Spinach Artichoke Vegan Pizza

Hello friends! Are you surprised to be seeing a savory recipe from me today? Spinach Artichoke Vegan Pizza on a sourdough crust!

Questions I’ve been getting a lot lately: are you a vegan? why do you make so many vegan recipes?

Well I eat mostly a vegan diet at this point in my life, but not exclusively.

I became a vegetarian when I was 7 years old and asked my grandma what salami was made of, as my grandpa was preparing a salami sandwich for my school lunch. That sandwich never got eaten. Right then and there I made a decision of becoming a vegetarian, at such a tender age.

I didn’t know much, being so young, but that was my instinct. I was completely turned off by meat, and for a while by eggs and milk as well. There was no such thing as vegans back in the mid 90s, not that I knew of, at least.

Well, I stuck to my vegetarian ways until my early 20s, when I ate meat for a few years. I had severe anemia when pregnant with my son, and craved meat. My diet was very unbalanced and I had a very toxic relationship with food and overeating, and even though I’ve always loved my veggies and my salad, I also loved junk food.

Fast forward to now, I have been back at my vegetarian lifestyle for nearly 2 years now, and every time more, inch closer to a vegan diet.

Anyway, let’s talk about this Spinach Artichoke Vegan Pizza, which was super delightful!

To make the spinach artichoke filling, start by placing some olive oil and garlic in a sauté pan. Cook the garlic briefly. Add artichokes and spinach. Cook until the spinach becomes wilted.

You can make the spinach artichoke filling ahead and keep it in the fridge until it’s time to top the pizza.

For the crust I used my Sourdough Pizza Dough, you can use whatever dough you would like. But the sourdough pizza dough is my favorite.

So, back to what I was saying to transitioning to a vegan diet, one of the things I can say I have missed the most is cheese! Gooey, melty cheese.

I have tried several brands of vegan cheese and found many that I really like. And lately I have also found out that you can make delicious vegan cheese at home.

So I made some vegan creamy cheese to top my Spinach Artichoke Vegan Pizza. This cheese reminds me of the Brazilian cheese called catupiry, which is similar to a ricotta, but with a more pungent taste, and a creamier texture.

So you can call this a vegan catupiry if you will. Or just call it vegan creamy cheese, to make things easier for those of us who did not grow up in Brazil.

Catupiry was my favorite cheese growing up. And my favorite pizza was catupiry with hearts of palm!

Making this vegan creamy cheese is extremely easy!

You can use it in sandwiches, or to top pizza, fill lasagna, etc.

How to make Vegan Creamy Cheese

You will need 5 ingredients to make this vegan cheese. I used this recipe by Nora Cooks as a reference.

• Raw cashews
• Water
• Lemon juice
• Salt
• Cornstarch

Make sure to use soaked cashews, find instructions on how to do so below in the recipe.

Place all ingredients in a small blender.

Process until smooth. And then transfer to a small saucepan.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, and simmer, while stirring non-stop, for about 5 minutes.

First, the mixture will become lumpy, and then it will start to thicken and become smooth and creamy.

When the mixture is completely smooth and thick, remove from the heat.

This vegan creamy cheese will be best if used immediately, to top pizza, fill sandwiches, top lasagna, whatever you would like.

Once the vegan creamy cheese is ready, you can assemble your pizza.

Roll out the crust. Then brush it with olive oil. Top it with the spinach artichoke filling. And then spoon some of the vegan cheese on top.

Then you are ready to bake.

I hope you liked today’s recipe for this amazing Spinach Artichoke Vegan Pizza. I will be back with the desserts tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here are some more Vegan Savory ideas you might like.

• Crispy Chickpea Tacos
• Quinoa Tacos
• Tofu Tacos with Peanut Sauce

And here are some more sourdough recipes, which are also vegan:

• Sourdough Tortillas
• Sourdough Everything Bagels
• Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

Thanks for stopping by. Have a lovely day!

Spinach Artichoke Vegan Pizza

Camila Hurst

This is a Spinach Artichoke Vegan Pizza with a creamy vegan cheese, on a sourdough crust.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Resting time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs

Course Dinner

Cuisine American, vegan

Servings 2 pizzas

Calories 500 kcal

Ingredients

  

Sourdough Pizza Dough

• 226  grams  active sourdough starter  1 cup, 8 oz
• 118  grams  warm water 90F-110F  1/2 cup, 4 fl oz.
• 13  grams  tablespoon olive oil  1 tablespoon, 0.48 oz
• 21  grams  honey maple syrup, or sugar (1 tablespoon, 0.7 oz)
• 318  grams  all-purpose flour (2 1/2 cups 11.25 oplus more to dust
• 1  teaspoon  fine sea salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  instant yeast

Spinach Artichoke filling

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 10 artichoke hearts drained and chopped
• 2 cups fresh spinach chopped (I used baby spinach and didn’t chop it)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste

Vegan Creamy Cheese*

• 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked**
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

To bake

• 1 tablespoon olive oil divided (to top pizzas)

Instructions

 

Sourdough Pizza Dough

• Make sure you feed your sourdough starter hours prior to starting the recipe. I fed mine about 12 hours before making the recipe, and the starter was bubbly and active by the time I started to make the dough.
• Mix sourdough starter, water, olive oil, and sweetener (maple syrup, honey, or sugawith a fork. Add flour, salt, and yeast to the bowl.
• Mix until it forms a ball.
• Knead until smooth, about 5-8 minutes by hand, or 5 minutes with the dough hook, at low speed in a KitchenAid. Dough should be pliable and smooth
• Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Let it rest at room temperature for about 2 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.
• Proofing time will depend on how hot your kitchen is.
• You can also proof it in the fridge overnight. Right after kneading the dough, place it in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Let it come to room temperature before baking, on the next day.
• You can make two medium pizzas with this dough, or divide into smaller pieces to make individual pizzas.

Spinach Artichoke filling

• Place olive oil on a large sauté pan. Heat it up over medium heat. Add garlic, cook briefly for 30 seconds.
• Add artichoke hearts and spinach.
• Stir and cook until spinach is wilted. Season with salt, as desired.
• You can make this ahead and leave it in the fridge until it’s time to top the pizza.

Vegan Creamy Cheese

• Drain cashews well.
• Place all ingredients in a small blender cup, or food processor.
• Pulse until smooth.
• Place it in a small saucepan.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula or wooden spoon until thickened.
• Mixture will become lumpy at first, but continue to stir and cook and it becomes smooth and thick.
• Use immediately to top your pizza.

To bake

• After proofing the dough for 2 1/2 hours, or proofing in the fridge overnight and then letting it come to room temperature, divide the dough in the amount of pizzas you’d like to make. I made two medium pizzas.
• Shape the dough portions into disks, and let them rest on the counter, covered, for 5-10 minutes to relax the gluten.
• Roll the pizza dough out to desired thickness. I like to roll mine til about 1/2″ thick, because I like a thick crust. You can roll it out thinner if you prefer a crispier and thinner crust.
• I brushed 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil on each crust before putting the filling on top.
• Divide artichoke and spinach mixture between the two pizzas. Top with spoonfuls of the vegan creamy cheese.
• Bake in pre-heated oven for about 10-15 minutes until pizza is golden brown.
• I prefer to bake one pizza at a time on my pizza stone.



Storage

• Baked pizza will store in the fridge for up to 4 days

Notes

*Make the vegan cheese right before assembling the pizza, because it will have a better consistency and be more creamy this way.

**To soak the cashews, place them in room temperature water and let them sit for 2-4 hours. Or place them in hot boiling water and let them sit for 30 minutes-1 hour.

***The unbaked pizza dough can be frozen for up to 1 month, if well wrapped. Make sure to thaw it in the fridge overnight before using, and also let it come to room temperature before baking it.



Keyword pizza, sourdough