Fact—Pizza is one of those meals that’s so delicious it can be eaten at any time of the day, including breakfast time.

A big thanks to Renee Press, founder of Fire and Earth Kitchen, who clearly understands this very important fact. Forget your bowl of cereal tomorrow morning and give this recipe a try!

Breakfast Tortilla Pesto Pizzas

Yields 1 personal pizza.

Ingredients

Directions

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400°F.
2. For the Pesto: Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process for 30 seconds—scraping down the sides a few times—until creamy.
3. Pour onto tortilla and spread out evenly with a spoon. It should be a nice thick layer.
4. For the Toppings: Prepare desired veggies as needed and arrange on top of the tortilla. Place tortilla on baking tray and bake for 10 minutes, or until it starts to brown and gets crispy and toppings are soft and cooked through.
5. Remove from oven and top with avocado, salt, pepper, and any other favorite flavors. Cut into slices or roll up like a burrito. Enjoy!

Recipe Tips and Variations

• If you’re using avocado slices, don’t add them to the pizza until it comes out of oven.

For Renee’s original recipe, click here.

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This is part two of my review of the cookbook Baconish by Leinana Two Moons.

Last week I reviewed a recipe from Baconish for Bacon-Spinach Quiche. But this cookbook has so many good recipes, that I wanted to share a couple more! BLT is a definite theme in this book, and I thought this recipe was perfect because it mixes that with one of my (and the world’s!) favorite foods—pizza!

BLT Pizza

Serves about 4 to 6.

Ingredients

• 1 Quick and Easy Whole-Wheat Pizza Crust (from recipe in Baconish) or store-bought crust, at room temperature
• ⅔ cup store-bought pizza sauce
• ⅓ cup vegan shredded mozzarella cheese (I used Daiya brand)
• ⅓ cup chopped Tofu Bacon (see recipe below), marinated but not cooked
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup arugula leaves

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 475℉.
2. Stretch the pizza crust dough onto a 12-inch round pizza pan. Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the crust to within 1 inch of the edge. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly on top of the sauce. Distribute the Tofu Bacon pieces and cherry tomatoes over the mozzarella.
3. Bake the pizza for 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted and the Tofu Bacon is browned. Remove the pizza from the oven, arrange the arugula leaves all over the top, cut into slices, and serve.

I couldn’t justify reviewing a cookbook centered on plant-based bacon without trying out one of the recipes for vegan bacon. This is the first time I have ever tried to make anything like this—it was surprisingly easy, and I was happy with the result. I had to stop myself from eating these solo before I had a chance to put them on the pizza! (I cooked these before putting on the pizza, although the recipe above recommends having them cook with the rest of the pizza).

Tofu Bacon

Makes about 2 cups.

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) package smoked tofu
• ¼ cup tamari
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon olive or safflower oil (if pan-frying)
• Non-stick cooking spray (if baking)

Directions

1. Use a sharp knife to cut the tofu into ⅛-inch strips.
2. Whisk the tamari, maple syrup, tomato paste, liquid smoke, apple cider vinegar, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder together in a medium bowl. Place the tofu slices in a large shallow 9 x 13-inch baking dish or gallon-size plastic freezer bag, then pour the marinade over the top. Make sure all the slices are evenly coated. Allow the tofu to marinate a minimum of 1 hour (several hours is even better; the longer it marinates, the more flavor it will have).
3. To pan-fry the Tofu Bacon (which is the cooking method I recommend), heat the oil in the large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. I highly recommend using a cast iron skillet because the bacon slices will get more carmelization and crispier edges than they will in a non-stick skillet. Working in batches, place the bacon slices in a single layer in the oil and pan-fry until they are dark brown in spots and crispy around the edges. Using tongs or a spatula, flip the slices and fry until they are crisped and browned on the other side.
4. To bake the Tofu Bacon, preheat the oven to 400℉. Lightly spray two cooling racks and place them on top of two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Arrange the bacon slices in single layers over the cooling racks. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, keeping a close eye on the tofu during the last 5 minutes. The thinner the slices are, the faster they will begin to burn. Baking them in the oven will create a firmer, crunchier bacon and will omit the oil.

Have you made anything from Baconish? Have a favorite plant-based bacon? Share your answers with us in the comments below!

The post BLT Pizza and Homemade Bacon appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

If this Pizza Pasta Bake doesn’t scream comfort food, then I don’t know what does. Don’t wait to give this meal a try if you’re looking to whip up a little TLC in your kitchen.

As an avid blog follower of Gena Hamshaw’s The Full Helping, it’s always a pleasure to share her unique food creations with our readers.

Easy Vegan Pizza Pasta Bake

Yields 6-8 servings.

Ingredients

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to package instructions, until it’s al dente.
2. While the pasta cooks, mix the marinara sauce, cashew cream, tomato paste, oregano, and thyme. When the pasta is ready, drain it and return it to the pot. Add the marinara mixture, the frozen vegetables, and the tofu feta (tip: don’t forget to include the tofu feta marinade, which is super flavorful!). Taste and add black pepper to taste, as well as salt (or some nutritional yeast, if you like).
3. Transfer everything to your casserole dish and top with the parmesan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the pasta is bubbly and the top is just a little crispy. Serve.

Recipe Tips/Variations

• In place of tofu feta, you can substitute 1 ½ cups of your favorite vegan cheese. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice and 1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (to taste) to the recipe.

The post Easy Vegan Pizza Pasta Bake appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

Is fancy better? Can we ever answer that question? Is a vegan Tofurky Frozen Pizza served on paper plates better or worse than a gourmet, homemade pizza served on Grandma’s china? If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound? What if you’re in the forest having a pizza picnic and unable to concentrate on nature sounds because Tofurky pizza is so delicious?

While you work on that, I’ll share one of two awesome pizza recipes I made recently. Why only one? Because I want to spread out the deliciousness. Don’t worry, the second one will be posted next week!

These fancy pizzas are ones you can serve at a dinner party, or to the people you hope will one day become your in-laws if you play it right.

The best part? It’s a lot easier than it looks! And it’s lighter than a traditional tomato pizza, so it makes a great appetizer that will leave room for a heavier main course. The mix of sweet, savory, creamy, and crunchy is delicious! You can also make this the night before and reheat.

Fancy Pear Pizza

Yields 8 slices.

Ingredients

Before you start to prep your pizzas—take a moment to appreciate those crusts. Of course, you can get super fancy and make your own pizza crust from scratch, but these Vicolo crusts are amazing. You’ll want to keep some in your freezer at all times! The corn meal crunch is a really nice addition to this sweet and savory pizza.

Directions

1. Heat your oven to 400°F.
2. Cover each crust with ½ the ricotta (whether you’ve made your own or are using Kite Hill’s).
3. Slice the pears thin and arrange the slices on top of the ricotta.
4. Scatter the walnuts over the ricotta and pears.
5. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the fruit mixture (orange marmalade or Apple Cider Reduction) over each pizza.
6. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
7. Bake until the crust and the walnuts are a nice golden brown.

Homemade Tofu Ricotta

Yields enough for 2 pizzas of 8 slices each.

This ricotta recipe can be used for lasagna, traditional pizza, and any other recipes that call for ricotta cheese. If you can get your hands on Kite Hill, be sure to try it at least once—it’s delicious! This recipe will cover you if Kite Hill isn’t available in your area.

Ingredients

Directions

1. Purée all of the ingredients in a food processor. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

Recipe Tips/Variations

• If you like your ricotta on the thicker and lumpier side, don’t purée it for too long.
• If you’re cooking for meat-eaters, double the oil and the salt—no, I’m not kidding.
• You can vary the herbs to your taste and convenience—use more or less, use dried instead of fresh, etc.

Apple Cider Reduction Instructions

The post Fancy Pear Pizza appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

Last week, I shared a scrumptious Fancy Pear Pizza recipe. This week, I’m keeping it just as fancy with, you guessed it, squash!

Roasting the butternut squash will take a little bit of time, but not a lot of effort. You’re going to love the end result of this pizza—it’s creamy and sweet with a savory and salty tang. And the nuts add a crunchiness that rounds out this pie quite nicely!

Fancy Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza

Yields 8 slices.

Ingredients

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Place the whole, uncut, unpoked squash on a cookie sheet or in a Pyrex dish for 40 minutes. Turn the squash over after it’s been roasting for about 20 minutes. You can tell it’s done when the outside is golden brown—you’ll be able to easily insert a knife into the thick “neck meat.” Remove from the oven and let cool. Once the squash has cooled, you can easily cut it in half and scoop out the sweet, creamy, squashy goodness!
2. Turn up your oven to 400°F.
3. Cover the base of each pizza crust with the cooked squash. You’ll need about 2 cups of squash per crust, but the amount you put on the crust is up to you! More squash makes it creamier and sweeter, less squash makes it crisper and savorier.
4. Sprinkle the nuts and olives over the squash, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you’re using vegan cheese, sprinkle it on top before putting the pie in the oven!
5. Bake the pizza until the nuts and crust are golden brown. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Tips/Variations

• Even with the salty olives on top of the pizza, you’ll likely want a bit more salt sprinkled on top.
• This is great with sliced Tofurky Italian Sausage mixed in with the olives and nuts.
• You can season the squash before putting it on the pizza. Try seasoning it with salt, pepper, olive oil, and nutmeg.

The post Fancy Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

By Toni Okamoto

This recipe was inspired by my awesome friend Amy. She often makes several batches and freezes calzones individually for her husband to take to work. You can mix and match your pizza filling using whatever veggies you have in your fridge. They are delicious!

Ingredients

Pizza Dough:

• 1/4 oz packet of yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups flour – I use all-purpose but you can also use whole wheat
• 1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• pasta sauce – I used marinara sauce, but you can also use BBQ
• any other pizza fillings you like (I used diced red onions, diced bell pepper, sliced olives, Gardein Chick’n Tenders and Daiya cheese)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pizza dough: In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let it sit for about 10 minutes or until it turns foamy.
• Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Remove dough and knead it with flour (enough so it doesn’t stick). Let sit for about 10 minutes.
• Divide dough into 3 or 4 (depending on size you’d like) balls. On a well-floured surface (I used two baking sheets), take each ball and roll it out into a circle.
• Place pasta sauce on the middle of the dough leaving a one inch space from the edge. Place your pizza fillings over the pasta sauce, fold the dough in half and fold the edges over and pinch them together.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

If you have leftover calzones, they freeze fabulously!

The post Homemade Pizza Dough & Calzones appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

This pizza braid is incredibly easy to throw together, and absolutely delicious to eat! It’s great for potlucks, sports parties, family nights, or just because. You can also separate the pieces, freeze them, and have lunch for the week!

In addition to being easy and tasty, it is also a very versatile recipe. You can choose to make your own crust, you can use whatever veggies you have on hand, skip the vegan cheese or pepperoni if you’re on a budget, use any kind of sauce (pesto, BBQ, marinara)…the options for the pizza are limitless!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 can Pillsbury classic pizza crust, or any vegan crust
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella and/or cheddar cheese (Daiya or Follow Your Heart)
• 2/3 cup vegan pepperoni slices (Tofurky or Yves)
• Any other favorite vegan pizza toppings

Directions:

Heat oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Sauté or steam onion and bell pepper until fully cooked.

Unroll pizza crust and press into a 10-x-13-inch rectangle onto prepared baking sheet. Use a knife to cut 8 equal strips along each of the two longer edges, leaving a 3-inch space down the center of the dough rectangle.

Spoon pizza sauce along the center of the pizza dough, then sprinkle with 3/4 cup of the vegan shredded cheese. Top with cooked veggie toppings, then sprinkle 3/4 cup shredded cheese.

Starting from one end, fold strips of dough over the filling to the center, so the ends overlap and it looks braided. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese and pepperoni.

Bake 20 minutes until crust is golden brown and baked through.

The post Pizza Braid appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

Sapling Vegan‘s founder, Stephanie Lundstrom, is fantastic! She’s hilarious, her food is delicious, the photography is beautiful — she has contributed photos to several of Vegan Outreach’s booklets and our website. It is only natural that we’d ask her to be featured for Veg Food Fridays!

Below you’ll find our interview with Stephanie, as well as a delicious recipe from her blog! Enjoy!

How will you live without cheese or ice cream?

I was vegetarian for 11 years before going vegan. I thought chickens were laying eggs anyway, so why not eat them? Cows made milk anyway, so why not drink it? Then I read Skinny Bitch and that got the ball rolling. I decided cheese and ice cream weren’t worth the animals having crappy lives. There are TONS of amazing vegan ice creams. My favorite is So Delicious Almond Milk Mocha Almond Fudge. It also makes a perfect milkshake. I made one for a friend and it he couldn’t believe it was all vegan.

Before I became vegan, I LOVED cheese. It was flowing through my veins. But after a while the cravings stop. Your taste buds actually change and you like new flavors. That may sound scary, but cheese does not control you! You can do it! On pizza I leave off the cheese and use pesto or peanut sauce. It’s always a pot luck hit.

Is it possible to be vegan if I live with family members who are not vegan? 

Oh yes! That’s what most vegans do! I was 14 when I went vegetarian. My Mexican family didn’t know what to do with me. I was still living at home when I went vegan. I was in Hawaii when I decided to ditch dairy and eggs. I told my mom, “When I come home I’m going to be vegan.” So upon my return she tells me she bought me a carton of eggs and a gallon of milk because she thought I would have changed my mind by the time I got home. Five years later and I’m still sure I made the right choice.

If you can, take an afternoon to make yourself a bunch of food so if your family didn’t make you a veggie option, you have stuff already made to pop in the microwave. It was hard at times. Expect a little teasing, and have a light hearted non-judgy come back. When you can, bring a veggie dish to family gatherings to show you don’t have to eat salad alone in a corner. My aunts now make the rice and beans vegan for me or they’ll put a small portion aside of dishes before adding in cheese ot meat. They ask me for recipes now! It takes a while but people come around when you show it’s important to you and you are going to stick with it. I’d say join a veggie meet up to make some friends. If there is one thing vegans like, it’s talking about being vegan. If a new vegan wanted to pick my brain, I’d so so stoked.

Is it boring to cook only vegan foods? 

Nooooo. It’s not at all. I have eaten so many things that I love that I never tried as a meat eater or vegetarian. When I cooked as a vegetarian, I relied on cheese to make things better. My meals were heavy and left me in a food coma. You get creative with flavors and trying new things. It’s really opened up my life so much mush good food.

Best veggie tip? 

Make batches of different flavored overnight oats for quick easy breakfast. Always have frozen bananas in the freezer for extra good smoothies. Everything tastes good in a burrito or over a bed of garlic-y sauteed kale.

Ingredients:

• One pre-made dough (Mine was from Trader Joe’s)

For the Sauce:

• 1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup coconut milk plus 2 Tablespoons
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 large garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 Tablespoon agave
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice

For The Pizza:

• 6 oz tofu cut into small cubes or triangles
• 1/2 cup chopped pineapple
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro divided into two parts
• 1/2 cup carrots chopped into tiny matchsticks
• 1 green onion chopped

My dough needed to sit out to rise for 15 minutes. Do what your dough says to do, and preheat the oven according to its package, mine was 400°.

Start making sauce by adding all sauce ingredients and tofu into a pot and stir together under lowest heat (just to take some of the bite out  of the garlic).

Chop all pizza toppings, remembering to keep an eye on the sauce. Stir so as not to burn.

Spread dough out on a baking sheet and top with sauce (with tofu in it) and add all toppings, reserving 1/4 cup of cilantro

Bake until pizza crust is golden brown. Mine baked for 20 minutes. Once it’s done, top with remaining cilantro.

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