Vegan focaccia pizza is a tasty, thick, and light flatbread style bread with traditional Italian pizza toppings. This focaccia recipe is vegan-friendly and can be customized to your taste using fresh toppings. You can keep it simple with tomatoes, garlic, vegan cheese, and herbs, or go all out with vegan meat and low-water vegetables.
Vegan Focaccia Toppings:
- 1/2 – 1 cup pizza sauce
- Vegan Mozzarella
- Sliced tomatoes
- Sliced garlic
- Chopped basil
- Oregano
- Chili flakes
- Vegan sausage chunks
- Veggies such as bell peppers, red onion, or butternut squash
- Salt and pepper to taste
What Does Focaccia Taste Like?
Focaccia is a thick bread that is best when cooked until crispy around the edge yet chewy on the inside. It is a flatbread that is seasoned with herbs and olive oil. Focaccia recipes can be sweet or savory. However, this recipe is for pizza-like focaccia with savory toppings.
What is the Difference Between Focaccia and Pizza Dough?
Although focaccia and pizza are made using the same or very similar ingredients (water, olive oil, salt, and flour), focaccia dough uses more yeast. This yeast causes the dough to rise and create the iconic thick base that focaccia is famous for. The additional rising agent also gives it that classic fluffy and light texture. On the other hand, pizza dough is usually thin and crispy throughout the entire base, as it loses moisture in the oven when baked.
Is Focaccia Dairy-Free?
Focaccia is typically dairy-free as it does not use dairy in the dough (yay!). However, many focaccia recipes will use diary cheese that is not milk-free. To ensure this recipe is vegan-friendly, use a vegan mozzarella as one of your focaccia pizza toppings.
How To Make The Best Vegan Focaccia
Bake It Until Crispy
Focaccia is best when it is crispy and brown on the outside. Ensure you bake it long enough to achieve a crispy pizza.
Allow Dough To Proof and Rest
Do not hurry the rising process, as this is essential to let the yeast work its magic on your pizza dough!
Vegan Focaccia Pizza Troubleshooting
Over Proofed Dough
If you leave the dough to prove too much, it won’t have any room to expand when cooked. Unfortunately, this often leaves you with a collapsed dough that loses its fluffy texture.
I recommend letting the first batch rise for 1 hour at room temperature, then again for 40 minutes in the oven. Any more than this can lead to a weak gluten structure.
Cheese Isn’t Melting
Some vegan cheeses don’t melt as well as others. Try a new brand from your local store or order one online like my favorite vegan mozzarella.
How To Store Leftovers
It is best to keep your crispy focaccia at room temperature and consume it within 1-2 days. To ensure your pizza stays fresh, I recommend covering it with a wrap such as vegan reusable food wraps
You can enjoy your leftovers cold or reheat them in the oven for 10 minutes.
Should You Refrigerate Focaccia Bread?
The moisture in your fridge may cause the focaccia bread to become chewy and tough. It is best to freeze leftovers or keep them at room temperature.
Can You Freeze Vegan Focaccia Pizza Dough?
Yes! You can make this vegan focaccia dough in advance and freeze the dough before cooking. This is great for meal prep. Simply complete the instructions up to the end of step 5 and then place your dough in a freezer-safe bag and freezer for up to 3 months. To cook, leave in the fridge overnight to thaw and then continue from step 6.
Alternatively, you can freeze the pizza after baking. Once frozen, you can defrost the pizza and then reheat it in the oven until hot and crispy. Consume within 3-4 weeks.
Share Your Creations!
I would love to see your homemade vegan focaccia bread! So if you try out this focaccia pizza recipe, please send me a picture or tag me @consciously.vegan on Instagram so I can share your mouth-watering meals in my IG story.
INGREDIENTS
Focaccia:
- 1¾ cup warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon cane sugar
- 5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
- 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
Suggested Toppings:
- 1/2 – 1 cup pizza sauce
- Vegan Mozzarella
- Sliced tomatoes
- Sliced garlic
- Chopped basil
- oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the water, yeast, and sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes, until the yeast is foamy.
- In a separate bowl or standing mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, place the flour, salt, ¼ cup of the olive oil, and the yeast mixture and mix on medium speed until the dough forms a ball around the hook, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead several times, sprinkling with more flour, as needed, and form into a ball. Brush a large bowl with olive oil, and place the dough inside. Cover with and set aside for 1 hour to let the dough rise and doubled in size.
- Coat a 9 x 18 -inch rimmed baking sheet with the remaining ¼ cup olive oil and brush to evenly cover.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough several times.
- Then, place the dough in the oiled pan and press to spread it out to the pan’s edges. Flip the dough over and spread it to the edges again.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cover the baking sheet and allow the dough to rise again until it has doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
- Uncover the dough, make indentations with your fingers, every few inches apart, all over the dough.
- Sprinkle with the rosemary. Carefully cover the dough with the pizza sauce, vegan cheese, veggies, and oregano. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Vegan Focaccia Pizza
Ingredients
Focaccia:
- 1 3/4 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp cane sugar
- 5 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for brushing
- 2 tbsp chopped rosemary
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes optional
Suggested Toppings:
- 1/2 - 1 cup pizza sauce
- Vegan Mozzarella
- Sliced tomatoes
- Sliced garlic
- Chopped basil
- Oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the water, yeast, and sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes, until the yeast is foamy.
- In a separate bowl or standing mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, place the flour, salt, ¼ cup of the olive oil, and the yeast mixture and mix on medium speed until the dough forms a ball around the hook, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead several times, sprinkling with more flour, as needed, and form into a ball. Brush a large bowl with olive oil, and place the dough inside. Cover with and set aside for 1 hour to let the dough rise and doubled in size.
- Coat a 9 x 18 -inch rimmed baking sheet with the remaining ¼ cup olive oil and brush to evenly cover.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough several times.
- Then, place the dough in the oiled pan and press to spread it out to the pan’s edges. Flip the dough over and spread it to the edges again.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cover the baking sheet and allow the dough to rise again until it has doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
- Uncover the dough, make indentations with your fingers, every few inches apart, all over the dough.
- Sprinkle with the rosemary. Carefully cover the dough with the pizza sauce, vegan cheese, veggies, and oregano. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
