This vegan Tempeh pizza with homemade pizza crust, flavorful tomato sauce, vegan cheese, and marinated tempeh crumbles is so good!

Have you ever had tempeh on pizza? The flavor and texture of the marinated tempeh crumbles are perfect if you're a fan of 'meaty' pizzas. It's just like sausage pizza, without the sausage.

The 'meaty' topping is super fast to make. Just add the tempeh into a food processor and pulse until crumbled (or crumble by hand). Then whisk a quick marinade and add the tempeh crumbles. The tempeh will soak up the marinade right away. Because tempeh is so porous, it's really easy to make yummy, flavorful tempeh.

So, what is Tempeh?

Tempeh is like tofu a soy product. Through culturing and fermentation, whole soybeans are molded into a block. Tempeh is even higher in protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins than tofu thanks to the fermentation and use of whole soybeans.

Pro-tip for buying tempeh: If you want to spend a lot of $$$ on mini tempeh, buy it at health food stores. If you want to spend little $ on lots of tempeh, buy it at Asian markets.

The pizza dough

As for the pizza crust, I am using my simple homemade pizza crust recipe. You'll need 1-2 hours for the dough to rise because of the yeast. You can also prepare the dough in advance the day before, keep it in the fridge overnight, and take it out an hour before making the pizzas.

flour, yeast, and salt in bowl — Combine the flour, instant yeast, and salt in a mixing bowl.

vegan pizza dough in kitchen aid — Add the olive oil and water. Let it knead by a kitchen machine with a dough hook (or use a spoon to stir and then your hands to knead the dough) until it's a smooth dough.

vegan pizza dough before rising — Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise for 1-2 hours.

risen pizza dough — Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise for 1-2 hours.

rolled out vegan pizza dough — Roll out the dough, try not to apply too much pressure if you want a bubbly crust.

You can use the dough to make thick or thin pizzas. Of course, the baking times will vary on the thickness of your pizzas, so keep that in mind.

If you're looking for a quicker alternative, then this yeast-free vegan pizza dough is the way to go.

The tomato sauce

As for the tomato sauce, I am using tomato passata seasoned with dried oregano, garlic powder, and salt. You can also use (pre-seasoned) tomato sauce, canned diced tomatoes, or make your own tomato sauce if you're feeling fancy.

pizza crust with tomato sauce — Spread the tomato sauce on top onto the pizza crust.

The vegan cheese

On top of the tomato sauce layer goes the vegan cheese. Vegan cheese needs moisture to melt better that's why we always want to put the cheese directly over the sauce. You can use your favorite vegan cheese shreds here. I used Bedda, which is a german brand.

If you want to make your own cheese, you can use this Nooch Cheese Sauce, Cashew Mozzarella, or Baked Almond Feta.

pizza crust with tomato sauce and vegan cheese — Let's add some vegan cheese shreds!

The tempeh crumbles

Then you can go crazy with the rest of the toppings, but I've added green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. This is THE perfect antipasti variation for me.