Bethany's Vegan Kitchen

Crispy pitta pizza bases topped with sauce, melted vegan cheese and toppings of your choice. Making individual pizzas means that everyone can customise theirs to suit them. They make for a tasty light lunch or snack. You can stick with tomato sauce, or use barbecue sauce or pesto. Or skip the sauce and cheese altogether and use houmous to make a houmous and veggie pitta pizza

Yield; 3 pizzas Cook time; 10-15 minutes

You’ll need;

1. Three pittas
2. Sauce; I went with two tablespoons of tomato sauce, two tablespoons of barbecue sauce and two tablespoons of lemon pepper houmous
3. Toppings of choice; I used cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn, sliced spring onion, beef style seitan pieces, thinly sliced red onion, dried herbs and smoked paprika
4. Grated dairy free cheese

Method;

• Start by adding the sauce to each pitta, making sure to cover the pitta evenly and up to the edges of the bread
• Next top with grated cheese, make sure to press the cheese down into the sauce. I didn’t include any cheese for the houmous pitta pizza
• Then add your toppings. I made a tomato and cheese pizza using tomato sauce, topped with cheese, sliced cherry tomatoes and dried herbs, a barbecue beef pizza using barbecue sauce, beef style seitan, red onion, sweetcorn and smoked paprika, and a houmous pizza using lemon pepper houmous, cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn and spring onion
• Finally air fry the pizzas, one or two at a time, for 5-6 minutes at 180°C, or until the base begins to crisp up and the cheese melts

Tips on Melting Vegan Cheese

Sometimes some vegan cheese can be a little tricky to melt fully. Use these tips when you’re making pitta pizzas, cheese on toast, or topping dishes such as pasta bake or lasagne with cheese

• If you’re using pre-grated cheese, try finely dicing it. Dicing the cheese will increase the surface area and helps it melt. If you’re using a block of cheese, grate it as finely as you can. Using a fine grater/microplane/parmesan grater will again increase the surface area of the cheese so it melts quicker and more evenly
• If you’re trying to melt cheese on top of a lasagne or pasta bake, try tenting the dish with foil. Ensure the foil isn’t making contact with the cheese, and the cheese should melt nicely
• Don’t get it too hot. Vegan cheese can dry out or burn if the temperature is too high. Try lowering the temperature and heating it for a longer period of time, to give the cheese a better chance to melt fully