How to Make a Vegan Pizza

Even if you're a meat eater, vegan pizzas serve as healthy alternatives to the traditional pepperoni or sausage. Follow these steps to make a delicious vegan pizza.

Things You'll Need

• 1 12-inch round whole wheat or whole grain pizza crust
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1 tsp. minced garlic cloves
• 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped basil
• 1/4 cup tofu
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 small eggplants
• 1 cup diced tomatoes

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the prepared pizza crust on a 12-inch pizza pan lightly coated with cooking spray.

2. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring for 3 minutes, or until the pine nuts are lightly browned.

3. Combine in a food processor the garlic, red pepper flakes and all but 1 tablespoon of the basil, along with 2 1/2 tablespoons of the pine nuts. Process the ingredients until finely chopped. Add the tofu and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Keep processing everything in the blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set this sauce aside.

4. Stem and slice the eggplants. Heat one teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over to medium-high. Add half the eggplant slices and cook for five to six minutes, turning occasionally, until browned. Remove the browned slices to a plate. Add another teaspoon of olive oil, and repeat to brown the second batch of eggplant slices.

5. Toss the diced, seeded tomatoes with one teaspoon of olive oil in a bowl.

6. Spread the tofu pesto sauce evenly over the pizza crust. Arrange the eggplant slices and diced tomatoes on top of the pesto. Sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts.

7. Bake the vegan pizza for 10 minutes at 450 degrees, or until the sauce is bubbly. Sprinkle the reserved chopped basil on top of the pizza before serving. This recipe serves up to eight people.

Tips & Warnings

• Vary the veggies to suit your taste. Onions, broccoli, peppers, spinach-there's no limit, vegetable-wise, to the ways you can top a vegan pizza.