Last Updated on June 23, 2024
This Cold Vegan Veggie Pizza is vegan and gluten free.
You’ll enjoy the herb filled gluten free crust and the creamy tangy flavored vegan cream cheese topped with fresh vegetables.
Most of us are familiar with this classic staple at summer picnics and family gatherings.
But as we all know, this classic staple was nether vegan nor gluten free.
And so, after a few simple adjustments and swaps, it is now a vegan and gluten free friendly treat.
Enjoy the pizza as a meal, or make it an appetizer for your next summer party!
You can also customize this pizza with different varieties of vegetables, such as…
- Beans – Add different beans to the pizza. Try black beans, any white bean, or a roasted chickpea for a little something different.
- Greens – Shred fresh lettuce, spinach, sauteed cabbage, or even bean sprouts.
- Onion – Any variety of onion will work well on this pizza. Add chives, green onions, or a diced sauteed or raw sweet onion.
- Cheese – Any variety of cheese can be added to this pizza. Use your favorite vegan or regular cheese.
- Cauliflower – Steamed cauliflower florets can also be added to your pizza.
- Cucumbers – Cucumbers pair nicely with the vegan cream cheese.
- Summer Squash – Try patty pan or zucchini, fresh or sauteed.
- Peas – Snap, snow, or a shelling peas.
Ingredients for pizza crust
- Flour – I used the King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour.
- Baking Powder – The baking powder is needed to help the crust become lighter and fluffier.
- Plant Based Milk – In this recipe I used an unsweetened plain almond milk. Use your favorite plant based milk.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – The vinegar helps the flour rise.
- Seasonings – Onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Ingredients for the Cream Cheese spread
- Cashews – Raw cashews are used to make this vegan cream cheese.
- Plant Based Milk – I used an unsweetened plain almond milk in this recipe. Use your favorite plant based milk.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – The vinegar helps to thicken and give the cheese that special tang of the cream cheese.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch helps to thicken the cream cheese spread.
- Lemon Juice – Lemon juice also helps to thicken and add more tang to the cream cheese spread.
- Minced Garlic – I used minced garlic in the cream cheese. Substitute with garlic powder or fresh sauteed garlic cloves.
- Seasonings – Onion, dill, and salt.
Topping for the pizza
- Carrots – I used a peeler to make carrot ribbons for our pizza.
- Olives – Black and/or green olives.
- Peppers – I like to use sweet bell peppers on our pizza. Add any variety of peppers can be added to your pizza.
- Broccoli – I steamed baby broccoli before I added it to our pizza.
- Tomatoes – Any variety of tomato will work, I added a grape sized tomato to our pizza.
How to make the Cold Vegan Veggie Pizza
Making the crust
Preheat the oven to 425° F.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
Make a vegan buttermilk in a medium sized bowl, add the vinegar to the milk, stir, and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, onion, and garlic powder.
Next, pour the vegan buttermilk into the flour mixture, combine until there are no lumps in the batter.
Pour and spread the batter onto the prepared baking sheet.
Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, checking at 20 minutes by touching the top for sponginess, the crust should have a slight brown color when done.
Once the crust is done, remove from the oven, and leave to completely cool.
Making the cream cheese
Soak the raw cashews for up to 4 hours before making the vegan cream cheese.
After the cashews have soaked for 4 hours, drain and rinse.
Pour the cashews into a high speed blender along with the milk, cornstarch, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, onion powder, minced garlic, and dill.
Blend until smooth and creamy, pour into a small sauce pan and cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is the consistency of cream cheese.
Remove from heat, pour, and spread the cheese evenly over the crust.
Place this into the refrigerator for about an hour before adding the vegetables.
While the pizza is in the refrigerator, prepare the vegetables.
Topping the Cold Vegan Veggie Pizza
Shred or cut the carrots into ribbons or small pieces.
Slice the tomatoes into small pieces or if using grape sized tomatoes, cut into half.
Cut the broccoli into small florets and steam the broccoli until it is tender.
Pour the broccoli into a strainer, rinse with cold water, and leave it to completely drain.
Dice the bell peppers into small pieces.
Next, slice the olives.
After an hour, pull the cooled pizza crust out of the refrigerator.
Sprinkle all the vegetables evenly over the entire crust.
Cut the pizza into squares and serve cold.
Cold Vegan Veggie Pizza
Equipment
- 1 13 x 18 sheet pan
- 1 High Speed Blender
Ingredients
The Crust
- 2 Cups Flour I used King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour for my crust.
- 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Ground Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 Cups Plant Based Milk I used a unsweetened plain almond milk to make the vegan buttermilk.
- 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar This is added to the plant based milk to make a vegan buttermilk.
The Vegan Cream Cheese
- 1 Cup Raw Cashews
- 3/4 Cup Plant Based Milk I used a unsweetened plain almond milk.
- 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Minced Garlic
- 1/2 tsp Dill
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Vegetables
- Shredded Carrots
- Black and/or Green Olives
- Pepper I mixed yellow, orange, and red sweet bell peppers together for the topping. Add your favorite peppers.
- Grape Sized Tomatoes
- Baby Broccoli
Instructions
Making the crust
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- Make a vegan buttermilk in a medium sized bowl, add the vinegar to the milk, stir, and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, onion, and garlic powder.
- Next, pour the vegan buttermilk into the flour mixture, combine until there are no lumps in the batter.
- Pour and spread the batter onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, checking at 20 minutes by touching the top for sponginess, the crust should have a slight brown color when done.
- Once the crust is done, remove from the oven, and leave to completely cool.
Making the cream cheese
- Soak the raw cashews for up to 4 hours before making the vegan cream cheese.
- After the cashews have soaked for 4 hours, drain and rinse.
- Pour the cashews into a high speed blender along with the milk, cornstarch, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, onion powder, minced garlic, and dill.
- Blend until smooth and creamy, pour into a small sauce pan and cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is the consistency of cream cheese.
- Remove from heat, pour, and spread the cheese evenly over the crust.
- Place this into the refrigerator for about an hour before adding the vegetables.
- While the pizza is in the refrigerator, prepare the vegetables.
Topping the Cold Vegan Veggie Pizza
- Shred or cut the carrots into ribbons or small pieces.
- Slice the tomatoes into small pieces or if using grape sized tomatoes, cut into half.
- Cut the broccoli into small florets and steam the broccoli until it is tender.
- Pour the broccoli into a strainer, rinse with cold water, and leave it to completely drain.
- Dice the bell peppers into small pieces.
- Next, slice the olives.
- After an hour, pull the cooled pizza crust out of the refrigerator.
- Sprinkle all the vegetables evenly over the entire crust.
- Cut the pizza into squares and serve cold.
Notes
- Beans – Add different beans to the pizza. Try black beans, any white bean, or a roasted chickpea for a little something different.
- Greens – Shred fresh lettuce, spinach, sauteed cabbage, or even bean sprouts.
- Onion – Any variety of onion will work well on this pizza. Add chives, green onions, or a diced sauteed or raw sweet onion.
- Cheese – Any variety of cheese can be added to this pizza. Use your favorite vegan or regular cheese.
- Cauliflower – Steamed cauliflower florets can also be added to your pizza.
- Cucumbers – Cucumbers pair nicely with the vegan cream cheese.
- Summer Squash – Try patty pan or zucchini, fresh or sauteed.
- Peas – Snap, snow, or a shelling peas.
