Vegan Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza
There's nothing quite like a big, hearty slice of Plant-Based Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza! Picture the thick, chewy crust cradling a creamy, gooey cheese sauce, homemade pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, and spinach, all topped with a scrumptious deep red pizza sauce. It just doesn't get any better than this and it is all whole food plant-based vegan good for you!
Ingredients
Sauce
Crust
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 ½ cups sweet potatoe cooked and mashed
- ½ cup flax meal
- ½ cup tapioca starch
- 2 tsp baking powder
Cheese
- 1 cup cashews
- 2 tbsp tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp tamari low sodium
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 cup water
Toppings
- 8 slices my plant-based pepperoni
- 2 cups mushrooms sliced
- 3 cups spinach
- ¼ cup kalamata olives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
Sauce
- Sauté the onions in a saucepan for a few minutes using just a little bit of water if they start to stick.
- Add the garlic and cook for a minute or so.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and spices and cook for about 15 minutes on medium high to cook out some of the moisture.
Crust
- Add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix well pressing into a ball once mixed.
- Place the dough ball onto a piece of parchment paper and press down slightly to form a round disk. Finish by adding another piece of parchment to the top and roll into a large circle so that it is at least and 1 1/2 – 2 inches larger on the sides than the dish you are cooking it in.
- Place the crust down into your springform or other dish of choice leaving it on the bottom piece of parchment. Form it into the pan so that the crust comes up onto the sides of the pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
Cheese
- Add all cheese ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
Assembly
- Once the crust is done baking for the 10 minutes, pour half of the cheese into the bottom of the pan.
- Layer in all of the toppings.
- Pour the remaining cheese over the toppings and gently smooth the top.
- Pour the sauce over the cheese layer making sure to not let the sauce go over the top of the crust edge and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake for 55 minutes
- Let cool once finished baking for at least 10-15 minutes before removing from the springform.
Notes
For the toppings: use whatever toppings you choose.
Nutrition
Calories: 503kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 17gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 383mgPotassium: 597mgFiber: 11gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 6161IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 246mgIron: 5mg
Sounds wonderful – as a Chicago resident for many years, I adored the deep dish pizza. Talk about a coronary on a plate! Now It’s possible again. One question – I assume you remove the top piece of parchment before baking? Before or after fitting it around the bottom and sides?
OMG I cannot wait to make this! Silly question…is Tapioca starch the same as tapioca flour? I was looking to buy it online. Also can anyone recommend good brand of tomatoes. I feel you do not want to go cheap with that ingredient.
I cannot WAIT to try this! Thanks so much, Jill! (and I hope your back is feeling much better)
OK, I made this yesterday and it was *delicious*!! I didn’t have leftovers today (I plan to tomorrow), but I snuck a little bite and it was even better after sitting in the fridge over night! Great recipe. Thanks so much Jill & Jeffrey!
I lived in Chicago for many years. I thought my deep dish pizza meals were over when I switched to a plant-based diet. I made your recipe and the pizza was quite good. I’m not gluten-free so I want to experiment with wheat crusts in the future.
I made the Chicago Style Deep Dish pizza for my husband’s birthday today! We could hardly wait for it to cool so we could dig in! OH EM GEE! It is delicious! The flavors of the sauce, cheese, crust, your pepperoni (that turned out great too) and veggies were spot on! We ate half already! Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow! Such an awesome recipe! Thank you ?
This is delicious .. I urge you to make the homemade pepperoni first .. then this pizza .. best pizza I’ve eaten in a long time .. worth the extra effort
G E N I U S. just like dd unos, Lou Malnattis but BETTER, and in mhumop, YUMMMMIER. tx!
ps — wonder if we could make the SAUSAGE version w/ vegan crumbles (quinoa, walnut, nut yeast, etc) seasoned w Italian herbs/spices to mimic old school Lou? if you were born there, you know what I’m talking ‘bout! “-)
pps — fab pepperoni — great recipe!
We made this and it was amazing seriously hard to believe how good it was. The recipe worked like magic it tasted like magic. We felt good afterwards. my wife is a cheese lover and even she said she only wished she had cheese on it 30% of the time lol. Also incredible was how easy it was to make. This is going to be a staple in our home going forward.
Dude. Made this tonight. Delish AMAZING!!!! Wish I could upload the photos. I will be making all your recipes
Would any other flour work in place of the almond flour for the crust? Maybe oat flour?
I have tried using all oat flour but the crust is pretty barky. I really think it needs the fat from the almonds. I haven’t tried any other flours, sorry