This cheeseless pizza is perfect for anyone adhering to a dairy-free diet or anyone who simply doesn't like cheese! Dairy-free pizza can still be delicious, and you can customize it with fun sauces like this balsamic vinegar glaze or spicy vegan BBQ sauce.
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A cheeseless pizza can be just as memorable and flavorful as any pizza, and I'm here to prove it! This pizza is savory, peppery, and fresh - far from bland!
If you like this recipe and want more dairy-free pizza recipes, try this lahm bi ajeen (Middle Eastern pizza).
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Who says dairy-free pizza can't be tasty? This cheeseless pizza is full of flavor!
- While this pizza is dairy-free, perfect for those with a lactose intolerance, it is not vegan. You can make it vegan by omitting the pepperoni.
- You can prepare this pizza in advance, then bake it when you're ready to serve!
- Homemade pizza is fun to make with the kids or with a partner for date night.
- While the dough will taste even better if you allow it time to proof, this technically isn't necessary, as this dough can be baked right after mixing.
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
Crust Ingredients
Cheeseless Pizza Ingredients
- Pizza crust: You can use a pre-made crust, but I recommend making your own with flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and garlic powder.
- Pizza sauce: Homemade or store bought are both fine.
- Pepperoni: This can be omitted or replaced with vegan pepperoni, if preferred.
- Red onion: Or shallot.
- Black olives: Kalamata olives would also be great here!
- Arugula: This adds a peppery, fresh element. You can use fresh basil if you prefer.
- Nutritional yeast: This makes a good alternative to grated Parmesan cheese.
- Red pepper flakes: Optional, but recommended.
- Truffle oil: Make sure you're using a high-quality truffle oil! Nothing ruins a dish faster than the artificial taste of cheap truffle oil. You can substitute with olive oil if you prefer.
- Other toppings to consider: Vegan cheese, mushrooms, Italian sausage, spicy salami, anchovies, roasted garlic, bell pepper, jalapeño, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, pepperoncinis, fresh herbs, or your favorite vegetables.
🍕 How To Make Cheeseless Pizza
Dough Instructions
Step 1: Mix flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and garlic powder. Add warm water and olive oil, then knead until smooth.
Pro Tip: Dough will be sticky, so it helps to coat your hands with flour and knead the dough on a floured surface.
Step 2: Rest dough on the counter, covered, for 30 minutes, then gently stretch and fold on all 4 sides. Cover and rest for another hour. Repeat the stretch and fold process two more times, resting 1 hour between each.
Step 3 (optional): Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before using, stretching, and folding one final time.
Pizza Instructions
Place a pan or pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 475°F for 20 minutes.
Step 4: On a floured surface, gently roll dough until pizza is around 13 inches in diameter. Lightly brush dough with olive oil.
Pro Tip: The crust will be crisp, but pretty thick. If you prefer a thin crust, you can roll it out more.
Step 2: Add pizza sauce and top with pepperoni, sliced olives, and red onion, and bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until crust is crispy and golden.
Step 3: Slice pizza, then top with nutritional yeast, crushed red pepper, arugula, and a generous swirl of high-quality truffle oil.
You may also want to try this delicious and easy BBQ chicken flatbread!
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Experiment with different sauces to enhance your cheeseless pizza, such as garlic tahini sauce, cilantro chimichurri sauce, spicy ranch sauce, garlic scape pesto, or Lebanese garlic sauce.
This dairy-free pizza is good enough to be enjoyed on its own, but can be served with Lebanese fattoush salad, arugula pear goat cheese salad, dill pickle chopped salad, or this green goddess salad recipe.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Cheeseless pizza is sometimes referred to as "pizza marinara" or "pizza rosa". There are also other varieties of pizza that don't typically include cheese, such as seafood pizza or lahm bi ajeen (Middle Eastern pizza).
To make dairy-free pizza, you can substitute cheese with vegan cheese, nutritional yeast, hummus, or other savory sauces.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- You can also make this cheeseless pizza recipe using a pre-made crust or your preferred pizza dough recipe.
- You can skip the proofing process altogether if you're in a hurry, though the crust won't be as light and airy.
- Store leftover pizza in a ziplock bag or an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- To reheat cheeseless pizza, place it in the oven and bake at 400°F for 5-7 minutes.
🧀 More Tasty Pizza Recipes
If you enjoy this cheeseless pizza recipe, be sure to try these other yummy pizzas too!
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📖 Recipe
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Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Mix flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and garlic powder. Add warm water and olive oil, then knead until smooth.
- Rest dough on the counter, covered, for 30 minutes, then gently stretch and fold on all 4 sides. Cover and let it rest another hour. Repeat stretch and fold process two more times, resting 1 hour between each.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before using, stretching and folding one final time.
- On a floured surface, gently roll dough until pizza is around 13 inches in diameter. Lightly brush dough with olive oil.
- Add pizza sauce and top with pepperoni, sliced olives, and red onion and bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until crust is crispy and golden.
- Slice pizza, then top with nutritional yeast, crushed red pepper, arugula, and a generous swirl of high-quality truffle oil.
Nutrition
Notes
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- Dough will be sticky so it helps to coat your hands with flour and knead the dough on a floured surface.
- The crust will be crisp, but pretty thick. If you prefer thin crust, you can roll it out more.
- You can also make this cheeseless pizza recipe using a pre-made crust, or your preferred pizza dough recipe.
- You can skip the proofing process altogether if you're in a hurry, though the crust won't be as light and airy.
- Store leftover pizza in a ziplock bag or airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- To reheat, place in the oven and bake at 400°F for 5-7 minutes.
Hilda Sterner says
We hope you enjoy this cheeseless pizza recipe!