Vegan Taco Pizza

Given the recipes on this blog, you would think that Jeff and I eat a lot of pizza. It's true, we do, because it's a great way to use up leftovers and it's usually pretty healthy as we rarely ever use processed vegan cheeze. I'm also a terribly picky eater, so if you can put it on a pizza I'm much more likely to try it!

Jeff and I had a glut of snack foods left over after our Superbowl Snack-a-Thon (no, we didn't actually watch the game) so we decided to revive a recipe I first made back in 2006 when I first went vegetarian: Taco Pizza. The idea behind taco pizza is simple, take your favorite taco fillings and use them on a pizza, substituting beans for the sauce layer to prevent the juicy salsa and other toppings from getting the dough too wet.



Vegan Taco Pizza
Yield: one hearty pizza
1 pizza dough (Jeff uses a recipe he has altered from the Joy of Cooking)
1/2 can of refried beans (or about 1 cup homemade refried beans)
Generous serving of salsa
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced and seeded
1 serving seitan or okara meatballs
Vegan cheeze of your choice (we used Vegan Gourmet in this instance but we mostly just make some sort of cheezy sauce to pour on top)

1. Preheat the oven to 400^oF.
2. Roll or toss the pizza dough onto a pre-cornmealed baking sheet.
3. Spread the refried beans over the dough, leaving a bit of space around the edges for crust.
4. On top of this, add salsa, onion, pepper, seitan, and any other delightful taco topping of your choice.
5. Grate or pour cheeze over top to cover.
6. Place pizza in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until crust is golden brown.
7. Remove pizza from oven and slide onto a wire rack.
8. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting on a solid surface.
9. Enjoy!