Recipe: Vegan Mini Hawaiian Pizza Rounds with Daiya Cheese

I have been inspired to do more cooking lately. If you know me then you know I am a woman who is constantly on the go. In fact, I have often joked with my vegan friends that I should have named my blog “Vegan on the Go!” because of how often I travel and am on the run. It’s not often that I am home and for that very reason I eat out a lot. Perhaps because it’s my favorite time of year, I’ve recently become more inspired me to spend more in the kitchen.

A few weeks ago I created a pizza recipe in honor of National Vegan Pizza Day. Summertime equals pizza-time in my world. In fact, last summer I posted a blog called Homemade Summertime Pizza with Grilled Veggies where I showed how to make a pizza from scratch, check out the recipe here. This summer I wanted to stick to that very tradition, but by putting a twist on it.

Instead of creating a pizza from scratch, I used pre-made crust, and recreated a vegan version of my very favorite childhood pizza which believe it or not was Hawaiian. You know the cheese pizza topped with pineapple and bacon? Yeah, that one. Don’t fret because my new recipe of course doesn’t include any animal ingredients (the cheese is made by Daiya). Speaking of Daiya, I’m convinced that if you’ve been living a plant-based or vegan lifestyle you know about their profound products. If not, you’ve literally been living underneath a vegan rock. Wait, aren’t all rocks vegan? Anyhow, Daiya has been the saving grace to omnivores turned vegan. Why? Because dairy cheese is often the “last thing to go” when transitioning to a vegan lifestyle. Even us vegans love our non-dairy cheese! And what’s so special about Daiya? Let me count the ways:

1. It’s widely available in large chain grocery stores as well as small mom n’ pop co-ops across the country and Canada.

2. It’s available in an array of flavors (Mozzarella, Pepperjack, Cheddar, Jack, Jalapeno Havarti, Swiss & Provolone).

3. It comes in slices, shreds, wedges (and they even make a cream cheese frozen ready-to-go pizzas!).

4. It melts!

5. It’s soy free, gluten free, trans fat free, preservative free, and of course dairy free.

This recipe was fully intended to be totally gluten free, but alas, I couldn’t locate any meatless sausage that doesn’t contain gluten (if you know of any please leave me a comment below!). So this recipe is almost gluten free, but not quite. Sorry to disappoint those out there who are gluten free, I tried, I really did!

Now it’s onward to the pizza recipe! This recipe yields a lot unless of course you’re feeding a large family. With lots of leftovers this recipe is perfect for any cowgirl or cowboy on the go! The pizza rounds can be reheated for lunch or eaten cold the next day!

Ingredients:

• 1 package of gluten free English Muffins (6 per package)
• 1 can of organic pizza sauce of your choice
• 2 packages Daiya shredded cheese (I used mozzarella for this recipe)
• 1/2 round of Lightlife Gimme Lean veggie sausage (or vegan sausage of your choice)
• 1 can of pineapple chunks
• A couple springs of fresh purple basil (not pictured)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Open English Muffin package. Separate each muffin in half and place on a cookie sheet, you may need to use a knife so they are sliced evenly.
• Open pizza sauce (I used canned). Place a generous spoonful of sauce onto each pizza round. Spread evenly.
• Cover each pizza round with approximately a handful of Daiya mozzarella cheese shreds.
• Open Gimme Lean package. Slice sausage into rounds and roll up into small bite sized pieces.
• Top each round with 5-6 pieces of Gimme Lean.
• Open canned pineapple. Drain excess pineapple water (or drink!). Place about 5 chunks of pineapple per pizza round.
• Place cookie sheet into oven for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and sausage is golden and crispy.
• While pizzas are cooking slice basil leaves thinly.
• Check pizza rounds after 25-30 minutes. Remove cookie sheet from oven when pizzas are golden brown and cheese has melted.
• Top each pizza round with thinly sliced basil. Serve warm and enjoy!

        Makes 12 small personal sized pizzas.

If you enjoyed this recipe or tried making it on your own, I’d love to hear your feedback. As always, feel free to leave a comment or question below. Happy vegan pizza making!

Thanks for tuning in and yeehaw, Kayle xo

All photographs by Faye White