Our family has a Friday pizza night tradition. Making homemade pizza crusts is relatively easy, and that is awesome sometimes to do but on busy weeks, when I want to hit the shortcut button opening a box and putting the pie in the oven is the kind of shortcut I need.
But since recently becoming diagnosed with an allergy to eggs and dairy, it’s been a bit of a letdown to actually eat pizza. We buy frozen pizzas rather than from a pizza shop to save money. And I’ve tried every frozen variety on the market, and none have genuinely wowed me.
On a recent trip to the grocery store, I noticed a vegan refrigerated pizza crust on deep discount, so I thought I’d give it a try. Unfortunately, after doing a web search it doesn’t look as though it’s available anymore in my area, so I’m not going to link to it at this time. I also wanted to try Parmela Creamery’s plant-based mozzarella cultured from cashew milk. Both items were total winners!
Here is how I made this delicious vegan pizza:
I started by heating 2 cups of PuraVida Prima Vera Mistura vegetables that I buy from Costco. These frozen veggies are staples in my freezer! They are perfect when I don’t have time to chop vegetables but want to have something good and healthy on hand. Highly recommend trying them if you haven’t already. I also had a few cherry tomatoes in the fridge, so I sliced them in half and added them to the PuraVida veggies.
I made the pizza crust according to the package directions, then in the final few minutes, I pulled it out, smeared crushed garlic, olive oil, and a layer of cheese on the top and put it back in the oven to cook.
Then according to the crust directions, I pulled it out and added the now cooked veggies, a handful of arugula, and another layer of the vegan mozzarella and returned to the oven for the final cooking time. Within 15 minutes, dinner was on the table, and it was delicious!!
We all have busy weeks and dinners when we don’t even want to think about having to cook something. I get it! It’s so tempting to want to pull into the drive-thru, but making food at home is healthier and more cost effective than any of the options at a fast food restaurant.
Give this make-your-own pizza idea a try with your family. Buy whatever refrigerated pizza crust you can find and have everyone make their pizza how they like it. Encourage your family to add vegetables, even if it means a layer of cheese needs to be on top. Pull random leftovers out of the fridge and try adding some of them as pizza toppings, who says mac-n-cheese can’t be a pizza topping! Doing this reduces the food waste in your trashcan and saves you money. Be an example for others and make your pizza as healthy as possible so your kids can see your creativity and determination to live a healthy lifestyle.
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