Vegan Deep Dish Pizza with Italian Cornbread Crust! This is what I promised you last week when I shared my Italian cornbread and homemade pizza sauce recipes with you. Trust me, my friends, it was worth the wait.
This delicious and decadent pizza is worthy of the time that it takes to make. First you get to bake the vegan Italian cornbread. Then you get to prepare the homemade 4 ingredient pizza sauce, but that’s easy. You don’t have to make Somer’s vegan mozzarella, but I would, because it’s so mild and perfect for this deep dish pizza.
My advice to you is to make the cornbread a day or two in advance. While it’s baking, whip up a batch of the pizza sauce. Once those two things are done and ready to go, the rest of the pizza making process is a breeze.
My vegan deep dish pizza with Italian cornbread crust is a spin on the Chicago style spinoccoli pizza that I used to order from Pizzeria Uno (they need to offer a vegan pizza). It was filled with fresh spinach and broccoli. SO good. Obviously, you can top your pizza with whatever you like, but if you like those two green veggies, I highly suggest that you go with them.
It’s Monday, and we all have a million things to do, so I’m not going to bog you down with a lot of chatter this morning. I’m going to get right to the vegan deep dish pizza making instructions so you can start making yours.
Make the Italian cornbread.
Make the homemade pizza sauce.
Make Somer’s vegan mozzarella, or purchase your favorite pre-made brand.
Spread the sauce on the cornbread.
Spread the cheese on the sauce.
Generously cover the sauce with the toppings.
Bake for thirty minutes in a 350° oven until the toppings are done.
Eat and enjoy!
NOTE:
I significantly increased the amount of cashews and other ingredients for the vegan mozzarella. You need a lot of cheese for deep dish pizza. I've added the link to Somer's blog, Vedged Out. Please click on it and check out her site. She has so many awesome recipes.
Life is short, eat some pizza.
Tell me:
Have you ever had a Chicago deep dish pizza?
Did you think your days of deep dish pizza were over when you went vegan?
Are you so excited to try this vegan deep dish pizza with Italian cornbread crust?
Do us a favor, we want to show the world that plant-based foods are delicious and exciting. So let's connect and share all of this awesomeness with the world. Hop on over to our Facebook page and give it a like, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and follow us and share this and other Veganosity recipes on Pinterest. We'd be so grateful if you did. If you like this recipe and can't wait to see what we're going to share next, subscribe to Veganosity. Just fill in the subscription box above our picture in the top right corner of the page. And, Alex and I love hearing from you, please leave a comment and let us know what you think of our recipes.
VEGAN DEEP DISH PIZZA WITH ITALIAN CORNBREAD CRUST
Ingredients
Click the link in the instructions to make the Italian cornbread recipe. Bake before making the pizza.
Click the link in the instructions to make the homemade pizza sauce recipe.
Click the link in the instructions to make Somer's vegan mozzarella recipe. Note the increase in ingredients below.
For the mozzarella recipe I increased the ingredients:
- 1 and ½ cups of cashews
- 3 teaspoons of tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1 and ¼ cups of water
For the toppings:
- 3 cups of coarsely chopped spinach
- 1 small head of broccoli – separate the florets and chop the large ones into smaller pieces
- 1 medium tomato sliced
- Vegan Parmesan optional
Instructions
- Make the Cornbread. Pizza Sauce. Mozzarella Click the links for the recipes. See Notes for Mozzarella as you will have to account for the soaking time of the cashews. To speed up the process you can boil the cashews in water for 20 minutes instead of soaking.
- Preheat the oven to 350°
- Evenly cover the top of the cornbread with the pizza sauce. Approximately 2 and ½ cups of sauce. Top with the vegan mozzarella. Approximately four cups. Top with the spinach, broccoli, and tomatoes.
cornbread
- Bake for approximately thirty minutes or until the spinach and broccoli are done. Cover with aluminum foil if they start to brown and they’re not done to avoid blackened broccoli.
- Let sit for five minutes before cutting and sprinkle with vegan Parmesan cheese. (optional)
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Alex says
Did you put the normal amount of lemon juice and garlic into the mozzarella, increase them, or leave them out? Looks great by the way!
Linda Meyer says
Hi Alex, I put the normal amount of lemon juice and garlic, I only changed the things that I specified. Thank you!
Evi says
This recipe may be my new favourite recipe on your blog. It sounds simply amazing 🙂
And of course I am soooooooo excited to try this recipe - I have never had a deep dish pizza before!
Linda Meyer says
Thanks, Evi! It's very unique to Chicago. Please let me know if you try it. 🙂
Sina @ Vegan Heaven says
Oh wow, this crust!! I think I've never had deep dish pizza, but this seriously looks amazing, Linda! 🙂
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Sina! Deep dish is pretty incredible, you should try it. 🙂
Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen says
Linda this deep dish pizza looks like the ultimate comfort food. I love that corn bread crust too!!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Ceara! Yes this is comfort food at its best. 🙂
veggiesdontbite says
OMG Linda, this looks amazing!!!! I LOVE deep dish pizza and haven't made it in so long. I've been lazy. LOL But this looks SO SO yummy. Love that you used the cornbread crust!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Sophia! I get it, it takes some time. The good news is that you can break this into segments. Make the cornbread one day, the sauce the next, then the pizza. 🙂
alisamarie says
I just love how rustic this is, and you really can't go wrong with a cornbread crust.
Linda Meyer says
Thank you! Cornbread crust is such a nice change of pace.
Donna says
Ok I NEED to try this. I had a horrible encounter with deep dish pizza in Chicago, and have been wanting to re-try the whole thing since then. This sounds fantastic, and I love the sound of the cornbread crust
Linda Meyer says
Oh no! What happened? The excess cheese thing can be overwhelming. My deep dish pizza is much more subtle and diet friendly. Please let me know what you think if you try it. So far I've only heard positive comments from my readers.
Uma Srinivas says
What a great recipe. Next week I have art party. I will try this pizza. I will let you know. I need to buy corn bread. I will try your corn bread recipe some other time;) looks so delicious:)
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Uma! If you don't make the cornbread then add the fresh rosemary, basil, and the sun dried tomatoes to the sauce so you get all of the flavor. Please let me know what you think.
Trish says
I added the 3 tablespoons as I wasn't sure if yours was a printed error. My cheese came out like the original creator's. Although it was delicious I think I may have preferred your consistency more - ah well, lesson learned, but still super yummy! Definitely making this again in the future but with 3 tsp of tapioca ? Thanks for responding and well worth the time making this!
Linda Meyer says
Phew! I'm so happy it turned out for you. 3 tablespoons is a lot of starch. I've experimented with different portions and I think that 3 teaspoons makes the cheese easier to spread around the base of the pizza. Thanks, Trish.
melmcdonald2 says
OMG...My mouth is literally watering. This pizza looks wonderful. I adore cornbread and the toppings look amazing. I am definitely making this!
Linda Meyer says
Thanks, Melanie! Please let me know what you think if you make it. 🙂
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
Wow - this is gorgeous! I clicked over to the cornbread recipe -- how yummy and versatile! So cool that you've incorporated it into this pizza. Loving all the ingredients!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you! The cornbread is perfect all by itself, but the pizza is pretty amazing too. 🙂
Trish says
Is the amount of tapioca starch correct? The original recipe requires more. Do you mean tablespoons rather than teaspoons? I'm in the midst of making this and I'm unsure what to do - help 🙂
Linda Meyer says
Hi Trish, sorry I didn't see this sooner. I added three teaspoons. I found that more than that made the cheese too thick. Please let me know how it turned out.
Aimee / Wallflower Kitchen says
Cannot get over the deliciousness of this. It's only breakfast time here but I wanna slice so bad!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Aimee! I've been known to eat pizza for breakfast. No shame in that. 😉
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks says
That is one fine looking pizza! I love how gorgeous those tomatoes look on top! I'm totally going to check out how to make that vegan mozzarella too! I've had both Uno and Chicago deep dish pizza and LOVE! I'm sure your vegan version is just as fantastic!
Linda Meyer says
Thanks, girl! You have to make the vegan mozzarella. It's so good and a genius recipe. My version isn't as heavy as Uno's, but that's what I like about it. You won't feel like you need to be carted away in a wheelbarrow after eating it. 🙂
Kelly Page (@TastingPage) says
Brilliant! This is such a great idea, and honestly, it looks so much more enticing than Chicago deep dish. I'll take your version any day!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Kelly, that's so nice of you to say. 🙂
Jenn S. says
Wow, Linda!! THIS is a deep dish pizza I can get on board with. I actually do NOT like Chicago deep dish pizza - it's just too much of....everything. Too much super thick dense crust that sits in my stomach like a rock, too much stringy oily cheese and too many toppings (what is up with the SLAB of sausage they always put on there??? Gross!). BUT, this deep dish pizza looks perfect! The perfect thickness of crust and it won't weigh be down like the regular stuff. I LOVE Somer's Moxarella...so so good! Love the toppings you chose. You've got a winner here!!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you so much, Jenn! I agree, there is A LOT of everything in the deep dish pizza, but I loved Uno's spinoccoli. This made my husband SO happy. He literally ate two thirds of the pan in one sitting. 🙂
Natalie says
Oh my. This is a pizza like no other! It's like a medley of so many things I love in one saucy cheesy slice, wow Linda this looks ridiculously good!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Natalie! So many comments for this recipe have started with, "oh my!" I'm going to assume that those are the words of a successful recipe. 🙂
Becky says
Oh wow, that crust looks fantastic!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Becky!
Strength and Sunshine says
Pizza WIN!!!!! I may get banished from my NJ/NYC area, but I always have preferred THINK deep dish crust than the thinner northeast tradition! Hahaha!
And the cornbread <3 I love seeing it keep popping up 😉
Linda Meyer says
I love both, it just depends on my mood. NY does thin crust better than Chicago. Thanks, Rebecca. 🙂
Christine (Run Plant Based) says
This looks amazing, love this version of deep dish pizza! It's been ages since I've had deep dish pizza and the versions I've tried in the past had too much doughy crust so the idea of using flavorful cornbread is perfect. Thanks!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you! This a thick crust, but not doughy, and the sauce soaks into it to make it even tastier.