli, then roughly chopped hazelnuts, (which add both crunch and protein), and chilli. For the base I usually use passata with added garlic, (see below), with sliced red onion scattered over, but if you don’t have any to hand either plain passata or even a jar of pasta sauce would also do a great job.
- 500 g Wholemeal Bread Mix
- 200 ml Passata with Garlic
- 1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
- 6 sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 75 g fresh curly kale, woody stalks removed and leaves roughly chopped
- 6-8 stalks purple sprouting broccoli, lower half of stalks removed
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced
- handful hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- dried oregano
- black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- Make up the bread mix according to packet instructions. Knead and leave to rise in a warm place for c.45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the toppings and preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6. If you are using a pizza stone, put it in the oven now. (Check whether your oven has a special pizza setting - many do, and it makes a huge difference).
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and divide into two. Knead each section into a round-ish ball, then roll out into a 30cm circle with a rolling pin.
- When all the toppings are ready, and the oven has reached full temperature, remove the pizza stone from the oven, (or lightly oil a baking tray), place the dough on the stone/tray, top with half the passata, then onion, kale, broccoli, chilli and hazelnuts, then sprinkle with oregano and black pepper, and finally drizzle with olive oil. Repeat for the second pizza.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until toppings are turning brown and the base is cooked throughout.
Products Featured in this Post:
Pizza Stone from Judge Cookware Using a good quality pizza stone has made such a huge difference to my homemade pizzas, compared to my old perforated pizza baking tray. A pizza stone heats up as you warm the oven, so by the time you put the dough on it is really hot and starts to cook the base immediately – no more soggy bottoms! Perfect pizza every time, and if you bring it to the table on the wire rack included, it keeps the pizza hot whilst you’re serving and eating. Can’t recommend these highly enough. £19.89 from Amazon- Pizza Wheel from Stellar Cookware As mentioned in my February Review Roundup, I’m a sucker for copper kitchenware, and this gorgeous pizza wheel from Stellar is no exception. Pleasingly heavy, this feels really sturdy and good quality, and glides through even the toughest pizza crust like a knife through butter. £7.99 from Amazon
- Pizza Slice Plates from Harbour Living I love these plates, perfect for sharing a large pizza, (and making sure everyone takes just one slice at a time!!)
I’m linking this post with a few blogging challenges:
- Meat Free Mondays at Tinned Tomatoes
- Extra Veg co-hosted by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle at Utterly Scrummy
- Credit Crunch Munch hosted by Travels for Taste and co-hosted by Fab Food 4 All and Fuss Free Flavours
- Recipe of the Week at A Mummy Too
Disclosure: I was sent these products to review. There was no expectation of a positive review – all opinions are my own. Amazon links above are affiliate links – I will earn a small commission if you order the products via these links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Trying desperately to eat less cheese and will definitely give this a go. Hazelnuts sound like an intriguing addition.
this pizza sounds to have enough of health benefit with the broccoli, thank you for sharing
leeshin recently posted…Pineapple-BlueBerry Ice Stick
This pizza looks beautiful!
Like you I am not a fan of mushy pizza etihers so would really love to try this.
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry recently posted…Baked Lime and Jasmine Doughnuts & Fentimans Sparkling Lime and Jasmine Review
Oh I have pizza plate envy! Those are just brilliant and your pizza looks lovely too.
Janice (@FarmersgirlCook) recently posted…Oranges and Lemons and the Slow Cooked Challenge
YUM YUM YUM YUM.. This looks great. I really love broccoli and chilli as a combo – I often pair them with pasta. Also massive shout out to Aldi. Love their products.
Looks fantastic! Well done. 🙂
IT looks beautiful and really tasty even without the cheese! And normally I love lots of cheese on my pizzas!
Corina recently posted…Apple Cinnamon and Caramel Cake
I love this pizza…it looks so pretty and delicious and yet it sounds really healthy and easy to make – what more can a girl want! 🙂 Eb x
Eb Gargano recently posted…Lamb Rogan Josh
Wow you pizza looks amazing, stunning photography:-)
Camilla @FabFood4All recently posted…Grilled Seabass with Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce and Colcannon
Sorry meant to say thank you for entering #CreditCrunchMunch – to caught in the moment looking at these beautiful pictures:-)
Camilla @FabFood4All recently posted…Grilled Seabass with Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce and Colcannon
That looks fabulous! I really miss having cheese on my pizza but I think this would take that longing away. I’m pinning this recipe now!
What a lovely pizza Kate, and I am super impressed at how round it is, mine always look completely deformed.
Lovely fully loaded toppings, who really needs the cheese?
Thanks for sharing with #CreditCrunchMunch and #ExtraVeg
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours recently posted…Bryn William’s Loin of Welsh Lamb with Peas & Bacon
Great recipe and idea – am recently vegetarian and am definitely now moving quickly towards an entirely vegan diet. Recipes like this make it all seem so much easier – no need to miss out on fave foods like pizza – just be more creative in their creation.
Great site as well!
I love the idea of hazelnuts on a pizza – I’ve never thought of putting nuts on (except perhaps pine nuts) but I imagine it works well. We’ve been making our own pizzas for a couple of years now, since we went on an Italian baking course but I have to admit that we haven’t been very adventurous with our toppings!
I agree with Helen too – beautifully neat and round 🙂
Lucy Davies recently posted…Cream Of Celeriac Soup
Gotta love a cheeseless pizza! Stunning photos and I WANT that pizza stone and the copper cutter NOW! Am NUTS about copper kitchenware too 🙂 Thank you for entering #CreditCrunchMunch
I need that pizza slice plate (and the pizza too, of course)!
Cathy @ Planet Veggie recently posted…Vegan Panini Pizza with Fresh Moxarella
Lovely pizzas…nice article!!