Take your pizza game up a notch, with this perfectly baked delicious Vegan Shawarma Pizza.
We don’t know about you but when pizzas on the table we know it’s going to be a good day. We love pizza. Pizza is one of those foods that can be REALLY good and even when it’s not so great, it’s pretty great. It can be simple, yet complicated. It can be classic or creative. Pizza has many hats and today’s hat is a delicious one.
There’s something to be said about a really good pizza. You know the kind you get at a great Italian place that’s cooked with a wood-burning oven? The crust is crunchy, yet chewy. The cheese is perfectly melted and every topping is adding to the layers of great flavour. You wish you could make those pizzas in your home everyday, but who actually has a wood-fired oven in their home? We don’t – that’s why we made the next best things thanks to a few little tricks to baking pizzas at home.
How to make the perfect pizza at home:
- Don’t use a rolling pin – Using a roll pin pushes out all the air the pizza dough has from its rise. Instead use your hands to stretch and pull your dough into the perfect shape. Or better yet, toss your dough for a quick and easy pizza crust.
- High heat – Pizza needs to be cooked at a HIGH heat. The higher the better. We cook ours around 450F (the absolute lowest temp you should be baking your pizza at) because our fire alarm is super sensitive to heat but cook at a higher temp for an even better outcome. Keep in mind that if you cook it at a higher temperature you will have to decrease your cook time.
- Dark baking sheets – The colour of your baking sheet matters. The darker the pan the more heat it will attract and the warmer it will get. Use the darkest pan you have when baking pizza.
- Preheat your baking sheets – For the best result, preheat a dark baking sheet upside down in your oven. Construct your pizza on another baking sheet and when ready,place the pizza baking sheet on top of the preheated one in the oven. It allows the heat to get to your pizza quicker and more efficiently. Bonus points if you preheat both baking sheets, just be careful when making your pizza.
- Rotate – To get an even bake you should keep an eye on your pizza throughout and rotate as needed.
What is a Vegan Shawarma Pizza?
If you know us at all, you know we love a creative pizza and this Shawarma Pizza does not disappoint! Layers of super flavourful toppings that are reminiscent of a delicious shawarma you’d get on any good shawarma in Toronto.
- Hummus
- Vegan Shawarma-Spiced Chicken
- Vegan Cheese (because it is still pizza)
- Creamy Garlic Sauce
- Pickled Turnips
- Pickles
- Hot Sauce
- Fresh Dill and Parsley
What’s shawarma spice?
We used a shawarma spice blend to cook our vegan chicken in and give it that classic flavour. But if you can’t find a shawarma spice blend you can create your own with a combination of cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, turmeric, ginger, smoked paprika, cumin and cayenne pepper.
Vegan Shawarma Pizza
Ingredients
- 250 g pizza dough
- 224 g (1 cup) garlic hummus spread
- 227 g vegan chicken
- 1 tbsp shawarma spice blend
- 42 g (3/4 cup) vegan mozzarella shreds
- 42 g pickles, diced
- 75 g (1/2 cup) pickled turnips, finely diced
- hot sauce, for serving
- dill, for serving
- parsley, for serving
Dill Tahini Garlic Sauce
- 112 g (1/2 cup) vegan mayo
- 3 g (1/4 cup) fresh dill
- 14 g (1 tbsp) tahini
- 5 g (1 tsp) garlic, minced
- 30 mL (2 tbsp) water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F. Place a dark baking sheet in the oven, upside down to preheat with the oven. This will help cook the pizza quicker and mimic a pizza stone cook.
- On a floured surface place your dough and using your hands gently poke around the edges where you want your crust to start. Then using your hands stretch out the dough. Using your hands and gravity continue to stretch and pull the pizza dough to desired size. Rolling out your door with remove all the amazing air that the baker has spent time creating. You're looking for a thin pizza dough. Transfer dough to a lightly greased dark baking sheet.
- In pan over medium-high heat place vegan chicken and shawarma spice blend. Cook until crispy and golden. Turn off heat and set aside.
- Spread garlic hummus across pizza dough with a spoon. Lightly sprinkle on cheese and vegan chicken. Place in the oven on top of the preheated dark baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 18-20 minutes.
- While the pizza bakes make the garlic mayo. Combine garlic, dill, tahini and water and blend until smooth. Add in vegan mayo and blend once more until it's a smooth as you can get it. Transfer to a squeeze bottle and set aside.
- When pizza is done, sprinkle over diced pickles and diced pickled turnips. Drizzle with garlic sauce and hot sauce. Top with roughly chopped dill and parsley.