Dairy-Free Pizza Hack: The Secret’s in the Sauce
Fake cheese won't cut it... and we've got the solution! PLUS time-saving df hacks & a great book recommendation
Psst.
I’ve found the solution to making killer dairy free pizza!
And it’s not all about the cheese.
Want to know more? Keep reading!
As a family we try to eat healthily most of the time, but every now and then we get take away pizza.
But, going dairy free has taken this happy family experience from delightful cheese-fest to dairy free subpar sadness.
And I know I’m definitely not alone in this.
While the rest of my family tucked into incredible gooey cheese, I always felt like my vegan pizzas were a letdown.
They lacked that little ‘something’ that makes regular pizza more-ish and amazing.
So, I threw myself down a homemade pizza-making rabbit hole, and worked out exactly what df pizza needs to make it good.
Coming Up In This Month’s ‘Big’ Newsletter:
💡 Time-Saving Tips: 3 time-saving meal prep hacks perfect for any dairy free cook.
🌿 Recipe: We’re sharing the secret of how to make homemade dairy-free pizza that actually tastes AMAZING.
📚 The Book You Need to Read This Month: If you care AT ALL about your gut health, this week’s book recommendation is one you absolutely need to read. It’s from my fave, Dr B.
Happy reading and cooking!
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💡 3 Time-Saving Hacks for Dairy-Free Meal Prep
I’m all about making life easier with dairy-free meals, so this week, I’m sharing three quick and effective meal prep hacks that will save you time in the kitchen.
I love using these strategies myself, and they’ve made a huge difference in how quickly I can pull together family meals. Let me know which ones work best for you!
💡 Batch Cook & Freeze Sauces: Instead of making a sauce fresh each time, batch cook your favorite dairy-free sauces like tomato, pizza sauce, pesto, ‘cheese’ sauce or even curry paste. You can freeze them in individual portions, and then simply defrost and add your protein or veggies etc when you’re ready to eat. Saves tons of time on busy weeknights!
💡 Prep Veggies Once, Use Twice: Chop up a large batch of your favourite and most used vegetables—like carrots, bell peppers, or onion—and store them in the fridge. You can use them for multiple meals throughout the week—toss them into salads, throw them in stir-fries, or use them in casseroles or soups. Having them ready to go makes cooking much quicker.
💡 Double batch dairy free staples: Whenever you make staples like dairy free mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, coconut based curry sauces, ‘parmesan’ cheese or similar, make double quantities and store half for later in the week. If you know you’re going somewhere that’s unlikely to cater well for your diet, these are great for taking with you so you know you won’t go hungry!
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🌿 The Best Homemade Dairy Free Pizza
So guys, if you didn’t make our homemade dairy free pesto recipe yet, what have you been doing all week?!
You’re going to want it for this week’s recipe because I’m not going to lie, pesto is the absolute magic ticket for dairy free pizza!
Don’t panic if you haven’t made it yourself yet, you can get easily vegan and dairy free pesto in the supermarket–just be sure to read the label carefully as traditional pesto contains parmesan.
→ Why is Pesto the Magic Bullet? When you take away regular cheese, you remove the key ‘umami’ flavour in pizza–the taste that makes it extra savoury, delicious and totally ‘yum’. We need to replace it! Pesto is the perfect addition here. Pesto on pizza:
compliments the other pizza flavours really well
is so much healthier than eating oodles of processed cheese substitute
leaves your tastebuds super satisfied
The only other thing you need is our easy-peasy tomato sauce.
Top Tips for Dairy Free Pizza Success:
✨ Make the sauce and pesto ahead of time
The homemade sauce and pesto will both develop flavour the longer it has been made. So try making it a day or two ahead and keep in the fridge in an airtight container until you need it. You can also make a batch–use a whole box or jar of passata to make tomato sauce and freeze any excess in ice cube trays until your next pizza night.
✨ Do NOT skip the pesto!
I know, I know–pesto might not be the first thing you think of for pizza. But trust me on this one.
Without dairy, the pizza is missing an ‘extra something’, and that’s where the pesto comes in. It brings a richness, freshness and flavour punch that means you won’t miss the cheese. The garlicky, herby goodness melts into the tomato sauce and toppings, amking every bite delicious.
✨ Go easy on the vegan cheese
Manufactured vegan cheese is often made using vegetable or coconut oils. Even with improvements to their recipes and the claims on the packaging, they still don’t act, taste or feel like real cheese. Instead of getting lovely, melted, gooey cheese on your pizza, you get (maybe) a bit of melt and usually a lot of oil, which separates as the pizza bakes.
Not great.
I go for a light sprinkling of grated ‘cheese’ to make the pizza feel and look authentic, but recommend either going lightly or skipping it altogether.
Pizza Ingredients
2 ready made pizza bases, or enough pizza dough to make 2 10-inch pizzas (see notes below on how I make my pizza dough)
½ cup homemade tomato pizza sauce
small handful dairy free cheese
choice of toppings
Tomato Pizza Sauce Ingredients
1 cup/250ml passata
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
👉 Get the homemade pesto recipe here.
👉 Get more info on the pizza recipe, including full instructions and top tips, here.
Method
Make the dough, spread into two 10”/25cm circles and prove at 40°C/105°F for 15-20 minutes. Once proved, remove from the oven and increase the temperature to 220°C/425°F.
Mix the tomato sauce in a small bowl and spread evenly over the bases, leaving a gap around the edges.
Add your favourite toppings.
Spread a small(!) amount of dairy free cheese on the top (or skip entirely).
Drizzle the pesto evenly over the top of the pizza.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and crisp.
Notes
Pizza dough: I make mine using my bread maker* using the following recipe on the pizza dough setting (takes 45 minutes):
½ teaspoon fast action yeast
300g (2 ½ cups) strong white bread flour
1 tablespoon good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I like Filippo Berio*)
1 teaspoon salt
170 ml (⅔ cup) water
Press out the pizza dough into 2 10” inch circles and prove on a greased baking tray in a 40C/105F oven for approx 20 mins or until doubled in size.
Passata: An Italian staple, passata is a type of tomato purée that is rich, smooth and great for sauces. It is becoming more widely available in the US and is sold in boxes or jars, never in cans. If you can’t get hold of passata, blend a can of diced tomatoes in a blender until smooth.
📚 The Book You Need to Read This Month: Fibre Fuelled by Dr Will Bulsiewicz
If you’re been receiving my Substacks for a while, you’ll know I’m a massive fan of Dr Will Bulsiewicz.
As a dairy free community, we all know our gut health could probably do with a helping hand. Fibre Fuelled is a great read. It breaks down the science of fibre and gut health in an easy-to understand way, with plenty of plant-based, gut-friendly tips.
If you struggle with lactose intolerance, or could just generally do with some gut help, this is a must-read.
I hope you have a lovely week. Your support means the world to me and I can’t thank you enough!
I'll have to try your pesto on pizza! I do love the Fiber Fueled book, too!