Dairy Free Pizza Recipe That Actually Tastes Amazing

Key Ingredients

For the Homemade Tomato Pizza Sauce

• Passata: An Italian staple, passata is a type of tomato purée that is rich, smooth and great for sauces. It is becoming more widely available in the US and is sold in boxes or jars, never in cans.
• Garlic powder: Fresh minced garlic also works well.
• Dried oregano and basil: Any blend of italian herbs work well here, and you can go for fresh if you prefer.
• Salt: Add a couple of twists of black pepper too if you like.
• Sugar: Tomato can sometimes be a bit of a tart flavour, so a little sugar can bring a bit balance and sweetness to the sauce.

For the Pizza

• Pizza dough: Buy a ready made pizza base, or make your own. I use the dough setting on my bread maker which takes around 45 minutes plus 15-20 minutes proving time.
• Tomato pizza sauce: You’ll need around ¼ cup per 10 inch pizza.
• Dairy free cheese: I use Cathedral City plant-based grated cheese (shreds), but you can use your favourite cheese substitute product. We’re only using a little in this recipe, so getting this ‘right’ isn’t so important!
• Homemade pesto: or buy a ready-made a vegan or dairy free jar.
• Toppings of your choice: Pepperoni (check labels to ensure it’s dairy free), shredded chicken, bell peppers, rocket (arugula) or whatever your favourite is… just don’t skip the pesto and go easy on the ‘cheese’!

Variations and Substitutions

• Pizza sauce garlic and herbs: If you choose to use fresh garlic and herbs in the tomato sauce, you’ll get a much richer and more developed flavour if you make it ahead of time and let it sit for an hour or two (or even better, a day!).
• Toppings: Other than the tomato sauce and pesto, the toppings are totally customisable. Go with your favourites! I like:
  • Keeping it simple with a basic pizza (base, tomato sauce, vegan cheese and pesto) plus fresh rocket (arugula)
  • Red onion, mushrooms, and sweetcorn
  • Pepperoni, sliced ham and mushroom
• Cheese: Use whichever cheese substitute you like best, either store bought or homemade (like our dairy free parmesan style cheese), or feel free to skip it completely.

Prepare the pizza dough: If using a store-bought base, skip this step and move onto makgin the tomato sauce. If making your own pizza dough, do this first. I use a breadmaker, which takes 45 minutes on the pizza dough setting. Once the dough is made, place on a lightly floured surface and use your hands to spread it into two 25cm / 10″ sized circles. Move the bases to a greased baking sheet or pizza pan, and leave to prove at 40°C/105°F for 15-20 minutes while you make the tomato sauce.

Preheat your oven for baking: Remove the pizza dough from the oven and increase the heat to 220°C/425°F.

Make the tomato sauce: In a small bowl, combine the tomato sauce ingredients and set aside.

Spread the sauce: Spoon some of the tomato sauce onto the base and spread, leaving a ½ inch gap around the edge, which will become the crust.

Tips for Success

Make the sauce and pesto ahead of time

The homemade sauce and pesto will both develop flavour the longer it has been made, making the best pizza. So try making it a day or two ahead and keep in the fridge in an airtight container until you need it. You can also make a batch–use a whole box or jar of passata to make tomato sauce and freeze any excess in ice cube trays until your next pizza night.

Do not skip the pesto!

I know, I know–pesto might not be the first thing you think of for pizza. But trust me on this one.

Without dairy, the pizza is missing an ‘extra something’, and that’s where the pesto comes in. It brings a richness, freshness and flavour punch that means you won’t miss the cheese. The garlicky, herby goodness melts into the tomato sauce and toppings, making every bite delicious.

Go easy on the vegan cheese

Manufactured vegan cheese is often made using vegetable or coconut oils. Even with improvements to their recipes and the claims on the packaging, they still don’t act, taste or feel like real cheese. Instead of getting lovely, melted, gooey cheese on your pizza, you get (maybe) a bit of melt and usually a lot of oil, which separates as the pizza bakes.

Not great.

I go for a light sprinkling of grated ‘cheese’ to make the pizza feel and look authentic, but recommend either going lightly or skipping it altogether.