Caramelized onions, crumbled veggie burger, fresh basil, and delicious creamy vodka sauce. That is all it takes to make this delicious pizza. Vodka sauce is my new favorite pizza base, made creamy with cashews and a little cheesy with vegan parm or nutritional yeast. After simmering for a half hour on the stove the flavors blend together to create perfection, to the point that when you taste the sauce at the end you’ll end up wishing you had been making tomato soup instead. At least, only until you make the pizza and eat it and go OMG SO GOOD. I love pizza, always have, and probably always will. I’m so original, I know. I love it in all forms. Deep dish, thin crust, bar style pizza, pan pizza–you name it, I love it. Growing up, whenever it was my turn to pick a restaurant to eat at I always wanted to go for pizza, which was just not what the rest of my family typically wanted. They wanted to go out for Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean, Thai, or basically anything else with good vegetarian options. My older sister never liked cheese, my younger sister liked it but was lactose intolerant, and my parents viewed it as a less healthy option.
Giving up cheese was the hardest for me going vegan, but by the time I made the decision to fully transition I wasn’t too concerned about missing out on pizza because I had gotten into making my own vegan cheese and the options in grocery stores were improving. Plus I had been making pizzas for a few years at that point and had really upped my pizza making skills. It started with a Christmas gift from my older sister my first year out of college. She gave me a pizza stone and a pizza peel (kitchen and cooking related gifts always land well with me), and I started making pizzas regularly. My first couple years of pizza making are nothing to brag about. I mean they tasted good, but the crust wasn’t amazing, and the shapes were certainly not as… circular. But slowly they improved, thanks to the insane amount of pizza dough research I did, and all the practice. My current go-to pizza dough (which I will be sharing hopefully soon!) involves a small amount of yeast and a slow, overnight rise in the refrigerator. That said, there’s certainly no one right way to make a pizza, and the freshly baked combination of dough, sauce, [vegan] cheese, and whatever topping you’re currently in the mood for is delicious no matter what. For me, this means always trying new methods or making new sauces or switching up the toppings. I have to say, this topping combination is a real winner. By using store bought cheese and veggie burger this pizza is quite easy to make. Both the sauce and caramelized onions can be made in advance, so when it comes time to make the pizza all you need to do is assemble and bake. If you have time to pre-heat the oven, then you have time to make pizza! Let me know in the comments if you make this dish, rate it, or tag me on Instagram!
Notes:
Use your favorite veggie burger (we used field roast, but any would work!), or substitute beef-style crumbles for the burger. I used Miyoko’s Kitchen Vegan Fresh Mozzarella and really love it, but use whatever vegan cheese you like and have access to! This recipe definitely makes more caramelized onions than you need for your pizzas, but it’s so easy to make a large batch and then you can use it in other dishes all week. But if you don’t want extra, only use one onion. Use good quality canned tomatoes, you can use San Marzano style if desired, but using high quality is key. You can use your favorite homemade pizza dough, or purchase pre-made dough from the grocery store or some pizza shops. This vodka sauce also makes a great pasta sauce, though you would want to thin it out a little with some pasta cooking water.
*Instead of cashews, you could use 2/3 cup canned coconut milk *If the veggie burger is pre-cooked then you can just crumble it straight onto the pizza, it will brown in the oven. If it isn’t cooked, then pan fry it first. *longer baking time maybe necessary if using more pizza dough, or if oven temperature is lower.
