Vegan? Yes. Easy? Yes. Tasty? YES! This vegan puff pastry pizza is an all-round winner!
Puff Pastry is amazing for creating delicious bakes, but it’s also great for savoury cooking. One of my favourite ways to use it is for making pizzas!
Taking part in veganuary meant I forgot the cheese. Instead, I loaded my vegan puff pastry pizza with a tasty combo of veggies and Italian flavours – It was DEEE-licious!
The use of veggies means this recipe is full of additional nutrition and essential vitamins. For example, spinach provides a dose of iron and aubergine is a great source of fibre and antioxidants.
Using puff pastry instead of usual pizza dough also means you’ll leave the dinner table feeling lighter n comparison and less stodgy.
Is Puff Pastry Vegan?
Traditional puff pastry is NOT vegan as it uses butter. However, it is possible to make it vegan at home using dairy-free butter instead. Thankfully, a lot of the puff pastry you can buy in U.K supermarkets are vegan-friendly! I was so happy when I found this out. My usual go-to is Jus-Rol’s range – it makes life easier in the kitchen (haha!) For other brands you find, just check the label for allergens in bold and for the ingredients it uses.
This vegan puff pastry pizza is great for when you have friends over – you could serve it with an array of sides for everyone to dig in. Alternatively, it’s great if you’re wanting a less guilty version of a favourite classic. Feel free to get creative with your own toppings too!
Enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments. Have a good day!
G x
- 1 sheet of Jus Rol Puff Pastry
- 180g Courgette, sliced into circles (approx. 1/2cm thick)
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced
- Half an Aubergine (90g), sliced relatively thin vertically into strips
- Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon of Garlic Puree/ 3 cloves (grated)
- Large pinch of Mixed Herbs
- Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- 130g White Mushrooms, sliced
- 2 Handfuls of Spinach
- ½ Red Onion, sliced
- 2 teaspoons Balsamic
- 2 teaspoons Golden Caster Sugar
- 180g Passata
- 2 tablespoons of tomato puree
- 2 teaspoons of garlic puree
- 10 Basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1 Vine Tomato, sliced
- 50g of Mixed Green & Black Olives, pitted
- ½ Red Chilli, finely chopped
- 2 Scallions/Spring Onions, chopped
- A few springs of rocket (for serving)
- As advised, allow your pastry to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes prior to using it. Also, preheat your oven to 200C.
- Use this 20 mins to prepare your toppings. Start by putting the courgette, aubergine and red pepper into a bowl. Drizzle over a few tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of garlic puree. Followed by a large pinch of mixed herbs, a pinch of sea salt, and a good grinding of black pepper. Mix well so the veg is evenly coated. Then place on a baking tray and in the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Place the pizza tray you'll be using for the pastry in the oven at the same time to pre-heat as well. This will help the pastry base cook well later on (just make sure it's big enough to fit the pastry on).
- Whilst the veg is cooking, lightly fry your red onion on a medium heat for 2 minutes with a little olive oil, the balsamic vinegar and sugar. Fry until the onion begins to soften. It will finish cooking later on in the oven. Be sure to stay with it and stir it occasionally to avoid the sugar burning. Then place it to one side in a small dish.
- Using the same pan and level of heat, lightly fry off the mushrooms and spinach with a light dash of water (no oil) for a few minutes until it all begins to soften. Using water helps food steam through quicker on the hob and prevents it becoming greasy. Then place in a bowl to one side.
- Next, you need to make the tomato sauce. Take a small bowl and mix the passata, tomato puree and garlic puree with the chopped basil. Plus, a small sprinkling of sea salt and black pepper.
- Once the oven veg is done, place your pastry on baking paper on the warm baking tray. Then top it beginning with your tomato sauce (there might be a little left over). Continue to add the baked aubergine, red pepper and courgette. Followed by the mushrooms, tomato and finally the caramelised red onion and olives down the middle. Finish with a sprinkling of spring onions, fresh chilli and pinch of mixed herbs. If you have any tomato sauce left over, you could spoon a few mini dollops here and there.
- Bake your puff pastry pizza at 200C for 10-15 mins until puffed and golden. Serve with a sprinkling of rocket leaves. Voila!
- The reason why I part-cook the toppings beforehand, is because it ensures all ingredients are cooked through when the pizza finally comes out the oven. The pizza is only in the oven for 15 minutes max which isn't long enough for most of the veggies to bake completely. I don't know about you, but there's nothing worse than biting into a pizza and one or two toppings aren't cooked through. Mind you, if you prefer a little more crunch, you could get away with not part-cooking the caramelized onion. Instead of frying it, just mix it in a bowl with the sugar and balsamic before topping it on the pizza.
