10 Top Toppings for Vegan Pizza

Vegan pizza: all the fun, none of the FOMO.

There are so many delicious vegan pizza toppings to get creative with! Here are my top 10, and I’ll mention some of the others below for further inspiration.

1.     Roast beetroot wedges

2.     Falafel patties, cut in half

3.     Tempeh (sliced, diced or grated, marinated or au naturel)

4.     Pickled red onion

5.     Canned baby corn (slice in half lengthwise)

6.     Whole roasted garlic cloves

7.     Tofu ricotta

8.     Barbecue sauce (stir into your base sauce for extra flavour or swirl on top after baking)

9.     Slices of fresh nectarine (or other firm juicy fruit)

10.  Carrot salmon (with dill and cream cheese)

More vegan and dairy-free pizza ideas at the end of this blog post.

To pineapple or not to pineapple?

Let’s get the big question out of the way! I was strictly in the ‘no way’ camp until we visited a pizza place in Hobart, Tasmania. The chef came to our table and explained that one of the toppings in the vegan pizza we’d chosen was unavailable that night and would we be okay with pineapple on our pizza in its place because it would add the vital sweetness and tang? We said yes, of course, because it was so obvious he was going to deliver a great result. I was very touched by the tender loving care for pizzas and patrons. And it made me realise that the controversy is amusing but rather ridiculous – pineapple simply offers another texture and flavour option.

Success with vegetables on pizza

I love veges on my pizza but I’ve learned that precooking will often give a better result. That’s because a lot of vegetables have a high water content, so they take longer to cook. Precooking your vegetables means you drive out some of the water, giving a more intense flavour, less chance of a soggy pizza, and – importantly – it’s easier to make sure all the toppings are cooked the way you want them.

How many toppings?

I’m always tempted to really load the pizza up with a big variety of toppings but I actually think the best pizzas have just a few carefully chosen toppings. Five at the most, I reckon (that’s not counting the base sauce and the vegan cheese).

What about the cheese?

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered there too! Angel Food was made for this. It’s natural to reach for our ready grated cheese for pizza night but our mozzarella and cheddar blocks are great options too. Our cream cheese works surprisingly well on pizza too – give it a go! – and you can’t go wrong with a generous shake of our powdered parmesan on top just before serving. Whatever your reasons for choosing dairy-free, we’ve got your back – and your pizza.

More vegan pizza toppings:

·      Finely chopped spring onions or chives

·      Walnuts, fresh or toasted

·      Crisp chilli oil

·      Roasted broccolini (cut into bite-size pieces)

·      Mushrooms (precook them – fry or roast – for more intense flavour)

·      Your favourite olives

·      Kumara/sweet potato (diced and roasted is fab, but if you’re in a hurry you can use pre-frozen kumara fries!)

·      Sundried tomatoes (for their intense flavour and meaty texture)

·      Herbs (dried herbs in your tomato sauce and fresh herbs on top after cooking)

·      Red or orange or yellow capsicum (unbeatable colour and flavour, raw or precooked) 

·      Artichoke hearts (they’re expensive, but just a few will go a long way if you slice them thinly)

·      Pesto (spread on the base or dollop on top of other toppings)

Happy vegan pizza making!