This Vegan Baked Ziti Pizza is like a delicious dream: Saucy ziti, flavorful walnut sausage, and an ooey gooey dairy-free mozzarella sauce on a fluffy pizza crust baked to perfection in your cast iron pan. Basically, this meat-free comfort food dish is everything you love about a classic baked ziti but veganized and on a PIZZA! This fun vegetarian dinner recipe is shockingly easy and will be your favorite plant-based pizza to make with your partner, friends, or kids!
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I’m pretty sure the first time I ever had baked ziti, it was on a pizza.
A friend introduced me to baked ziti pizza at a local pizza place when I was a teenager, and I’ve been pretty obsessed with the whole idea ever since. Pasta on pizza? That is definitely my idea of a good time.
Obviously, I’ve been dying to make a vegan baked ziti pizza for what feels like forever.
And I am so, so happy I did because this might just be the best thing I’ve eaten all year. Or all decade. Or, I don’t know, I eat a lot of good food and like to hyperbolize about it.
But the point is: THIS PLANT-BASED PIZZA IS AMAZING.
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Why We Love Vegan Baked Ziti Pizza
- It’s a fun twist on 2 classic dishes that EVERYONE loves.
- The easy dairy-free mozzarella sauce is made with silken tofu and a few simple ingredients. It has BIG flavor and an amazing texture for pizza!
- The walnut sausage is flavorful and crispy perfection. This is our favorite way to cook with walnut meat!
- This plant-based pizza recipe is actually very easy to make and the process is great for cooking with friends, your partner, or even your kids!
How to Make Vegan Baked Ziti Pizza
Although the title “Vegan Baked Ziti Pizza” can sound a little complicated and overwhelming, this recipe is shockingly easy to throw together and totally customize-able.
First, you’ll defrost your pizza dough. Check your ingredients here, but we find a lot of brands at our regular old grocery store are “accidentally” vegan. You can also make your own with our homemade vegan pizza dough or use a gluten-free pizza dough!
Next, you’ll make the walnut meat. This takes about 5 minutes, a few simple ingredients, and a food processor. AKA – You’ve got this.
Transfer this to a bowl and use the food processor again to make your mozzarella sauce. We used a silken tofu base for the mozz sauce and a few pantry staples to give it that cheesy flavor!
Then, cook your pasta! You’ll toss your pasta with a little marinara (homemade or store-bought) + ½ of the walnut meat.
Finally, assemble + bake! Press your vegan pizza dough over a cast iron pan (or pizza stone or baking sheet…you do you), top with sauced ziti, mozz sauce, and walnut sausage, sprinkle the crust with a little vegan parm + bake ‘til the crust is browned. Then, dig in!
How to Store Leftover Vegan Pizza
FRIDGE: Store leftover pesto pizza in an airtight container for up to five days in the refrigerator.
FREEZER:When the vegan pizza has cooled completely, wrap slices in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer.
HOW TO REHEAT: Reheat leftover baked ziti pizza on a baking sheet for about 5-7 minutes in a preheated 350F oven. Frozen slices will take at least 15-20 minutes.
More Vegan Pizza Recipes
However + with whomever you make this Vegan Baked Ziti Pizza, we wanna hear how it goes! You can rate the recipe and leave a comment below or tag us in your always fabulous photos on Instagram! If you’re not already following along, we’re @theplantpowercouple with the “the”.
We cannot wait to hear all about it; enjoy!
Brittany Roche
Yield: 8 slices
Serving Size: 2 slices
This Vegan Baked Ziti Pizza is like a delicious dream: Saucy ziti, flavorful walnut sausage, and an ooey gooey dairy-free mozzarella sauce on a fluffy pizza crust baked to perfection in your cast iron pan. Basically, this meat-free comfort food dish is everything you love about a classic baked ziti but veganized and on a PIZZA! This fun vegetarian dinner recipe is shockingly easy and will be your favorite plant-based pizza to make with your partner, friends, or kids!
30 minPrep Time:
20 minCook Time:
50 minTotal Time:
Save Recipe5 based on 2 review(s)
Ingredients
- 1 16-oz. vegan-friendly frozen pizza dough, thawed*
- walnut sausage (or ½ cup-ish of vegan ground meat)
- 4 oz. ziti, cooked
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 Tbsp vegan parmesan (or Cheesy Garlic Butter Blend )
- 8 oz. silken tofu
- 1/4 cup refined coconut oil (melted)**
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp dried basil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450F and get out a large cast-iron pan. If you haven’t already, make your walnut sausage and set it aside in a small bowl.
- Next, make your dairy-free mozzarella sauce by adding all the ingredients to a small blender or food processor. Blend on high, stopping to scrape the sides as needed, for 1-2 minutes until creamy and luscious! It will be very liquid-y in this stage but will thicken up a lot in the oven.
- Time to make your ziti according to the directions on the box. When cooked, drain your pasta and immediately spray it with cold water. Then, place it back in the pot and stir in your marinara and ½ of the walnut meat.
- Now, it’s time to assemble! Use clean, dry hands to flatten your pizza dough on the bottom of your cast iron pan, all the way to the edges. Top the dough with the sauced ziti, leaving room for the crust. Then, pour on your mozzarella sauce slowly and carefully. (NOTE: You WILL have pasta + mozz sauce leftovers. We saved ours for the next day’s lunch!) Finally, top your pizza with the remaining walnut sausage, brush the crust with some olive oil, and sprinkle it with a splash of vegan parm.
- Bake the pizza at 450F for about 15-20 minutes or until the crust is nice and browned. Depending on what crust you’re using, you may need to adjust the cooking time slightly, so be sure to read the package here! Let the pizza cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing and enjoy!
Notes
*Check the ingredients to ensure it's vegan-friendly, but we find most frozen pizza doughs at our local grocery store are "accidentally" vegan. You can sub a homemade pizza dough or gluten-free dough, but be aware the cooking time may need to be adjusted!
**As with all savory recipes, be sure to use coconut oil that's labeled REFINED and not one labeled UNREFINED or VIRGIN. This will ensure you get zero coconut taste..which would be a little weird on a pizza, but maybe that's just me.
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