Mouthwatering Vegetarian Pizza Even Picky Eaters Will Love

When my fridge is full of bits; various kinds of cheese, vegetables or meats, I make pizza.There’s something about the smell of yeast, kneading dough, and then topping it that just makes life…better. Especially on a Friday, when the evening is a bit lazy and a weekend stretches out before us. During holidays like Spring Break is even better; it’s a perfect project to get the kids involved, since the dough is very forgiving and kids love topping their own pizza.

With one picky eater and one adventurous eater in the house, pizza  is one of those easy things that everyone in the house can customize to their liking. We love it so much that I usually make two  because we love the leftovers! Our favourite toppings include a ton of vegetables but you can switch it up to top with whatever you enjoy most. The best part is you can make the pizza just the way you like it, and it’s far healthier than anything you’d buy at the take out shop.

Ingredients

Dough:
2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp instant rise yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/3 cup very warm water
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Sauce:
2/3 cup pizza sauce, or crushed tomatoes, or passata (strained tomatoes)

Toppings:
olive oil
500 grams mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Add toppings of your choice or try these favourites: 

• garlic cloves, peeled and slivered
• sliced olives
• red onion, sliced thinly
• sweet red/orange/yellow peppers, sliced thinly
• mushrooms, sliced thinly
• tomatoes, seeded and sliced thinly

Directions:

Making the Dough

In a stand mixer, whisk together the flours, salt, sugar, Italian seasoning, and yeast. Change the attachment to the dough hook. Measure the water and oil together and then with the motor running on medium speed, gradually add the water mixture and continue to mix until a soft dough forms.

If the dough appears a bit dry and shaggy, add about 1 Tbsp of water at a time until the dough comes together. If it’s too wet and sticky, you can add a little more flour until you have a soft, smooth, dough. Run the mixer for about 3-4 minutes to knead it well. If you are making the dough by hand, knead it for about 5-7 minutes.

Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and shape into a large ball. Coat a large bowl with olive oil and then set the dough inside, turning in and rubbing against the bowl to coat it in oil as well. Cover with cling film and set the bowl in a cold oven with the light turned on. The heat from the light will be enough to give the dough a warm environment to rise.

Let the dough rise for 70-90 minutes, or until doubled in size. While the dough is rising, prep the veggies and grate the cheese. Arrange the vegetables on a large platter. Keep the cheese in the fridge so that it’s chilled.
When the dough has risen, take the bowl out of the oven and turn the oven to 450 F. Divide the dough into two pieces and on a lightly floured counter knead them a bit to get out the extra air.

Building the Pizza

Using a rolling pin, roll out and stretch the dough to fit two 12 inch pizza pans. Stretch the dough to the edge of the pans, creating a rim by pressing around the edges with your fingers.

Lightly spread about 2-3 tsp olive oil over the pizza crust. Next,spread about 1/3 cup sauce on each pizza, covering each to the edges. Top the pizza with the mozzarella. Next top with the peppers, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and other vegetables. Lastly, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over each pizza.

Bake the pizzas in the lower 1/3 and middle of the hot oven for 8 minutes before switching the pans and baking another 8 minutes. Check the crusts to see that they are golden brown. Take the pizzas out of the oven and turn the oven on to broil. Move the top rack up so that it’s about 6 inches away from the broiler. Watch it very, very carefully.

When the cheese has caramelized a little, remove from the oven and let cool for about 3-5 minutes before slicing into pieces

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Homemade Vegetarian Pizza

A homemade vegetarian pizza so good you'll never want take out again!

Prep Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 2 hours

Author Karen Humphrey

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 cups white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 1/4 tsp instant rise yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/3 cup very warm water
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Sauce

• 2/3 cup pizza sauce or crushed tomatoes, or passata (strained tomatoes)

Toppings

• olive oil
• 500 grams mozzarella cheese shredded
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded

Toppings of your choice. Try

• garlic cloves peeled and slivered
• sliced olives
• red onion sliced thinly
• sweet red/orange/yellow peppers sliced thinly
• mushrooms sliced thinly
• tomatoes seeded and sliced thinly

Instructions

1. In a stand mixer, whisk together the flours, salt, sugar, Italian seasoning, and yeast. Change the attachment to the dough hook. Measure the water and oil together and then with the motor running on medium speed, gradually add the water mixture and continue to mix until a soft dough forms.
2. If the dough appears a bit dry and shaggy, add about 1 Tbsp of water at a time until the dough comes together. If it's too wet and sticky, you can add a little more flour until you have a soft, smooth, dough. Run the mixer for about 3-4 minutes to knead it well. If you are making the dough by hand, knead it for about 5-7 minutes.
3. Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and shape into a large ball. Coat a large bowl with olive oil and then set the dough inside, turning in and rubbing against the bowl to coat it in oil as well. Cover with cling film and set the bowl in a cold oven with the light turned on. The heat from the light will be enough to give the dough a warm environment to rise.
4. Let the dough rise for 70-90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
5. While the dough is rising, prep the veggies and grate the cheese. Arrange the vegetables on a large platter. Keep the cheese in the fridge so that it's chilled.
6. When the dough has risen, take the bowl out of the oven and turn the oven to 450 F. Divide the dough into two pieces and on a lightly floured counter knead them a bit to get out the extra air.
7. Using a rolling pin, roll out and stretch the dough to fit two 12 inch pizza pans. Stretch the dough to the edge of the pans, creating a rim by pressing around the edges with your fingers.
8. Lightly spread about 2-3 tsp olive oil over the pizza crust. Next,spread about 1/3 cup sauce on each pizza, covering each to the edges. Top the pizza with the mozzarella. Next top with the peppers, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and other vegetables. Lastly, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over each pizza.
9. Bake the pizzas in the lower 1/3 and middle of the hot oven for 8 minutes before switching the pans and baking another 8 minutes. Check the crusts to see that they are golden brown.
10. Take the pizzas out of the oven and turn the oven on to broil. Move the top rack up so that it's about 6 inches away from the broiler. Watch it very, very carefully.
11. When the cheese has caramelized a little, remove from the oven and let cool for about 3-5 minutes before slicing into pieces

Recipe Notes

Tip: putting the veggies on top of the main layer of cheese keeps the crust from going soggy because they cook more on top. If you want to swap out veggies and add meat, layer with a thin layer of cheese, then meat, then more cheese. This will keep the toppings from sliding off.