Our family has a Friday pizza night tradition. Making homemade pizza crusts is relatively easy, and that is awesome sometimes, but on busy weeks, when I want to hit the shortcut button, opening a box and putting the pie in the oven is the kind of shortcut I need.
Since recently becoming diagnosed with an allergy to eggs and dairy, it’s been a bit of a letdown to eat pizza. We buy frozen pizzas rather than from a pizza shop to save money. And I’ve tried every frozen variety on the market, and none have genuinely wowed me.
On a recent trip to the grocery store, I noticed a vegan refrigerated pizza crust at a deep discount, so I thought I’d try it. Unfortunately, after doing a web search, it doesn’t look like it’s available anymore in my area, so I’m not going to link to it now. I also wanted to try Parmela Creamery’s plant-based mozzarella cultured from cashew milk. Both items were total winners!
Here is how I made this delicious vegan pizza:
I started by heating 2 cups of PuraVida Prima Vera Mistura vegetables from Costco. These frozen veggies are staples in my freezer! They are perfect when I don’t have time to chop vegetables but want to have something good and healthy on hand. I highly recommend trying them if you haven’t already done so. I also had a few cherry tomatoes in the fridge, so I sliced them in half and added them to the PuraVida veggies.
I made the pizza crust according to the package directions, then pulled it out in the final few minutes, smeared crushed garlic, olive oil, and a layer of cheese on top, and put it back in the oven to cook.
Then, according to the crust directions, I pulled it out, added the now-cooked veggies, a handful of arugula, and another layer of vegan mozzarella, and returned it to the oven for the final cooking time. Within 15 minutes, dinner was on the table, and it was delicious!!
We all have busy weeks and dinners when we don’t even want to think about having to cook something. I get it! It’s so tempting to want to pull into the drive-thru, but making food at home is healthier and more cost-effective than any of the options at a fast food restaurant.
Give this make-your-own pizza idea a try with your family. Buy whatever refrigerated pizza crust you can find, and have everyone make their pizza how they like it. Encourage your family to add vegetables, even if it means a layer of cheese needs to be on top. Pull random leftovers out of the fridge and try adding some of them as pizza toppings, who says mac-n-cheese can’t be a pizza topping! Doing this reduces the food waste in your trashcan and saves you money. Be an example for others and make your pizza as healthy as possible so your kids can see your creativity and determination to live a healthy lifestyle.
