This is a quick, easy, and deeply satisfying homemade pizza that uses the convenient and tasty vegan cheese - Daiya, which is soy-free and gluten-free. The pizza provides servings of vegetables, legumes, grains, and nuts. It has a unique crunch, thanks to the almond topping, and provides healthy carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and fats. It is also a source of numerous vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and antioxidants. This can be a great transition meal for anyone who is used to regular pizza and wishes to switch to a plant-based or vegan diet. Unlike regular pizza, which is full of health problems because it contains unhealthy carbohydrates, protein, and fat, animal products, and is high in calories, this plant-based pizza is nutritionally favorable for us.
Characteristics
Type: Anytime meal or snack
Prep time: ~ 15 mins
Servings: Makes one 14-inch pizza
- Vegan / Plant-based
- Wheat or Gluten-free (depending on crust choice)
- Soy-free
- Corn-free
- Peanut-free
- Nut-free
- Sugar-free
INGREDIENTS:
- Wholesome crust, like Molinaro’s Organic Pizza Crust
- Organic Hummus: regular or roasted red pepper (store-bought hummus or homemade hummus)
- 2 cups Organic Spinach
- 1 large or 2 smaller Organic Tomatoes
- 1 Organic Bell Pepper (any color)
- 1/2 cup Organic Pitted Kalamata Olives
- 1/2 package of Daiya Non-Dairy Shredded Cheese
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup Organic Raw Almonds
TOOLS:
- Oven
- 14-inch Stainless Steel Pizza Pan
- Blender or food processor
- Optional: Salad Spinner
- Optional: Pizza Cutter
Preparation Steps
- Preheat oven to 425 F degrees.
- Spread a desired amount of the hummus on the pizza crust.
- Wash the spinach, remove excess water using a salad spinner, and spread it evenly on top of the hummus.
- Wash the tomato(es), cut out the core, and slice thinly. Layer the tomato slices on top of the spinach.
- Wash the bell pepper, remove the core and seeds, and slice thinly. Layer the peppers on top of the tomatoes.
- Slice or cut the kalamata olives into smaller pieces. Toss evenly on top of the pizza.
- Sprinkle the pizza with half of the contents of a package of the shredded Daiya cheese.
- Use a blender or food processor to break down the almonds into crumble-like pieces, and toss evenly on top of the pizza.
- Place into the oven when it is ready and set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on whether you prefer your pizza softer or crispier.
- Once the pizza has finished cooking, let it cool for a few minutes, cut into desired slices, and enjoy.
Meal Nutritional Benefits
Organic Whole Wheat
- provides healthy carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and is naturally low in fat
- provides phytonutrients and antioxidants
- provides vitamins, specifically most B vitamins
- provides minerals, especially manganese, selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and copper
- helps support optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
- helps maintain healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
- for more info, refer to whole wheat on World’s Healthiest Foods
- Health Tips: Avoid processed wheat-containing foods, even if whole. Choose organic wheat, as conventional wheat carries many health risks and includes glyphosate contamination. Choose organic stone-ground whole wheat flours for highest safety and nutrient integrity.
Chickpeas / Garbanzo Beans / Hummus
- provide healthy carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and are naturally low in fat
- provide phytonutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory benefits
- provide vitamins, especially vitamin A, C, K, and most B vitamins, including folate and choline
- provide minerals, especially potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, and selenium
- support optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
- support healthy, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
- protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes type 2, and other diseases
- for more information, visit the chickpea detailed overview from World’s Healthiest Foods
- Tip: Enjoy all varieties of chickpeas for more variety, including Kabuli (light-colored) and Desi (dark-colored)
Spinach
- provides healthy carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and is virtually fat-free
- provides lots of phytonutrients, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer benefits
- provides vitamins, especially vitamins A, C, K, and most B vitamins, including folate, choline, and betaine
- provides minerals, especially potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron
- supports optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
- supports healthy eye health, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
- protects against cardiovascular disease, cancer, infections, diabetes type 2, and other diseases
- for more information, visit the spinach detailed overview from World’s Healthiest Foods
Tomatoes
- provide some carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and are virtually fat-free
- provide lots of phytonutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory benefits
- provide vitamins, especially vitamin A, C, K, and some B vitamins, including folate
- provide minerals, especially potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, chromium, and zinc
- support optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
- support healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
- support healthy eye health, immune health, and digestive health
- protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes type 2, and other diseases
- for more information, visit the tomatoes detailed overview from World’s Healthiest Foods
Bell Peppers
- provide some carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and are virtually fat-free
- provide lots of phytonutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory benefits
- provide vitamins, especially vitamin A, C, E, K, and most B vitamins, including folate
- provide minerals, especially potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and iron
- support optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
- support healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
- protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes type 2, infections, and other diseases
- for more information, visit the bell peppers detailed overview from World’s Healthiest Foods
Olives (all varieties)
- provide healthy fats, protein, carbohydrates, and fiber
- provide lots of phytonutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory benefits
- provide vitamins, especially vitamin A, K, and some B vitamins
- provide minerals, especially in calcium and iron
- support optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
- support healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
- protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes type 2, and other diseases
- for more information, visit the olives detailed overview from World’s Healthiest Foods
- Tips: Choose organic olives without any additives or preservatives for most health and nutrition benefits. Note that olive oil is not recommended for optimal health and it is not part of a true whole food, plant-based diet because it is a processed food that only contains the isolated fat of the olives. It does not provide the above health and nutrition benefits and comes with risks.
Almonds / Almond Butter
- provide healthy fats, protein, some carbohydrates, and fiber
- provide phytonutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory benefits
- provide vitamins, especially vitamin A, E, and most B vitamins, including folate
- provide minerals, especially potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, and manganese
- support optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
- support healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
- protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes type 2, osteoporosis, and other diseases
- for more information, visit the almonds detailed overview from World’s Healthiest Foods
- Tips: Choose organic and raw almonds and almond butter, as conventional almonds and roasted almonds have pesticide, toxin, and other health concerns.