This Vegan Margherita Pizza is made with a thin crust, homemade tomato sauce, and vegan mozzarella for a delicious plant-based classic pizza. Grill or bake for the perfect summer meal.
June, people!
What?!
Somehow it happened. June has arrived and with its arrival comes summer, weekend getaways, beach time, long nights, and hot grills. And so today, in honor of all these great things just around the corner, I bring you one of my favorite pizza recipes of all time:
Grilled Vegan Margherita Pizza.
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Raw Cashews
- Tapioca Starch
- Nutritional Yeast
- Apple Cider Vinegar - You could also use white wine or white distilled vinegar.
- Spices - You will need salt, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper, and red pepper flakes (optional)
- Pizza Sauce - Either homemade or store bought will do. There is a recipe for homemade in the recipe card below.
- Pizza Crust - For this recipe I recommend Flatout Flatbread's thin pizza crust.
- Tomato - Use either a steak or Roma tomato.
- Fresh Basil
Recommended Equipment
For this pizza you will need, a sauté pan, a Vitamix (or any high powered blender that can cream cashews, and a pizza stone (or grill) and pizza cutter. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
Flatout Flatbread Pizza Crust
I've been working with Flatout Flatbread for a couple of months. If you are unfamiliar, they are the flatbread I used for my Green Goddess Pizza recipe.
Flatout Flatbread is a great choice for those looking to eat lighter. Having recently partnered with Weight Watchers, becoming Weight Watchers official flatbread, you can trust that their breads are a healthy low-calorie alternative that provides a terrific source of protein and fiber without compromising on taste.
How to Make Vegan Margherita Pizza
I've been making a variation of this Margherita Pizza for many years. It started off with a pre-made sauce and store-bought (vegan) mozzarella. Over time I discovered the pizza could be improved with just three simple adjustments.
Step One - Make the Vegan Mozzarella
To make the cheese, drain and rinse the cashews and place them in a high-powered blender along with the remaining mozzarella ingredients. Blend until completely smooth.
Pro Tip: Using a strong blender is necessary in order to completely puree the cashews. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, I recommend soaking the cashews overnight and processing them in a food processor.
Transfer to a saucepan placed over medium heat, stirring the cheese constantly. Within 1-2 minutes the cheese will start to get very thick. Keep stirring until the cheese begins to move together while stirring.
Remove from heat and let cool while preparing the other ingredients.
Step Two - Make the Sauce
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Time Saving Tip: Feel free to use store bought pizza sauce to save on time.
Step Three - Grill the Pizza
When making the perfect Vegan Margherita Pizza, I suggest grilling over baking.
I usually bake my pizzas, but with summer just around the corner, I thought we would do a little grilling today instead. The taste of grilled pizza is far superior to that of baking. By grilling you can get a perfectly crispy crust and a wonderful smokey, charred taste of the grill; a taste that pairs delightfully with homemade pizza sauce and cashew mozzarella.
Serving And Storing
Serve pizza fresh out of the oven.
Store leftover pizza in an airtight container in the refrigerator 1-2 days. Gently reheat the pizza in the oven or on the stovetop before eating.
Tips and Tricks
- Getting gooey stretchy cheese is the key to elevating this pizza to AMAZING. Make sure to completely puree your cashews so that your cheese isn't gritty or tough.
- While I recommend homemade pizza sauce for more flavor, you can save time and buy sauce at the store.
- Make sure to add your basil after grilling or baking so that it stays fresh.
More Vegan Pizza Recipes
- Roasted Beet and Cashew Cheese Pizza
- Vegan Banh Mi Pizza
- BBQ Chickpea with Vegan Ranch Pizza
- Eggplant and Caramelized Onion Pizza
- Palak Paneer Pita Pizza
Vegan Pizza Margherita
Ingredients
Vegan Mozzarella
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
- 1 cup hot water
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 small white onion, minced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and pepper, to taste
Everything Else
- 4 Flatout Flatbread Pizza Crusts
- 1 Roma tomato, thinly sliced
- 1 handful of fresh basil, chopped
- red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- To make the cheese, drain and rinse the cashews and place them in a high-powered blender along with the remaining mozzarella ingredients. Blend until completely smooth. Transfer to a saucepan placed over medium heat, stirring the cheese constantly. Within 1-2 minutes the cheese will start to get very thick. Keep stirring until the cheese begins to move together while stirring. Remove from heat and let cool while preparing the other ingredients.
- To make the sauce, heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the grill to about 550 degrees. Brush the pizza doughs with olive oil and grill one side of the pizza for 1-2 minutes. Flip the crusts and evenly top with tomato sauce, Roma tomatoes, and spoonfuls of mozzarella.
- Put the lid on the grill and cook for about 3 more minutes. The pizza is done when the edges are crisp and dark.
- Remove from grill, top with basil and red pepper flakes and serve immediately.
Notes
- Getting gooey stretchy cheese is the key to elevating this pizza to AMAZING. Make sure to completely puree your cashews so that your cheese isn't gritty or tough.
- While I recommend homemade pizza sauce for more flavor, you can save time and buy sauce at the store.
- Make sure to add your basil after grilling or baking so that it stays fresh.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Cat says
Overall I enjoyed this but my cheese was very sticky & tasted gummy. What did I do wrong?
Sharon says
My daughter and I made this but we couldn't find the Flatout flat bread Pizzas so we used regular pizza dough. The sauce was delicious but we had a problem with the consistency of the cheese. The recipe called for soaking the cashews in hot water, which we did. But then when we added everything to the blender it would not really blend, just jump around. We were unclear if we should add the 1 cup of hot water that was the next ingredient to the blender, so we added a little. The cheese turned out very runny, not thick like it should have, so I guess we should not have added the water, but the recipe didn't say if the water was to soak the cashews or add to the blender. Anyway, we will try again because it was yummy.
Sarah says
Hey Sharon, sorry you had some problems with the cheese. The water is part of the cheese ingredients, as it is listed. It should be blended with the other ingredients. After blending did you then transfer the cheese to a saucepan and cook it until thick and cheesey? If you cooked it and it was still runny, just cook it a little longer until it is the texture of melted mozzarella. Based on your comment though, it seems as though that step was skipped, which is probably the reason you weren't able to get the right consistency.
Sarah says
Oh yum, we love grilling pizza! This looks amazing—so fresh!
Cadry says
I am all about pizza on the grill. Nothing beats that bit of char on the crust. I love the perfect simplicity of the ingredients here - you really let each one shine!
Jenn says
This looks phenomenal! I would eat that whole thing!
Ginny McMeans says
What a beautiful flabread! Love how it looks and your recipe sounds delicious!
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite says
My husband loves Margherita pizza! I just love pizza, lol. This looks delicious and I love how much red sauce you put on it!
Christine says
June, I know. What? But yay summer! This pizza looks great! My biggest problem with vegan pizza is finding a cheese I like. Thanks for the recipe. I'll try it!
Sarah says
I agree that vegan cheese can be a struggle on pizza. Let me know what you think!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
Looks amazing, Sarah! I love thin crust pizza, and grilling it is such a great idea!
Sarah says
Thin crust is the best, isn't it?!
Becky Striepe says
Oh YUM! I love margherita pizza, and grilling sounds like it would make it extra delicious.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Perfectly fresh and wonderful for a summer pizza! I LOVE grilling pizzas and it adds such a great smoky flavor!
Christina says
Grilling pizza is a great idea and the Flatout flatbread makes it look super yummy, easy and mess free. My kind of meal!
Casey the College Celiac says
I was sold at vegan mozzarella! This looks so yummy....about to lick my computer screen 😉
Sarah says
Thanks Casey!
Jaymie Burleson says
For the vegan mozzarella is that 1/2 cup cashews? This recipe sounds amazing! Totally making this weekend!
Sarah says
Yes. Thanks for pointing that out. I fixed it on the recipe.
Dianne says
I have NO IDEA how June got here. We've already pulled out the grill, and every year, we say we're going to grill a pizza, but we never do. I'm going to print this recipe out and make it happen!