Pizza doesn’t have to be junk food! Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels. I’ve become so accustomed to fueling my body with healthy foods and checking off my daily list of greens, beans, and fruit, that when I eat something unhealthy I feel guilty. Since I rarely eat junk food, I’ve gotten so sensitive to it that even just a little bit gives me a stomach ache and I’m flooded with guilt for doing that to myself! It’s not a bad thing because it keeps me in check, and helps me view food as life-fuel rather than something that tastes good.
I absolutely LOVE this pizza! I’m a big advocate for sweet and spicy together and the bbq sauce really compliments the flavors. I forget that broccoli isn’t a common ingredient for your average pizza, but it makes an appearance in most of mine! It’s unfortunate it’s not more common in pizza because it adds great texture, flavor, and nutrients!
Do you miss the cheese?
I thought that I’d live on a plant-based diet but always and forever make an exception for cheese. It was so easy to go without meat and every other dairy product, but I loved cheese. Loved and craved, I felt like I couldn’t possibly go without or there would be a void.
There was something unsettling about feeling that way; it felt like an infatuation with a lover that doesn’t love you back. It was the one final animal product that still had its hooks in me. I mean, seriously, why would I be enamored with this one food item? I got to the bottom of it for anyone curious as to why everyone is overly obsessed with cheese in my article:
So one day, I just stopped eating cheese.
That was it, I just stopped. Believe it or not, after a week or so I didn’t want it or think about it anymore. Poof, it was out of my life just like that! I found I didn’t miss it or need it in anything I cooked – including pizza! I can’t eat cheese anymore, it’s… gross. It’s interesting that a food item that I was so addicted to would seem gross to me now. It’s incredible how your tastes can change (and quickly) with sugar, fats, and salt.
The dark side of BBQ sauce
Don’t shop by the label, turn the bottle over and read the ingredients! Make sure it doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup because most of the store bought ones do! Since this is a sweet and spicy pizza I like to buy an organic sweet and spicy bbq sauce, but any bbq sauce works great. Just watch out for high fructose corn syrup and overall sugar content!
Want to make your own? It’s easy! Try my Tangy bbq Sauce!
Cast Iron Pizza
I love my cast iron skillets! I wanted to try pizza in them rather than my cheap old pizza pan and fell in love with cast iron pizza. Nothing changes, it’s just a different vessel to bake in the oven with. If you have a nice pizza stone, use that! Pizza stones are fabulous. This recipe makes two pizzas in the cast iron skillets or one large pizza in a pizza pan or pizza stone. If you have a couple of cast iron skillets, try it! I’ve never had trouble with my pizza sticking, either, they conveniently slide right out of the skillet after cooking.
What temperature to cook pizza at?
Every oven is different! Generally, the rule of thumb is this: the lower the temperature (350°) will give you a doughier crust and a hotter oven (450-500°) will give you a crispier crust. Cooking at a lower temperature can potentially dry your crust out, so I usually don’t cook that low. Convection ovens will cook faster, so keep that in mind. I like to cook at 450°.
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Vegan Sweet and Spicy bbq Pizza
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Sweet meets spicy in this flavorful, plant-based bbq pizza!
Ingredients
Dough (if making from scratch)
- 1 1/2–2 cups All Purpose Flour (divided)
- 1 Package of Yeast, or 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2/3 cup Water, very warm
Pizza Toppings
- 1/3+ cup BBQ Sauce
- 1/3 cup Red onion, chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 cup Broccoli, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup Pineapple, chopped
- 1 Jalapeño Sliced, all or half of the seeds removed depending on spice level
For Serving
- Handful of Arugula
- Drizzle of bbq Sauce
- Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Instructions
- If you’re making your pizza dough from scratch, start this first. I use the Fleischmann’s yeast because it’s simple, but if you have a pizza dough recipe you love, then by all means use it!
- In large bowl (or stand mixer), stir together 1 cup of flour, sugar, salt, and instant yeast. Add in Olive oil and the very warm water, kneading with your hands or with dough hook on low speed. Slowly add in ¾-1 more cup of flour, kneading until ball is smooth. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Dough should be smooth and elastic, if it’s too sticky then add more flour and if it’s dry then add a little more water by dampening your hands. Transfer dough ball back to the bowl, cover with a towel, and let it rest at room temperature for about an hour or more.
- Preheat oven to 450°.
- When dough is ready, roll out on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin or hand-stretch. Place in your cast iron skillets, large pizza pan, or pizza stone. If my dough is larger than the pan, I use my fingers to fold dough over itself and make a little “braid” on the edges so it fits neatly inside.
- Assemble pizza(s): Evenly spread bbq sauce on pizza dough, you want it to be pretty saucy. Evenly distribute onions, garlic, broccoli, jalapeño, and pineapple.
- Bake pizza(s) for 13-18 minutes (depending on your oven), and remove once the edges become golden brown. Be careful that you don’t overcook or it dries out the crust! Every oven is different, so keep a close eye on your pizza.
- When pizza is finished, remove from oven and top with arugula and complete with a drizzle of bbq sauce. If your pizza needs more spice, add red pepper flakes!
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American, Pizza
