Hello Dear Reader- When I went vegan a few years back, I didn’t expect that I’d continue to enjoy pizza. After all, I grew up in, what some would call, the pizza capital of the US…New Haven, Ct. I’d never had a pizza without cheese and I couldn’t imagine it would be trying.

I was quickly proven wrong. I’ve had some great vegan pizzas at Flatbread in Waitsfield, Vermont where richly flavored, farm fresh local vegetables take center stage on top of the pie. And the pizza at Matthew Kenney’s vegan restaurant, Double Zero, in NYC, is out-of-this-world. It’s become a favorite of?all the members of my family: vegans, pescatarians and omnivores alike. Finally, there’s Miyoko Schinner’s Miyoko’s Creamery nut-based Mozzarella cheese. Miyoko is a kitchen wizard. Her cheese is divine and is wonderful atop many things including pizza.

I never thought to bother making vegan pizza at home until I discovered Rip’s Plant-strong Engine 2 Whole Wheat Pizza Crusts at my local Whole Foods. They are so tasty and healthy. Very low in fat with no added oils and minimal processing, they are one of a variety of items offered by Rip Esselstyn’s line of plant-based convenience foods. Once I got a tip from my teaching partner, Annie,I was on my way. She suggested topping a pizza with olives to add some saltiness and fat (the healthy kind) to stand in for cheese. Great suggestion! Olives are rich in umami too. I agree with Annie, olives really transform a vegan pizza.

Healthy Vegan Made Easy: 5 steps to a quick and delicious recipes

My husband and I love the Tuscan Pizza recipe I created using my Heathy Vegan Made Easy 5-step system. This is the system I use to create health-promoting, easy-to-prepare and delicious recipes.

Tuscan Pizza: 5 steps, plant-strong, low-fat and delicious

In the case of the pizza, these are my steps.

Step 1: Marina Sauce, Step 2: Spinach, Onions and Peppers, Step 3: Engine 2 Whole Wheat Pizza Crust, Step 4: Olives Step 5: Chili Flakes and Nutritional Yeast.

Healthy Vegan Made Easy: Free Ebook

*****To learn more about the Healthy Vegan Made Easy system, click here to receive my free Ebook. *****

Tuscan Pizza Ingredients

Here are the ingredients for the pizza prepped any ready to go.

Tuscan Pizza Video

I created a video to show you how to make the pizza.  I give a tip for caramelizing onions without any oil and I also do a nutritional comparison between this plant-based Tuscan Pizza and a typical Cheese Pizza.

Tuscan Pizza Recipe

Here is the recipe for the pizza. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

With warm wishes xo,

Diana

Tuscan Pizza

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Italian, Plant-based, Vegan

Servings 3

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 Engine 2 - Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
• 1 small red or yellow onion sliced into half moon strips
• 1 medium red pepper thinly sliced into long strips
• 3/4 cup marinara sauce - preferably fat free
• 2 cups spinach roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped pitted olives
• red pepper flakes to taste optional
• nutritional yeast flakes to taste optional

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 450 F.
• Defrost the pizza crust.
• Heat a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add two tablespoons of water and then the onions and peppers. Saute for 10-12 minutes until softened adding more water 2 tbs at a time, if necessary.
• Spread the tomato sauce evenly on the pizza crust.
• Layer with spinach and then the onions and pepper mixture.
• Distribute the olives evenly over the top.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes until crust begins to brown.
• Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and nutritional yeast to taste.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!