Beyond delicious. Full of vitamin B12 and 100% vegan. Yes, you can actually make a dairy-free, highly nutritious vegan cheese at home within less than 10 minutes, and consequently, have one of the yummiest vegan pizzas ever. The secret ingredient, as some of you may guess, is the long-hailed nutritional yeast. For one thing, you can tell how rich in B-complex vitamins it is from its deep yellow color. Nutritional yeast also boasts a chockful of selenium and potassium, and is considered a complete protein, providing all 9 essential amino acids.
I’ll be providing the dough recipe and the cheese recipe, and you can choose whatever toppings you like for the pizza (I used fresh oregano leaves, onions, bell pepper, olives, and mushrooms).
This gem of a cheese recipe is actually not mine, but an ancient treasure entitled “mock mozzarella”, which I’ve come across around a decade ago on ivu.org. It is actually taken from “The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook” by Joanne Stepaniak. I must admit, I am eternally thankful to the generous person who had posted it 🙂
For the “cheese”, what you need is the following:
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons flour (I use whole wheat, it adds a nicer flavor)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 teas. garlic powder
- 2 cups water
- 1 teas mustard
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
1. Mix the dry ingredients in a saucepan. Whisk in 1 cup of water & cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until it thickens & bubbles (it goes really quick, so don’t walk away).
2. Remove from heat & whip in 1/2 cup oil & mustard (I use my Braun hand mixer for this, it works much better & faster & makes a smoother cheese).
3. Put back on the heat & slowly add the remaining water. Cook until thick and bubbly.
As for the dough recipe:
- 3 cups flour (I use whole wheat or chapati aata)
- 2 tbsp instant yeast
- 1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 1/2 cup olive oil
1. Put all the dry ingredients together.
2. Gradually add the water. If you feel that you will not need the entire amount, then stop when you think the mixture is almost at the right consistency.
3. Add the olive oil, and knead well for around 5 minutes. Shape into a ball, and smooth a bit more olive oil onto its surface. Cover with a damp cloth and leave for 2-3 hours (or overnight for best results).
To make the pizza:
Heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile:
1.Grease a large, deep-dish pizza pan with some olive oil.
2. Roll the dough on a floured surface, and then spread it into the pan (remove any excess dough).
3. Spoon any pizza sauce of your choice, and place the pizza pan in the oven for around 15-20 minutes, or until the dough has been slightly more than cooked through.
4. Remove the pizza pan from the oven and spoon a smooth surface of “cheese” onto it. Add the toppings, and put the pan back into the oven, baking again for another 15-20 minutes.
Believe me, you’ll just love this!
Beyond Zucchini 
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