This vegan polenta pizza with herby cashew ricotta and fresh summer veggies is a delicious gluten free alternative to conventional pizza! Cooked polenta is spread onto a sheet pan then topped with an easy homemade herby cashew ricotta and thinly sliced fresh veggies. Baked until the polenta crust turns golden, this vegan pizza is perfect for a summer meal.
Since developing a gluten sensitivty, it seems to have triggered cravings for everything I can’t have. It’s been a bit rough but I’ve decided to not dwell too much and tackle making my own gluten free versions at home. Pizza has been my main craving lately so I got to work trying a version with a polenta crust. The resulting pizza is not traditional pizza by any means, but rather a polenta crust topped with a vegan herby ricotta and an assortment of summer veggies from the farmers market. It’s fresh, delicious, and satisfied my pizza craving!
Notes on Ingredients and Substitutions
You can honestly use any combination of veggies or toppings that you like here! I ended up using tomatoes, zucchini, sweet peppers, and spinach. I think a version with cooked and crumbled vegan sausage would be especially delicious! If you prefer more of a traditional tomato sauce topped pizza, feel free to omit the herby cashew ricotta and use some of your favorite tomato sauce instead. You want to look for dry polenta rather than the one that is already cooked and sold in logs for the best results.
Polenta Pizza with Herby Cashew Ricotta & Summer Veggies (vegan)
- Total Time: 50-55 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan polenta pizza with herby cashew ricotta and fresh summer veggies is a delicious gluten free alternative to conventional pizza! Cooked polenta is spread onto a sheet pan then topped with an easy homemade herby cashew ricotta and thinly sliced fresh veggies. Baked until the polenta crust turns golden, this vegan pizza is perfect for a summer meal.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry polenta
- 3 cups water, or vegetable broth
- big pinch sea salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for the pan
- 1 cup cashews, soaked at least 2 hours and rinsed
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 medium lemon, juiced
- 1 big pinch sea salt
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 packed teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 7–8 large basil leaves
- assorted fresh summer veggies, such as thinly sliced tomatoes, sweet peppers, and zucchini
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves, optional
Instructions
To make the polenta for the crust, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the polenta, whisking as you add it. Once it has all been added, reduce the heat to a simmer (medium-low) and keep whisking until the water has been absorbed and the polenta is thick and smooth (about 3 to 5 minutes). The polenta should be quite thick but you should still be able to stir it easily. Remove the polenta from the heat, then stir in the olive oil. Grease a large baking sheet generously with olive oil. Do not line it with parchment or the crust won’t form properly! Spoon all of the polenta onto the pan, then smooth it out to your desired shape, about 1/4 to 1/3-inch thick (I chose an oblong round shape). Once your crust is formed, place the pan in the freezer for 5-10 minutes so that the polenta cools and firms up.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. While the crust is setting up in the freezer, combine all of the ingredients for the herby cashew ricotta in a blender or food processor and run until smooth and thick. If you are using a food processor, it may not get completely smooth, but it will be fine. If the mixture seems too thick, add a bit more water or lemon juice and blend again. Taste and add more salt as needed.
When the crust has cooled down and set up, remove it from the freezer. Spread the cashew ricotta on the crust in an even layer, leaving about a 1/2-inch border around the crust. Add your veggies of choice, then bake the pizza for 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven until the crust starts to turn golden around the edges and feels dry to the touch.
Let the pizza cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing, topping with fresh basil, and eating.
Notes
- I used a combination of tomatoes, zucchini, sweet peppers, and chopped spinach to top the pizza for the photos. Use whatever you like!
- If you don’t remember to pre-soak the cashews, put them in a heat safe bowl right before you make the polenta and cover them with boiling water. Soak for 20-30 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
- Category: Main
This looks great- perfect summer supper! I love pizza sans tomato sauce too, I bet not having it here stopped the delicate crust getting soggy too.
I can hardly wait to attempt this! Your photos and colors of the fresh veggies look amazing! Bravo, Miss Coco!
Yes, the absence of tomato sauce definitely allowed the crust to firm up 🙂
Thank you 🙂
I just made this and I was super disappointed! I made the crust 1/4 inch thick and baked it for 30 minutes and it looked good so I took it out and when I went to slice it, the middle was complete mush! It was like eating a mushy casserole NOT a pizza! So I put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes and it was only slightly less mushy. I am now eating it but decided to put the rest back in the oven for even longer to see what happens. Any ideas on what I did wrong?
Oh no! I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Did you put the polenta directly onto your cookie sheet? If you used some sort of parchment or silpat that may be why the crust didn't firm up in the middle. It could also be that perhaps your polenta wasn't thick enough or that the toppings you used had too much moisture in them. You can always try making it thinner and baking the crust up first before adding any toppings. Hope this helps!
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