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This vegan sweet and spicy pepperphoni pizza is the perfect weeknight dinner. It all starts with a simple skillet baked marinara sauce, that’s then spread over homemade or store-bought pizza dough, topped with grated vegan cheese and meat-free pepperoni slices. Once baked, serve with fresh basil leaves. And more maple or chilli, if desired. In no time, this will become your new favourite pizza recipe!
In recent years, more and more major pizza chains are creating great vegan options. This recipe was inspired by the first vegan pepperoni pizza I had from PizzaHut. It was a classic pepperoni pizza but without any animal products. I love having that pizza with bbq sauce and chilli oil, so I just knew I had to create my very own sweet and spicy pepperphoni pizza for you all to try.
This vegan pepperoni pizza is…
- A super simple recipe
- Perfect weekday dinner
- SO delicious! It tastes very similar to the real thing.
Ingredients to make sweet and spicy pepperphoni pizza…
- Pizza crust: store-bought or homemade will work. You’ll need around 1 pound of pizza dough in total. Or 2 medium-sized pizza bases.
- Olive oil: use good quality olive oil!
- Garlic: I like to use whole cloves over garlic powder. You’ll need a few with the skins on, and a few without. The garlic cloves we leave with their skins will give us a slightly sweeter note.
- Tomatoes: baby cherry or baby plum tomatoes. You’ll also need tomato paste (or puree).
- Herbs: for the fresh herbs, you’ll need basil and thyme. For the dry herbs, you’ll need oregano.
- Spices: chilli flakes, fennel seeds, salt and black pepper.
- Maple syrup: this is the ‘sweet’ part of our vegan pepperoni pizza!
- Vegan cheese: use a block of vegan cheese, as they tend to melt a little better compared to pre-grated vegan cheeses. I used a block of smoked vegan cheese, but use your favourite vegan cheese!
- Vegan pepperoni: use your favourite brand of pre-sliced, meatless pepperoni style slices. Field Roast’s, Be-hive’s seitan pepperoni or Quorn ones are all great options that have that traditional pepperoni taste and texture! You could also make your own vegan pepperoni with vital wheat gluten, but I wanted to keep this recipe as easy as possible.
The homemade pizza dough
To make the homemade pizza dough, add yeast to lukewarm water and set aside until foamy. In another large bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour and salt. Add in olive oil and mix again. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Then, knead on a floured surface for 5-10 minutes or until the dough is soft and doesn’t stick to clean dry hands.
Place the dough ball in a well-greased bowl, and cover with a towel. Set aside for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. To make the dough rise faster, I like to pop 1 cup of water into the microwave, heat it for 2 minutes, and then carefully remove the hot water. Finally, turn off the microwave, and transfer the covered bowl with the dough into the microwave. Close the door and set aside for 30 minutes.
All about the skillet baked marinara sauce…
Rather than using a store-bought tomato sauce, this recipe is created with a super simple skillet baked sauce. Just dump all the ingredients into a skillet, mix and bake for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes look like they’ve started to burst.
Remove the skins from the garlic cloves. Using a fork, mash the tomatoes, then add in some tomato puree (and more chilli flakes, if needed!).
Assembling the vegan pepperoni pizza…
Grease two pans with olive oil, half the dough and stretch the dough into both pans using your hands. Then, add the skillet baked marinara sauce to both pizzas. Add the grated vegan cheese. Sprinkle a little water (around 1 tsp) over the vegan cheese. This will help it melt better. Add the meatless pepperoni (I’ve listed a few vegan pepperoni brands above). For crisped edges, brush with a little olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway,
Top pizza with basil leaves (this is a must!). And as I like this super spicy, I drizzled a little bit of chilli oil.
Have you tried this recipe?
After you try this vegan sweet and spicy pepperphoni pizza recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! I try my best to respond to you all. Oh, and don’t forget to tag me over on Instagram – I can’t wait to repost your images!!
More meatless pizzas you need to make…
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Ingredients
Pizza dough
- 390 g all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil (plus more for greasing bowls)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 240 ml lukewarm water
- 1 pack fast action yeast (7g)
- 2 tsp maple syrup
Skillet Masala Mariana
- 6–7 garlic cloves (half with the skin of, half grated)
- 1–2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 2–3 tbsp tomato puree/paste
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
Other
- 2 cups grated vegan cheese (optional)
- 1 pack of sliced vegan pepeproni
Instructions
Pizza dough
- Combine lukewarm water with maple syrup and yeast. Set aside for 5-10 minutes.
- In another bowl, combine all purpose flour, salt and olive oil. Pour the wet over the dry and bring together.
- Knead on a well floured surface for 5 minutes or until dough is soft to touch.
- Divide dough into two and shape into balls. Grease two bowls and place one dough ball in each. Cover with a tea towel and allow to proof for 45mins or until doubled in size.
Skillet Masala Mariana
- Preheat your oven to 260°C/500°F (Keep the oven on after you've finished making this sauce!)
- Into a skillet, add the tomatoes, garlic cloves, grated garlic, chilli flakes, maple syrup, salt, fresh thyme, dried oregano and fennel seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes are slightly charred and easily mashable. Remove the garlic skins. Mash until smoothish, and then mix in the tomato puree.
Assembly
- Punch out the air from your dough (my favourite part). Divide dough into 2, and then, on a well-floured surface roll into a rough rectangle shape. Transfer onto a well-oiled baking tray. If you need to, stretch your dough to fit your baking tray.
- Spread skillet marinara sauce on both pizza bases, then add the vegan cheese and finally, the vegan pepperoni. Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating halfway.
- Serve with basil leaves and more maple syrup or chilli flakes/oil if desired! Enjoy warm!
Nutrition
- Calories: 552
