This easy, foolproof recipe will show you how to make the best vegan pizza at home – featuring a crispy crust, rich tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes, arugula, and vegan mozzarella. It tastes just like the real deal from an Italian pizzeria!
Vegan Arugula & Tomato Pizza – Easy Homemade Recipe
A vegan pizza topped with fresh arugula and juicy tomatoes is the perfect balance of a crispy crust, flavorful tomato sauce, and creamy dairy-free cheese. This vegan pizza recipe is quick, easy, and made entirely without animal products – ideal for anyone who loves Italian comfort food but prefers a plant-based diet.
Why Vegan Pizza with Arugula & Tomato Always Works
The combination of tomatoes, arugula, and cheese is a true Italian classic. With just a few simple steps, you can turn these ingredients into a vegan arugula pizza that tastes just as good as the original. Instead of traditional mozzarella, we use vegan mozzarella or dairy-free cheese shreds, giving the pizza a creamy, cheesy flavor while keeping it 100% plant-based.
👉🏻 Benefits of this easy vegan pizza:
- 100% plant-based and dairy-free
- Crispy, bakery-style crust
- Fresh, light toppings with arugula and tomatoes
- Easily customizable with your favorite veggies
Ingredients for 1 Large Vegan Pizza
Vegan pizza dough:
- Pizza flour (Tipo 00 or all-purpose flour)
- Water
- Fresh or active dry yeast
- Sugar
- Salt
- olive oil
Vegan tomato pizza sauce:
- Crushed tomatoes
- Garlic
- Salt
- Sugar
- Dried herbs (oregano, basil, etc.)
- olive oil
Toppings:
How to Make Vegan Pizza – Step-by-Step Instructions
Tip: Watch the recipe video first, then follow these easy step-by-step instructions. The exact measurements are in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Prepare the vegan pizza dough
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in lukewarm water and let sit for 5 minutes. Mix flour and salt, then add yeast water and olive oil. Knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 40-60 minutes.
💡 Pro tip: For extra flavor, let the dough rest overnight in the fridge with less yeast.
Step 2: Cook the vegan pizza sauce
Heat olive oil in a saucepan and sauté garlic briefly. Add crushed tomatoes, salt, sugar, and herbs. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until slightly thickened.
Step 3: Assemble & bake the pizza
Preheat the oven (with the baking sheet inside) to 475°F (240°C) top/bottom heat or 430°F (220°C) fan. Roll out the dough, place on parchment paper, and spread with sauce. Add cherry tomatoes and vegan cheese. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and crispy. Top with fresh arugula, drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with vegan parmesan and basil if desired.
Homemade Vegan Cheese (Dairy-Free Pizza Melt)
Don’t want to make vegan mini mozzarella balls at home or use store-bought vegan cheese? Try this homemade cashew cheese for pizza:
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp cashew butter
- 2-3 tbsp plant milk
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp tapioca starch
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- a squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
Instructions:
- Mix tapioca starch with plant milk in a sauce pan.
- Stir in cashew butter, salt, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice.
- Heat for 2-3 minutes while stirring until it thickens.
- Spread on your pizza and bake as usual.
👉🏻 Thanks to the tapioca starch, this cheese alternative gets wonderfully stretchy and melty!
Tips for the Best Vegan Arugula Pizza
- Crispy crust: Preheat your baking sheet or use a pizza stone.
- Extra golden: Switch to the broil/grill function for the last 1-2 minutes.
- With pizza stone: Bake at 480-530°F (250-275°C) for 5-7 minutes. Preheat the stone for at least 30-40 minutes.
- Customizable: Add zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, or olives.
- Meal prep friendly: Make the dough the night before to save time.
Overnight pizza dough
You can also let the dough rise overnight in the fridge:
- For 8-12 hours: use 5 g fresh yeast (1 g dry yeast).
- For 12-24 hours: use 3 g fresh yeast (0.6 g dry yeast).
- 👉🏻 More yeast = shorter rise time, stronger yeast flavor.
- 👉🏻 Less yeast = longer rise time, more aromatic and digestible dough.
Conclusion – Vegan Pizza Just Like in Italy
This vegan Italian pizza recipe proves that a plant-based pizza can be just as tasty as the traditional version. With a crispy yeast dough, rich tomato sauce, creamy dairy-free cheese, and fresh arugula, this vegan arugula and tomato pizza is a true highlight – perfect for a quick dinner, pizza night with friends, or as a healthy alternative.
Recipe video
Try this recipe and bake your own best vegan pizza at home! Feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating. And if you take a photo of your pizza and share it on Instagram, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your creations. Enjoy your meal 🙂
The Best Vegan Pizza Recipe
Author:
This easy, foolproof recipe will show you how to make the best vegan pizza at home – featuring a crispy crust, rich tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes, arugula, and vegan mozzarella. It tastes just like the real deal from an Italian pizzeria!
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 2 cups (250 G) pizza flour Tipo 00 or all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) hatch warm water
- ½ cube (21 G) fresh yeast about 21 g or 1 packet instant yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Tomato sauce
- 7 oz (200 G) tomato passata
- 1 small garlic cloves finely chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp dried Italian herbs oregano/basil
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Topping
- 3.5 oz (100 G) vegan mozzarella or shredded vegan cheese, or homemade pizza melt
- 3.5 oz (100 G) tomatoes halved
- 1 handful of fresh arugula
- 1 tbsp olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
Prepare the dough
-
Dissolve the fresh yeast with the sugar in lukewarm water and let sit for about 5 minutes until foamy.
-
In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Add the yeast water and olive oil, then knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth.
-
Cover and let rise for 40-60 minutes in a warm spot (around 35 °C / 95 °F), until doubled in size.
Prepare the sauce
-
Heat olive oil in a small saucepan. Briefly sauté the garlic.
-
Add tomato passata, salt, sugar, and herbs. Simmer gently for 5-10 minutes.
Bake the pizza
-
Preheat the oven (with the baking sheet inside) to 240 °C / 465 °F top & bottom heat (220 °C / 430 °F fan).
-
Roll or stretch the dough out thinly on a floured surface, leaving the edge a little thicker so it stays airy.
- Transfer to parchment paper. Spread sauce thinly over the dough. Top with cherry tomatoes and vegan mozzarella cheese.
-
Bake on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp.
-
Top with fresh arugula, drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with vegan parmesan and basil if desired.
-
Enjoy!
Notes
- For an extra crispy crust: Preheat the baking sheet and switch the oven to broil/grill mode for the last 1-2 minutes.
- With a pizza stone: Bake at 480-530°F (250-275°C) for 5-7 minutes.
- If using active dry yeast, you can mix it directly into the flour.
- Feel free to customize the toppings with mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, olives, etc.
- Instead of vegan mozzarellayou can also prepare pizza cheese (recipe here!) or use vegan grated cheese.
- The dough can also rise overnight in the fridge: For 8-12 hours, use 5 g fresh yeast (1 g dry yeast). For 12-24 hours, use 3 g fresh yeast (0.6 g dry yeast).
- More details and tips can be found in the full blog post above!
Nutritions
Calories: 715kcal | Carbohydrates: 110G | Protein: 27.7G | Fat: 18.2G | Saturated Fat: 7.6G | Sodium: 752.7mg | Potassium: 717.9mg | Fiber: 7.3G | Sugar: 7.6G | Vitamin A: 1342.5IU | Vitamin C: 24.5mg | Calcium: 372.5mg | Iron: 10.2mg
Nutrition is calculated automatically and should be used as estimate.
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