Vegan Pesto Pizza! You’ll never guess this pizza was dairy-free! Pumpkin seed pesto topped with sliced tomatoes then roasted to perfection and topped with homemade vegan parmesan cheese!
The key to this pizza is thin slices of tomatoes that caramelize on top of the pesto and a generous shake of my vegan cheese mix. Pulse the ingredients together and keep a jar of it in the freezer for whenever you need a bit of cheesy flavor. I prefer the freezer so it doesn’t go bad and can be kept in a bigger batch. But, it will also keep in the fridge for a week or so. I love this stuff! It’s my secret weapon in quite a few of the vegan recipes in my cookbook, and no one knows the difference. It taste like parmesan, but more heart healthy!
Pumpkin Seed Pesto:
Vegan Parmesan Cheese
The key to this pizza is thin slices of tomatoes that caramelize on top of the pesto and a generous shake of my vegan cheese mix. Pulse the ingredients together and keep a jar of it in the freezer for whenever you need a bit of cheesy flavor. I prefer the freezer so it doesn’t go bad and can be kept in a bigger batch. But, it will also keep in the fridge for a week or so. I love this stuff! It’s my secret weapon in quite a few of the vegan recipes in my cookbook, and no one knows the difference. It taste like parmesan, but more heart healthy!
Ingredients:
- Prepared Pizza Dough
Pumpkin Seed Pesto:
- 1/2 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
- 1 cup packed basil leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons [url:2]nutritional yeast[/url]
- salt/pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 cups thinly sliced tomatoes (from about 2-3 large tomatoes)
Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 raw cup cashews
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds (or almonds with skins off)
- 3 tablespoons [url:3]nutritional yeast[/url]
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- pinch salt
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Stretch the pizza dough on a pizza stone or pizza pan and set aside.
- Place the pepitas, basil leaves, garlic cloves, nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt/pepper in the base of a food processor and pulse together until combined, about 8-10 times. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto comes together. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Spread the pesto over the pizza crust and layer with thinly sliced tomatoes.
- Wipe out the food processor and add the cashews, almonds, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt. Pulse until very fine and combined, should be the texture of parmesan cheese.
- Sprinkle the cheese over the pizza and place in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle with more cheese if desired and crushed red pepper flakes for spice!
