This Basic Vegan Pizza Dough is the perfect starting point for all your pizza adventures! For this easy dough, you’ll only need 5 simple ingredients. Top the crust with any ingredients you like!
Every pizza starts with a crust, so it’s important to get the basics right. This is my go-to Basic Vegan Pizza Dough which I have been using for years now. I love the simplicity of it!
The Ingredients for Vegan Pizza Dough
You’ll only need 5 pantry staple ingredients:
- flour (I use all-purpose flour but if you have 00-flour you can use that too!)
- instant yeast
- salt
- olive oil
- water
Because we’re using yeast, we will have to let the dough rise for 2-3 hours (it depends on the room temperature).
The Alternative: Yeast-Free Vegan Pizza Dough
If you’re looking for a yeast-free (and therefore quicker) alternative, check out my Yeast-Free Vegan Pizza Dough recipe.
Vegan Pizza Topping Ideas
As for the toppings, I’ll let you have the final decision over that. The crust works with very minimalistic toppings or with loads of toppings. It’s your choice! Here are a few ideas:
- Cashew Mozzarella
- Grilled Vegetables
- Chanterelles
- Tofu Scramble and Seitan Sausages (Breakfast Pizza)
- Pumpkin Sauce topped with zucchini and caramelized onions
- Roasted Veggies and Tempeh
- Antipasti
Basic Vegan Pizza Dough topped with tomato sauce, cashew mozzarella, and fresh basil
#veganpizzaparty
Show me your pizza creation using the basic vegan pizza dough!
Post a photo of your vegan pizza on Instagram, use the hashtag #elephantasticvegan #veganpizzaparty and include the tag @elephantasticvegan to make sure I’ll see it. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
I’ll be resharing my favorites from time to time!
Basic Vegan Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + more to dust the dough and surfaces
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil + more to coat the dough
- 3/4 cup water
Instructions
- Combine the flour, instant yeast, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and water. Mix and knead by hand until it's a soft, non-sticky dough or put all the ingredients in a kitchen machine and let the machine knead the dough for you. Finetune the dough: If it's too sticky, add more flour. If it's too crumbly, add more water.
- Coat the ball of dough in a drizzle of olive oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size (2-3 hours depending on the room temperature).
- Preheat the oven to 480°F/250°C.
- Divide the dough into two equal parts. Carefully roll it out on a lightly floured parchment paper into two pizza crusts (don't use too much pressure). You can stretch it a bit with your hands until it has the right shape.
- Transfer the crust on the parchment paper onto a baking tray. Top the pizza dough with tomato sauce, vegan cheese, and your favorite toppings!
- Bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes (depending on how many toppings you add) until the crust is golden and slightly crispy. Enjoy!
Heather Young
Hi there, the water needs to be warm to activate the yeast. I forgot this and added cold & it didn’t rise.
If you amend your recipe it’ll be 👌 perfect!
Thanks,
Heather
Paul
One part I’m confused on. Do you place the spread pizza dough crusts AND the parchment paper onto a baking pan or FROM the parchment paper onto a baking pan? The way it’s worded in step 5 is a bit confusing. Thanks so much!
Rose Martine
This recipe looks awesome!!! Since I don’t use grain flour, do you think almond or coconut flour would work well as a substitute? Thanks!
Kris
Can I use active dry yeast..?
Bianca
yes, absolutely! instant yeast is just processed finer, but it’s practically the same.
Vanessa
Please mention how to activate the yeast. I didn’t do this step.
Bianca
You don’t have to activate the yeast. I just mix the dried yeast with the flour, etc., make the dough and let it rise.
Charlotte
Great recipe, very easy to make, almost impossible to fail, the crust is nice and crispy and makes a perfect pizza base! I used warm water just in case cold/hot would kill the yeast (might be unnecessary), but instant dry yeast doesn’t need to be activated. Just follow the recipe and you’re good to go!
Leah
I put the yeast in warm water/sugar beforehand (I don’t have instant, only active dry). Great pizza, thank you :) It was my first!!
Sonal
Can I use baking powder instead? I can’t find active yeast anywhere.
Bianca
yes, you can, check out this yeast-free pizza dough recipe for measurements.
Marielle
I made this today and it was a huge hit. I used to think pizza dough was so complicated, but was amazed at how easily it came together. Thanks so much for a great yet simple recipe!!
Amanda
How big is each pizza? I am trying to make enough to feed 24 people and am trying to figure out what I should multiply the recipe by. Alternatively, if I follow the instructions marked “3x,” which has a serving size of 6 pizzas, does that mean I will have enough to feed 6 people, or would they be bigger than a personal pan size?
Josh
I make 7 thin crust, 12 inch pizzas by doubling this recipe. I use 3x the amount of olive oil, though. Tbsp instead of tsp, and 3 to 4 tsp all-spice or pizza seasoning gives it a certain kick.