Vegan pizza has moved well past a plain tomato-and-vegetable pie with no cheese at all. Most pizzerias offering a vegan option today use a dedicated dairy-free cheese blend designed to melt and stretch in a similar way to mozzarella.
What vegan mozzarella is usually made from
The two most common bases are cashew-based blends, which melt smoothly and carry a mild nutty flavour, and oat- or soy-based blends, which tend to brown and bubble more like dairy mozzarella under high heat. Coconut-oil-based blends are also common in lower-cost versions but can taste noticeably different once baked.
Toppings that work particularly well
- Roasted mushroom and caramelised onion for savoury depth without cheese doing all the work.
- Sun-dried tomato and artichoke for acidity that cuts through a plant-based cheese's richness.
- Cashew ricotta with spinach as a white-pie alternative to a tomato base.
A note on crust
Most standard pizza dough is already vegan — flour, water, yeast and salt — but some restaurants add milk, butter or honey to their dough for flavour or browning. If the crust itself needs to be vegan, it's worth confirming the dough recipe rather than assuming.
Spotting a kitchen that's done this well
Listings that name their specific vegan cheese brand or base, rather than just writing “vegan option available,” tend to have thought through the balance of toppings more carefully. A one-line mention with no detail often means a single plant-based swap bolted onto an otherwise unchanged menu.