This easy to make vegan deep dish pizza is the perfect comfort food on weekends! The recipe is gluten-free and plant-based. You can use your favorite veggies for this yummy pizza pie!
I am sure you know how much I love pizza. Yes, I adore it! That’s why I always get so excited when I create a new pizza recipe. This deep dish pizza is a crowd-pleaser for sure. You can make the recipe with a regular (wheat flour) dough, but for all of you who are gluten-free (and vegan), you have to try out this recipe!
Healthy Pizza
You might ask why I am sharing this vegan deep dish pizza recipe with you. Well, I like veggies, mushrooms, and vegan cheese. You can fill up a deep dish pizza with lots and lots of veggies… So yeah, it’s actually a pretty healthy “pizza casserole” because of all the veggies, right. And I want you all to try out healthy-ish recipes. Isn’t it amazing when you can say: “I just ate a healthy pizza with tons of veggies and it actually tasted amazing”.
Filling For This Vegan Chicago Style Pizza
I chose spinach, peppers, mushrooms, corn, onion, tomato sauce, and vegan cheese as the filling. However, you can choose any toppings which you like for this deep dish pizza, for example, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, chickpeas and so much more.
Gluten-Free Pizza Dough
I created a new gluten-free pizza dough with chickpea flour, rice flour, and tapioca flour and actually like it A LOT! If you don’t already have a (store-bought) gluten-free flour mix at home, you should give this flour mix a try.
If you don’t care whether the pizza dough is gluten-free or not, then you can also make regular pizza dough with wheat flour or spelt flour. The deep dish pizza will be most likely thicker and fluffier.
Additional Dough Layer
Please note that this vegan deep dish pizza won’t stay nicely in shape when you cut into it because there is a lot of filling. I have made this recipe once with an additional layer of dough in between and this fixed the problem.
To make this, simply divide the dough into 2 parts, one being 2/3 of the size of the other one. Spread the larger rolled out dough into the pan/springform and use the smaller rolled out dough as an additional layer in between the veggies!
This Deep Dish Pizza Is:
- Vegan (dairy-free, egg-free)
- Gluten-free
- Crispy
- Gum-free
- Healthy
- Easy to make
- Versatile
Vegan Cheese Sauce
I used my easy vegan cheese sauce recipe, however, you can use any vegan cheese of choice, whether its vegan mozzarella or vegan cheddar cheese, it’s your choice.
Crowd-Pleaser
I made this vegan deep dish pizza a couple of times for friends and everyone loved it! It’s so much fun to get creative and try out new things with simple pizza dough. The recipe is easy to make because you just need a pizza dough and your favorite veggies.
Vegan Deep Dish Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza dough:
- 240 g gluten-free flour mix (*see recipe notes)
- 1 tbsp psyllium husk powder
- 1/3 tsp sea salt
- 200 ml plant-based milk
- 20 g fresh yeast (*see recipe notes)
- 1/2 tbsp maple syrup or 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp olive oil
Filling:
- 5 oz (140 g) fresh baby spinach
- 2 peppers (I used green ones), chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 cup (75 g) mushrooms sliced
- 2/3 cup (120 g) corn
- 1/2 cup (120 g) tomato sauce
- 1 batch vegan cheese (or vegan cheese of choice)
- sea salt, black pepper, and Italian spice mix to taste
- red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
Make the pizza dough
- Heat the plant-based milk in a saucepan for a few seconds until it's lukewarm (not hot!) about 35-40 degrees C (95-104 degrees F). Add yeast, sugar, and olive oil and set aside for about 10 minutes to proof the yeast. If it starts to get frothy, then the yeast is still active and usable.
- Combine all dry ingredients (flour, psyllium husk powder, sea salt) in a bowl and stir with a whisk.
- Add the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon. It might seem too wet in the first few seconds but that will change within a minute. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes with your hands (it will be sticky, that's ok), form a dough ball and set aside (preferably in a warm place) for about 60 minutes. It should almost double in size.
- Once the dough has risen, place it on a floured surface, and roll it out with a rolling pin about 0.6-0.8 cm thick. It should have a diameter of about 30 cm (12 inches).
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F).
- Line an 8-inch springform with parchment paper or grease it with some oil. Carefully place the dough into the springform. It should look like this. Let it rest again for about 10 minutes.
- Pre-bake the dough for around 10 minutes. Meanwhile, you can chop the veggies.
Make the filling
- Saute veggies and mushrooms in a skillet with a little oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and Italian spices to taste. You can also add red pepper flakes if you like it spicy.
- Make a batch of my easy vegan cheese sauce and spread half of it onto the pre-baked pizza dough. You can use any other vegan cheese of choice instead.
- Then add a layer of the fried veggies.
- Add the tomato sauce.
- Also, add more vegan cheese (sauce). Place the pizza back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
- Enjoy with fresh herbs of choice. PS: Please note that this vegan deep dish pizza won't stay nicely in shape when you cut into it because it has a lot of filling. Read the recipe notes below for a solution.
Notes
- You can use 1 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast instead of fresh yeast.
- I have made this recipe once with an additional layer of dough in between. This will help the pizza to stay in shape when you cut into it. To make this, simply divide the dough into 2 parts, one being 2/3 of the size of the other one. Spread the larger rolled out dough into the pan/springform and use the smaller rolled out dough as an additional layer in between the veggies!
- I had the BEST result with the following homemade gluten-free flour mix:
- 120 g white rice flour (3/4 cup)
- 60 g chickpea flour (1/2 cup)
- 60 g tapioca flour (1/2 cup)
- Recipe serves 4. Nutrition facts are for one serving.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
Just here to say that I love your page , plenty of amazing ideas ???? wondering how many times u prepare every dish before u can find perfect amount of indigriends ?
Thanks, Pat! It depends on the dish. Sometimes just a few times and sometimes a couple of times. 🙂
Hey!! Is it ok if i don’t use the nutricional yeast in the cheese recipe?
Yes, but then it won’t have a cheesy taste.
Hi, Ela
This deep dish pizza seems amazing!
I was wondering how much cups the flour would be?
And can I use pie dish until I get springform baking dish?
Thanks a lot:)
Hi Roopa, I mentioned it in the recipe notes:
120 g white rice flour (3/4 cup)
60 g chickpea flour (1/2 cup)
60 g tapioca flour (1/2 cup)
Much love, Ela
Hey Ella! What’s an alternate substitute for Tapioca Starch/Flour? I’ve run out of it and my city’s in lock-down. Would something like quinoa flour work? I have no idea. Please help!
Hi Amy, you can use cornstarch or arrowroot flour. 🙂
Delicious! My friend and I both loved it! The only downside would be that it is long to make when you make your own dough.
Looks awesome and all your food looks so amazing!
However, FYI Not all maple syrup is vegan, in fact most commercial brands are not. Dairy and/or animal lard are used in the processing. Buy from a local sugar maker so you can ask them. If they don’t know, assume it’s not. A good sugar maker will know or find out for you.
Thank you for the information, Kit!
Hiya! I’m going to try and make this recipe this weekend but instead of making a deep dish pizza can I make a thin crust pizza instead with this recipe ?
Yes, sure! That’s totally possible. 🙂
Hi Ela
Thank you for all the delicious recipes . Quick question, can I sub my regular pizza crust recipe for this pizza recipe ?
I can’t wait to make this for my family.
Sincerely
Jan
Florida
Hi Jan, yes, absolutely! Enjoy! 🙂
Ela! I love this delicious recipe! I want a slice now and it’s 7am for me, haha! Thank you for sharing Dee xx
Haha, so funny, Dee! 😀 I wish I could send you a big slice. Thanks for your sweet comment. ❤️
I tried it with my boyfriend last night, it was AMAZING! We loved it
Thanks for the incredible recipe
So glad you both loved it! Thanks for your feedback, Camila. 🙂
Thanks for this incredible Vegan and free-gluten!!
I hope you will like the recipe. 🙂
Can’t believe this is vegan AND gluten-free, it looks incredible Ela! And your vegan cheese sauce sounds absolutely divine!
Thank you, for stopping by, Jess! Yes, this deep dish pizza turned out very delicious. 🙂
Such a delicious pizza recipe! And it‘s actually so much easier, than you might think ???? Really wanna try this amazing, healthy pizza cake!
Lots of Love,
Bianca❤️
Thanks so much, Bianca! I hope you will give it a try.