Everyone knows pizza is life, and vegan pizza LITERALLY is life — since no animals have to die to create the deliciousness. It’s all of the cheesy, melty, doughy goodness, with none of the suffering. What could possibly be better than that?!
And while there are a lot of mainstream chains that can veganize a pizza by leaving off the cheese — we think that’s a little lame. This particular guide is all about adding the vegan cheese, because honestly, pizza just isn’t pizza without cheese.
So if you rock pizza pajamas, are obsessed with topping options, and dream about adopting pizza rat (if only he were vegan!) — this is the guide for you.
Oh, and if you love this stuff as much as we do, join us on Instagram where we frequently celebrate all things vegan pizza.
(To jump ahead to any particular section, just click the links below.)
Lucky for convenience eaters, vegan pizzas have entered a Renaissance in recent years. Vegan and traditional companies alike have released a wealth of plant-based pizza options for the freezer case, and many are even available at mainstream retailers like Target. Here are all the frozen vegan pizzas currently on the market:
Daiya | Amy’s Kitchen | Alpha Foods | American Flatbread | Bold Organics | Whole Foods Market
The dairy-free cheese company now offers a whopping eight varieties of vegan pizza pie. These include supreme (with Beyond Meat sausage and veggies), spinach and mushroom, cheeze lover’s, margherita, fire-roasted vegetable, mushroom and roasted garlic, pepperoni, meatless meat lover’s, All are delightfully cheesy — and gluten-free, too. Daiya insiders recommend pairing the different pizzas with the company’s new salad dressings; they come in homestyle ranch, blue cheese, and creamy Caesar.
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In addition to being the genius folks behind Amy’s Drive-Thru (can they expand out of California already?!), Amy’s Kitchen makes a lengthy list of frozen foods (half of which are vegan), including a variety of pizzas. While most are vegetarian, several are vegan. The options include a pesto pizza with rice crust, a single-serve cheeze pizza with rice crust, and a vegan margherita pizza with Daiya.
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This plant-based protein company makes burritos, pot pies, tamales, nuggets, burgers (the list goes on!) and — pizzas! Alpha Foods has a lineup of four personal sized frozen pies. They come in: supreme (sausage-style crumble with dairy-free mozzarella, grilled peppers, mushrooms and onions with herb-infused tomato sauce on a thin crust; buffalo chik’n (grilled chik’n with dairy-free mozzarella and buffalo ranch sauce), BBQ chik’n (grilled chik’n with non-dairy cheese and hickory-smoke BBQ sauce), and classic mozza (classic non-dairy cheese pizza with classic tangy tomato sauce).
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This traditional pizza/flatbread company makes one vegan variety — the Vegan Harvest. It features a wheat crust, dairy-free cheese, and garlic and herbs. “We created the product based on customer requests,”Brad Sterl, CEO of Rustic Crust, told Latest Vegan News. “The response has been wonderful. We get comments every week about how the vegan community really enjoys our vegan pizza over many of the other options.”
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Another omnivorous pizza company, Bold’s lineup includes a vegan cheese pizza that’s also gluten-free.
The gourmet chain’s 365 Everyday Value® brand offers its own personal size vegan pizza. It’s topped with olives, tomatoes, and Daiya cheese.
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As we reported earlier this year, vegan cheese is available at more than 20,000 eateries nationwide, and many of those places are pizzerias. Here are all of the national (meaning, they span a multitude of states) chains that offer vegan pizza with cheese as an option:
Mellow Mushroom | Uncle Maddio’s | Blaze Pizza | Pieology | Pie Five | PizzaRev | Two Boots | MOD Pizza | Extreme Pizza | &pizza | Patxi’s Pizza | Your Pie | Brixx Pizza |zpizza |Buddy’s Pizza |800 Degrees | Minsky’s Pizza | PIZZAFIRE | Picazzo’s | Pizza Cucinova | Pizza Lucé | MidiCi | The Pie
This fast-growing, hippie-inspired chain has been around way longer than most of the other vegan-friendly options on this list. With 180 locations in 21 states (though more heavily concentrated in the south), this popular spot has a ton of vegan options. In addition to vegan crust (when ordered sans butter and cheese), they have vegan sauce, Daiya cheese, and even tofu and tempeh. And it’s not just the pizza that’s vegan-friendly. They can make vegan calzones and hoagies, too. Some locations even have a separate vegan menu (and the menu is accessible online). And, if you’re into chewy, doughy crust over the thinner styles — this is your jam. Currently, Mellow Mushroom has locations in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
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Both the gluten-free and whole wheat crusts are vegan at this fast-fired pizza spot, and you can choose from a lengthy list of veg-friendly topping and sauce options. There’s Daiya cheese, tomato basil sauce, garlic-infused olive oil, BBQ sauce, buffalo sauce, grilled tofu, black bean corn salsa, almonds, walnuts, fresh herbs, grapes, raspberry vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette — and all of the fresh veggies, of course. Uncle Maddio’s has locations in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Colorado, North Dakota, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey and Tennessee.
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Vegan pizza by Blaze Pizza/Photo by ThatVeganLifeDoe.com
At this widespread pizza chain (co-owned by NBA superstar Lebron James), both the standard and gluten-free crusts are vegan-friendly. Safe sauces include the classic red, spicy red, and BBQ — and there are plenty of veggie (and fruit!) topping options. Blaze has locations in California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Iowa, Minnesota, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana.
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This personalized pizza spot has started popping up all over the U.S., with 117 locations from coast to coast. Pieology’s wheat and gluten-free crusts are vegan, as is the Daiya cheese, and there are a ton of safe topping options, from basil to black olives to artichokes to BBQ sauce. Pieology has locations in 21 states including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
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The made-from-scratch pies at this popular chain come in an array of vegan combos. In addition to the Daiya vegan cheese, the gluten-free and crispy thin crusts are vegan, as are the tuscan marinara, spicy Sriracha marinara, bbq, and olive oil sauces — plus tons of fruit and veggie toppings. Pie Five has locations in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Maryland, and Delaware.
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PizzaRev is all about promoting its vegan pizzas, even celebrating National Pizza Month! At this spot, vegan eaters can have the signature thin, double dough, and gluten-free crusts; the organic tomato, spicy organic tomato, spicy, and bold BBQ sauces; Daiya cheese; and more than a dozen vegan fruit and veggie toppings, plus vegan sausage! PizzaRev has locations in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Mexico.
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This ever-growing chain is big on vegan pizzas, and Daiya cheese can be subbed out on any of its creative choices. The V for Vegan is its signature plant-based option, and features artichokes, red onions, shiitake mushrooms, sweet red pepper pesto, basil pesto and Daiya cheese. As an added bonus, the chain also recently added vegan ricotta as an option, so guests can double up on the cruelty-free cheese. Two Boots has locations in New York, California, Maryland, Connecticut, and Tennessee.
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At MOD Pizza, the crust is vegan, Daiya cheese is always an option, and the red sauce, BBQ sauce, and garlic rubs are all vegan. Plus, there are plenty of fruits and veggies to choose from. MOD Pizza has locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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Vegan pizza by Extreme Pizza/Photo by Nicole Albrecht
This amazingly awesome create-your-own-pizza place has tons of vegan options, including five signature vegan pies like the Pandora’s Box, the Drag It Through the Garden, the Bunny Slope, and more. If you’re into making your own pie, you can choose from a variety of sauces, spices, fruits, and fresh veggies. Extreme Pizza has locations in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia.
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This eatery is all about the DMV — and P. In other words, it has locations in Washington, D.C.; Maryland, Virginia — and Pennsylvania, and it’s quickly become a favorite for capitol area eaters. Vegan ingredients are also marked on the menu, which makes it easy as pie (ha) to order. Options include the traditional and ancient grains doughs, spicy and classic tomato sauces, vegan cheese, and a whole host of fruits and veggies. Plus, vegan beef!
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At Patxi’s, the homemade sauce and five kinds of crust (Chicago-style, cornmeal pan, 00 thin, whole wheat, and gluten-free) are all vegan-friendly. They’ve got Daiya cheese and 20 different plant-based topping options. Deep dish vegan pie FTW! Patxi’s has locations in Colorado, California, and Washington.
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Your Pie is all about personalization — and catering to different dietary needs. So, the chain offers Daiya vegan cheese and 40 other non-dairy options, including vegan paninis and and non-dairy sorbet. Your Pie has locations in Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, California, Arizona, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Colorado.
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This wood-fired chain has lots of locations east of Arizona, and serves up vegan cheese as an option on all of its pizzas, salads and sandwiches. The traditional and whole wheat doughs are made with turbinado sugar and are 100% vegan, and the chain offers plenty of specialty pies that can be veganized — or you can make your own. Brixx Pizza has locations in Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Florida.
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This Maryland and Virginia-based chain is committed to artisan-style pizza. The eight locations feature homemade dough (the gluten-free option is vegan!), endless combos of veggies, and now — vegan cheese! The classic sauce is vegan, so you can make-your-own creation.
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This tasty pie chain has tons of locations in California, plus Arizona and Oregon, too (plus some overseas). Its online menu even has a handy little check box marked “vegan” so you can easily see what’s available! They also have a specialty vegan pizza called the Berkeley vegan that includes housemade marinara sauce, Daiya™ vegan cheese, Beyond Meat™ vegan sausage, roasted zucchini, baby heirloom tomatoes, roasted mushrooms, roasted red onions, and bell peppers. Yum!
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This Michigan-based chain has 15+ locations and offers Daiya cheese plus a huge variety of veggies including fresh dill, scallions, and even beets!
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This wood-fired chain has locations in California, Florida, and New York (plus Japan and the UAE!) and while the menu varies a bit by store, they’re super vegan friendly! They offer Good Planet vegan mozzarella on any pizza at no charge — plus they have other vegan menu items like a cauliflower bowl, hummus, and more.
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All locations of this Missouri and Kansas-based chain offer Beyond Meat, Daiya cheese, and an array of yummy veggies and sauces.
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With locations across Ohio, this traditional Neapolitan pizza joint offers vegan cheese and a ton of different veggies you can pile on.
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This Arizona chain has a TON of vegan options! They even have a massive vegan menu that includes starters, salads, soups, pastas, quinoa bowls and — of course — pizzas. Signature vegan pizzas include a BBQ chik’n with BBQ sauce, vegan CHIK’N, Daiya vegan mozzarella, topped with chopped green onions and fresh cilantro; and a vegan elote with a vegan buttery-garlic sauce, vegan mozzarella, corn & red onions, drizzled with a spicy chipotle sauce and fresh cilantro.
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You’ll find Pizza Cucinova locations in Ohio and Texas. The chain’s menu offers vegan mozzarella and a ton of veggies to top it with.
Boasting 10 locations in Minnesota, this eatery’s menu has a ton of vegan options including vegan cheese on whatever you want, plus mock chicken, mock duck, and even a homemade “uncheese” made from tofu and cashews. Signature veg pizzas include the rustler topped with mock duck, pineapple, banana peppers, red onion and vegan cheese (upon request) with BBQ/red sauce.
With a signature Neapolitan dough, this spot has locations in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. Vegan cheese is available for any pizza pie.
There are a million-and-one vegan pizza recipes on the internet, but how many of them are actually awesome? It’s a lot of work weeding out the delicious from the not-so-hot. So, we put nose to the grindstone for you. Here are the best of the best concoctions out there — because no one wants to waste time on a cooking fail (although, like some other things we might mention, even bad pizza is pretty good).
Pizza Cheese Recipes You Can Make in 15 Minutes or Less: Gooey Mozzarella | 5-Minute Vegan Pizza Cheese | Homemade Mozz
Specialty Pizza Pie Recipes: Pizza with Homemade Mozzarella | Buffalo Chicken Pizza | Mushroom and Kale Pizza with Truffle Oil | Cheeseburger Pizza | Thai Chicken Pizza | Jarlsberg and Mock Prosciutto Pizza
Think making vegan cheese at home is too hard? Think again! If you’re a DIY’er who loves the cheesy stuff, this recipe will give you life. Dreamed up by Sam at ItDoesntTasteLikeChicken.com, the ooey-gooey cashew-based mozzarella is perfect for putting on pizzas.
Adapted from the mozzarella recipe above, this incredibly easy, cashew-based cheese requires just five minutes of cooking time — though cashews need to be soaked (or boiled!) in advance. It’s made specifically for spreading on pizzas, and has a delightful (optional) tang thanks to pepperoncini liquid. It’s wise to keep the ingredients on hand for those last-minute vegan pizza nights!
This recipe uses Miyoko’s meltable mozzarella, and according to Vegan Fattyboombalatty: “Miyoko’s meltable mozzarella was the closest thing to stretchy, delicious, real mozzarella I’ve ever tasted.” We would have to agree. The initial cheese culture does have to sit eight to 24 hours in advance, but the cooking/prep process itself takes less than 10 minutes and the end result is amazing. (As a dipping sauce for your pizza and crust, we recommend Wayfare’s Nacho Cheddar Cheese, the Gentle Chef’s Golden Cheddar Sauce, or Hampton Creek’s Just Sweet Mustard.)
Now, here are some specialty pies that’ll impress any eater, be they vegan, omnivore, or meat-obsessed.
Vegan buffalo chicken pizza may sound like an oxymoron of the wildest kind, but it’s entirely doable — and delicious. The Viet Vegan’s recipe uses vegan chicken (we recommend Gardein or Beyond Meat), Frank’s Red Hot sauce, vegan butter, and a handful of other easily obtainable goodies. The end result is spicy, meaty, and delightful.
If you haven’t tried it, truffle oil on pizza is basically the best thing ever. EVER. Especially when mushrooms are involved. The Vegan Miss’ version uses crimini and shitake mushrooms, plus dinosaur kale, red onion, and white truffle oil to create this amazing, savory pie. (FYI, Mellow Mushroom also makes a mushroom-and-truffle-oil pizza — the Holy Shitake — that can easily be veganized.)
Cheeseburger pizza may sound totally weird, but the concept is surprisingly awesome and crowd-pleasing for kids and adults of all dietary persuasions. Seitan Beats Your Meat has a fabulous take on the idea, complete with all the ingredients that make for an amazing (vegan) cheeseburger — only pizzafied and even more delicious. You could also try The Comforting Vegan’s version, or That Was Vegan’s bacon-topped approach!
There’s something about the combo of peanut sauce and “chicken” that makes magic. This particular version is made with soy curls, and was inspired by a (non-vegan) Rachel Ray recipe. That Was Vegan calls it “the best pizza I’ve ever made” — and we second that assertion. The list of ingredients is rather lengthy, but every item is worth it. End result = spicy, sweet, and endlessly satisfying.
If you haven’t heard of The Gentle Chef, you’re missing out. He’s the master of homemade meat, dairy, and egg substitutes, and his creations are nothing short of magical.
Ideal for pizza, his cheese recipes are quick, delicious, and melt like the real thing. The pizza pictured uses his Jarlsberg cheese melt (which takes five minutes to make) and mock prosciutto crudo. His cheese recipes are available only in his Non-Dairy Evolution Cookbook (if you’re into cheese, it’s well worth buying), but you can find the prosciutto recipe on his blog.
There are also a lot of other amazing block and wheel cheeses in the Non-Dairy Evolution Cookbook (including a smoked mozzarella) that shred and melt wonderfully on pizza. For inspiration and more instruction, join The Gentle Chef’s FB group and search “pizza.”
While there’s no specific recipe for the rest of the Jarlsberg and Mock Prosciutto pizza, the process is simple: pour tomato sauce onto a crust, top with dollops of jarlsberg, prosciutto crudo roses, and fresh basil. Adjust as you see fit. (The original creation was dreamed up by Gentle Chef fan Louise Gagnon.)
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Nothing like the warm comforting bite of a slice of vegan pizza. I like to keep it simple: Pre-formed pizza crust, tomato sauce, daiya mozzarella style shreds, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne powder...Delicious! :) It is cheaper to make it yourself, but if you are in a pinch, a frozen pizza sure hits the spot. Amy's no cheese pizza is really good and is lower in fat without the vegan cheese, and Daiya supreme pizza tastes like a cheeseburger pizza. #Veganpizzagang
I order Daiya pizza from Uncle Maddios at least once a month- My fave is with pineapple and the smoked tofu. Thanks for including one of my pizza recipes!
I love Uncle Maddio's with pineapple, too! :) But I've never tried the smoked tofu, so thanks for the tip! Your recipes are fab! Keep up the great work!
You must include Vegan Richa's magnificent pizza masterpieces!
http://www.veganricha.com/category/pizza
You have to try Miyoko's Mozzarella. (If it's sold in your area). Miyoko makes the best vegan cheeses on the market.
Making your own pizza crust isn't hard. Here's an easy recipe: http://eatinvegan.tumblr.com/day/2015/03/03
and then just throw toppings on and bake for 12 minutes. Bam!
Thanks! I will definitely try that one.
The Non-Dairy Evolution by Skye Michael Conroy changed my world for the better! Haven't tried the Jarlsberg Mock Prosciutto pizza yet! Tomorrow I am making Lasagne with his Mozzarella, Creamy Ricotta & Hard Parmesan again.
Great article thank you!
The Non-Dairy Evolution rules!! I just made Mozzarella and Grated Parmesan this morning. Those are staples in this house. That last pizza looks pretty cool LOL ;)
Thank you for this post. Your research is thorough and very helpful! Keep up the amazing work!
My favorite Amy's vegan pizza is the roasted veggie one, which has the sweetest carmelized onions:)
A great selection however none of these are availanke in the UK.
**Available (have predicted text on)