Dinner Main Dishes Archives - Page 3 of 3

For about a year post high school, I worked next to a local pizza joint in my hometown. At least twice/week, I would order their BLT French Bread Pizza. Ohhh MG! This was 20 years ago and yet, I still remember the taste like I ate it yesterday.Because of the nostalgic moment I'm in, I decided to recreate this epic pizza but in a vegan and whole pizza version. The Original BLT Pizza VS My Vegan BLT Pizza Recipe… My hometown pizza joints BLT Pizza ingredients lists says it has their original pizza sauce, bacon, mozzarella, cheddar, tomato, lettuce & mayonnaise.Of course, these are animal based ingredients.My vegan BLT pizza recipe contains zero animals--none, nada, 100% cruelty free. How Will You Create This Deliciousness? Let's Start With Pizza Crust While I have not dabbled in making homemade pizza dough, I'm sure their are plenty of recipes on the web if you would like to go this route. If you prefer to purchase yours, let me give you a few vegan and accidentally vegan brands you should be able find at the notated grocers: Pillsbury Classic Pizza Crust (most chain grocery stores)Pillsbury Thin Pizza Crust (most chain grocery stores)Market Pantry Original Pizza Crust (Target Stores)Simply Balanced Organic Ultra Thin Pizza Crust (Target Stores)Simple Truth Organic Classic Thin & Crispy Vegan Pizza Crust (Kroger Stores)Mama Mary's Original Pizza Crust (Wal Mart, Shop Rite & Publix)Mama Mary's Thin & Crispy (Wal Mart, Shop Rite & Publix 365 Organic Rustic White Thin & Crispy Pizza Crust (Whole Foods)Engine 2 Stone Bake 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (Whole Foods) Please note: These pizza crusts, except for the two from Whole Foods, are considered "accidently vegan," which means you will not find a vegan label on any of them and they may have an ingredient like sugar that has been processed through bone char. If you prefer 100% vegan and/or want to know exactly what your ingredients are, please make your own. Pizza Sauce Option 1: I generally make my own pizza sauce by mixing together:tomato sauce, 15 oz cantomato paste, 6 oz canItalian seasoning, 3 tbspgarlic powder, 1/2 tspsugar, 1 tspsea salt, 1 tspground pepper, 1/4 tspOption 2: you can use a store bought jar or can like the certified vegan 365 Organic Pizza Sauce or Muir Glen's Organic Pizza Sauce.Option 3: No sauce. Lightly brush Extra Virgin Olive Oil all over the top of your crust prior to baking. Bacon For a pizza, I like a Vegan Bacon that cooks up a little softer, which is why I choose Sweet Earth Hickory & Sage Benevolent Bacon or Upton's Bacon Seitan. The Sweet Earth does taste a little sweeter so another option that is saltier is Lightlife Smart Bacon.You can also make your own Coconut Bacon:Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.1. In a bowl, mix:soy sauce, 2 tbsp.oil, 1 tbsp. (I like avocado oil)agave or maple syrup, 1 tbsp. smoked paprika, 1 tsp.liquid smoke, 1/2 tsp. (I have always used the brand Colgin)salt, 1/8 tsp. black pepper, 1/4 tsp.2. Add 2 cups of unsweetened coconut flakes. Make sure the package says flakes or chips--NOT shredded.3. Mix/Toss well to ensure every coconut flake is covered the sauce.4. Spread evenly on a baking tray. For easy clean up, use parchment paper.5. Bake for 5 minutes. Flip pieces over and around spreading out evenly again. Bake for another 5-7 minutes. Pay close attention while baking--you do NOT want these to burn. If they need a few more minutes, flip the pieces around again and bake for another 2-3 minutes.6. Let cool completely. They will continue to crisp up. Use for this pizza or store in an airtight container to use for a BLT sandwich or as a topping in a potato soup or salad-- for about a week. Good Luck saving them for that long though. They go quick in my house! Cheese The BLT Pizza I'm copying this from uses Mozzarella and Cheddar. Here are my TOP Vegan Picks for these two Cheeses: 365 Plant Based Cheddar Cheese Alternative (Whole Foods Brand)Daiya Cutting Board Cheddar ShredsDaiya Cutting Board Medium Cheddar Block; shred with grater. I am a big fan of having a container catch my cheese shreds so I use an OXO Good Grips Box CutterViolife, Shreds Just Like MozzarellaMiyokos Fresh Vegan Mozz Artisan Cheese. Freeze the entire package. Let sit out for an hour prior to preparing your pizza. Freezing allows you to shred the block using your cheese shredder. Lettuce Romaine and Iceberg are my top two choices for this pizza--they are the most neutral and common to find. If you want to change it up, you could use the buttery and sweet Butter Lettuce or the peppery and spicy Arugula. Tomato I would like to think that whatever tomato you have on hand will work for this recipe; however, you may be looking for my recommendations. I personally like the way a roma tomato cuts in to small chunks so I would say 2 roma tomatoes would be sufficient. If you are looking to add some color other than red, look for varied colored heirloom or cherry/grape tomatoes. For my pictures, I used cherry tomatoes cut in half. Mayo There are quite a few Vegan Mayonnaise's on the market nowadays and even recipes online. Over the past couple of years, I buy my vegan mayonnaise instead of making it. The times I did try to make my own, it was not good. My favorite Vegan Mayo's are: Hellman's Vegan Dressing & SpreadFollow Your Heart VegenaiseEarth Balance Mindful Dressing & Sandwich Spread