How to Make Vegan Pizza at Home: Dough, Sauce and Dairy-Free Cheese

Good news first: most pizza dough is already vegan. Flour, water, yeast, salt and olive oil. The only things you really need to rethink are the cheese and some toppings. Once you have those sorted, homemade vegan pizza can easily beat a takeaway, and it costs a fraction of the price.

The dough

A simple dough that works in a home oven:

• 500 g strong white bread flour (or "00" flour)
• 325 ml lukewarm water
• 7 g dried yeast
• 10 g salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix everything, knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and stretchy, then leave it covered until doubled, around 1 to 2 hours. For better flavour, let it rise slowly in the fridge for 24 to 48 hours. Cold fermentation gives you a lighter, crispier, more bubbly crust. This makes three to four medium pizzas.

The sauce

Skip the jar. Blitz a can of good-quality whole tomatoes with a pinch of salt, a drizzle of olive oil, a crushed garlic clove and a few basil leaves. That is it. Do not cook it. It cooks on the pizza, and a raw sauce tastes fresher and brighter.

The cheese question

This is where vegan pizza is won or lost. You have three good routes:

Shop-bought vegan mozzarella. These have come a long way. Look for ones described as "melting" or "for pizza", and grate them rather than slicing.

Homemade cashew mozzarella. Blend soaked cashews with water, lemon juice, salt and tapioca starch, then heat it in a pan until it turns stretchy. Spoon it on in blobs.

No cheese at all. A proper marinara pizza (tomato, garlic, oregano, olive oil) is a classic for a reason. Finish with a drizzle of good oil and flaky salt.

A sprinkle of nutritional yeast after baking adds a savoury, cheesy note whichever route you choose.

Getting a crispy base in a home oven

• Heat the oven as hot as it goes, ideally 250°C or more, for at least 30 minutes.
• Use a pizza stone or steel if you have one. If not, preheat an upside-down heavy baking tray.
• Stretch the dough by hand rather than rolling, so you keep the air in the crust.
• Go light on the sauce and toppings. An overloaded pizza turns soggy.
• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until the crust is blistered and golden.

Topping ideas

• Spicy "pepperoni" – thinly sliced vegan pepperoni or smoky marinated mushrooms with chilli oil.
• Garden pizza – courgette ribbons, cherry tomatoes, red onion, rocket and lemon after baking.
• Barbecue jackfruit – shredded jackfruit in barbecue sauce, red onion and coriander.
• Mushroom and truffle – mixed mushrooms, garlic, thyme and a few drops of truffle oil.
• Potato and rosemary – paper-thin potato slices, rosemary, garlic and olive oil. Trust us.

Take it further

If you want a full pizza playbook, Vegan Pizzas! That's Right. Don't Hold Back is a plant-based pizza paradise with homemade dough and dairy-free cheese alternatives, so you can build your own pizza night from scratch.

Want fries on the side? Burgers, Shakes and Fries has you covered for the full fast-food night in.