Best Vegan Pizza Dough Recipe
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The absolute best vegan pizza dough recipe + Video you’ll ever need. Thin crust Neapolitan style, easy to make by hand using the cold water method, organic all-purpose flour and instant active yeast. From scratch. No oil. Simple. Authentic Italian. Bonus recipe for vegan mozzarella cheese included!
Vegan Pizza Dough
Heat up that Pizza Stone, dust off your kitchen aid mixer or roll up your sleeves to put in a quick workout kneading this arisen pizza dough to perfection by hand. Brought to you straight from Italy, if you are after thin crust, authentic and freaking good pizza pies like they make in Napoli, then this is your lucky day!
I first shared this recipe over on CiaoFlorentina and to this day it gets rave reviews from people all over the world. So I just really had to share it here with all our new friends at Veggie Society! This one is for the books and not to be missed! Mangia bene!
Is Pizza Dough Vegan?
Yes it is, as long as you don’t add any animal products into the mix and keep all your toppings plant based, including the cheese, you are good to go!
About the Toppings
A thin layer of homemade marinara sauce, some vegan mozzarella (from scratch or store-bought), plant based provolone or gouda, sliced heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil or arugula is more than enough when it comes to toppings. If I’m feeling extra hungry I will quickly sautee or grill a mix of colorful bell peppers mushrooms, scallions and asparagus then pile them all up. Crispy roasted broccoli and any leftover vegan steak is always a winner in my book – perfection, If I say so myself!
How Do I Make Perfect Dough?
The hotter the stone, the crispier the pizza crust!
Why We Love It:
- It’s Homemade from Scratch
- Super Easy – No Fail
- Perfect for Freezing
- Great for Grilling
- Flavorful & Delicious
- No Sugar, No Oil
- Crispy + Chewy Crust
- Eggless, Dairy & Fat Free
- Perfect for Veggie Calzone
- Great Make Ahead Recipe
- Authentic Italian Thin Crust!
What is the best flour for making homemade pizza dough?
Believe it or not, no fancy flour is required. An organic unbleached all-purpose flour is the best choice here and the one I also use to make my crusty bread. If all you happen to have sitting in your pantry is bread flour by all means use it, but definitely do not go out of your way for it.
The Vegan Mozzarella
Included below is an easy recipe for delicious cashew mozzarella from scratch. However if you forgot to plan for that or just need to save some time in the kitchen, feel free to use your favorite store-bought plant based cheese, so many good options out there now.
More Favorite Recipes
- Grilled White Pizza
- Potato Flatbread
- Italian Dinner Rolls
- Potato Pizza
- Focaccia Bread
- Fresh Dairy Free Mozzarella
- Best Vegan Lasagna
- Heirloom Tomato Tart
- Stuffed Shells.
how to make the best vegan pizza dough
Best Vegan Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cups organic all-purpose flour (or bread flour) + more as needed
- 2.25 cups cold water (ice cold is best)
- 1.5 tsp active dry yeast
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 cups cashew milk
- 1/3 cup firm tofu
- 3 Tbsp tapioca
- 1 Tbsp agar agar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (or extra light olive oil)
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Pizza Dough Mixer Method:
- Add the flour, yeast and salt to the large bowl of a mixer and combine well.
- Start adding in the cold water and keep mixing using the paddle attachment until everything is combined well.
- Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium - low speed for 10 minutes until a smooth dough has formed. It should stick a little to the bottom of the bowl but not the sides. Sprinkle a bit more flour if it seems too sticky. (Sometimes you will need more flour sometimes less, just learn to feel it as you go).
- Sprinkle some flour on a kitchen counter or cutting board and dump the dough on top. Use a sharp knife and cut it into 6 or 8 pieces.
- Lightly oil your hands with a drop of olive oil and shape each piece into round balls. Place them on a lightly oiled cookie sheet at least 4 inches apart from each other. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours at room temperature. ( Alternatively you can individually wrap each one and refrigerate or freeze for later.)
- Meanwhile preheat a pizza stone with your oven for at least one hour at 500”F or as high as your oven will go.
- Sprinkle some flour on a board or the kitchen counter and place a piece of dough on top. Sprinkle some more flour on top and using the palm of your hand press down on it until a thin round forms, about 1/2 inch thick. Stretch it out as thin as possible without tearing it and transfer it to a floured pizza peel or a piece of cardboard.
- Spoon a couple of tablespoons of sauce in the middle and spread it evenly with the back of the spoon leaving about 1/2 inch border. Add your favorite vegan cheese on top and transfer the pie carefully to the preheated stone in the oven. ( Remember to also sprinkle some flour or cornmeal on top of the pizza stone before transferring your pizza).
- Bake for 5 to 8 minutes to your liking.
Pizza Dough By Hand:
- Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl then add the water. Use a wooden spoon and stir until a dough forms. Add more flour If the dough still sticks to the sides, remember you want it to be a bit sticky on the bottom.
- Dump it onto a floured work surface and use the palm of your hand to knead it for a good 15 minutes or so until smooth and just a little sticky.
- Follow the above steps to bake accordingly.
Vegan Cashew Mozzarella:
- To the bowl of a powerful blender add the cashew milk, tofu, coconut oil, tapioca, agar powder, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and sea salt. Process until smooth and creamy.
- Transfer the cheese mixture to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes while whisking continuously until nicely thickened.
- Pour the cheese into lightly oiled ramekins and cover with plastic wrap. Alternatively you can use large and round silicone ice cube trays or a small glass container with a lid. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or until completely chilled and set. Use on your pizza!
Video
Notes
- You can use the included homemade vegan mozzarella cheese recipe on this pizza or a store bought one. My favorites are the cultured mozzarella from Miyoko's, provolone and smoked gouda from Follow Your Heart or Violife.
- If you don't have a pizza stone i strongly recommend that you use a cast iron skillet to bake your pizza on. Follow the same instructions and preheat it with the oven for the crispiest crust.
Nutrition
I’ve been trying pizza dough recipes for a really long time (years..) and I came across this one hoping it was it – Wow! It’s a fantastic recipe with a crispy yet chewy crust. No overnight or extra long proofing for flavour and dead simple with cold water! Did it on the BBQ with a stone and was just like a wood fire pizza. Thank you for sharing this recipe!! My search has ended and now I’m so excited for our weekend pizza nights! Thank you again! ❤️
Hi
How long does the dough take to thaw normally? Its been over an hour and the dough is still solid.
It depends on the temperature in your house, less than 2 hours for us here in the tropics. I suppose you divided the dough and made individual dough balls and not freeze the entire batch in one big ball.
Excellent dough! After many years of bread making, this is a great dough! I would use more salt next time though, as it wasn’t savory enough for pizza crust- but the texture of the dough was incredible! Thanks!
Have you tried it with gluten free flour? I have Bob’s Redmill 1:1 gluten free flour and want to try it out.
Sorry, I have not tried it gluten free.
Did you try it? I think I’m going to. It’s a great recipe. I use it all the time but recently had a family member start gluten free so I’m wanting to try it out. Lmk how it worked if you tried it please.
can we use 00 flour for plant based pizza crust?
You could but all purpose flour is all you need.
I would like to report that this is the best pizza dough I have ever made or eaten for that matter. It was absolutely PERFECT, the dough developed even more flavor sitting in the fridge for 3 days, so thank you for sharing and bonus points for being vegan of course. Amazing Pizza!
Hey there ! Do you put the dough in the fridge immediately after mixing or after it has risen on the counter for 2 hours ?
Not unless you plan to cook it in a couple of hours. The rest can go straight in the fridge or freezer then bring to room temp and let it rise for a couple of hours before baking ~ Florentina Xo’s