Meet the sweet & spicy vegan pizza, a simple yet delicious recipe. Basically, a leveled-up version of the pepperoni pizza. Made with a delicious homemade vegan crust, topped with vegan cheese, vegan pepperoni, mushrooms, and a spicy agave drizzle! If you’re curious about this “spicy” agave drizzle, keep on reading!
The inspiration for sweet & spicy vegan pizza:
So, this recipe came to me in two forms. During my endless scroll on social media, I saw someone make this condiment called “hot honey”. Now, I’ve never heard of “hot honey” before, nor have I had it. But it just seemed interesting to me because I had never thought to make a type of sweet syrup into something spicy. However, I kind of disregarded it from my mind because I thought I would have no use for a type of recipe like that.
Until, one day, my husband and I went to a winery and on their bistro menu was a sweet & spicy pepperoni pizza. The ingredients were a house-made marinara, sautéed mushrooms, pepperoni, blended cheeses, Italian herbs, crushed red pepper, and locally sourced honey. That’s when it hit me, that I could use this “hot honey” to a sweet & spicy vegan pizza. Probably not the same thing, but I knew I had to do it.
What is “spicy” agave?
Based on what I’ve stated above, this is my version of “hot honey”. Spicy agave is an agave that has been infused with crushed red peppers, and the result is a sweet agave with a kick of spice. It’s sweet, it’s spicy and so addictive! Now, you don’t need to only drizzle this over pizza, drizzle it on anything! Not only that, but it’s so easy to make as well, and you’ll most likely have all these ingredients on hand. All you’re gonna need is agave, crushed red peppers, and apple cider vinegar. My life has changed since I made this condiment, it’s just so good.
Ingredients you'll need for sweet & spicy vegan pizza:
- Yeast: You can use instant or active dry yeast, yes they are interchangeable!
- Sugar: To sweeten the dough and also feed the yeast.
- Water: This adds hydration to the dough without adding extra fat like in milk.
- Bread Flour: Bread flour is key as it gives a chewier texture due to the extra protein and gluten in the flour.
- Olive oil: Adds flavor!
- Salt: Also adds flavor.
- Agave: The base for the spicy agave condiment
- Crushed chili flakes: The spice kick!
- Apple Cider Vinegar: To add a bit of acid to balance the sweetness and heat.
- Toppings: Vegan pepperoni, sauteed mushroom, pizza sauce (jarred/housemade), vegan mozzarella cheese
If you enjoyed this recipe, check these out:
If you’ve tried this recipe out let me know in the comments! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @flouredframe and don’t forget to tag me when you create my recipes!
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📖 Recipe
Sweet & Spicy Vegan Pizza
Equipment
- Measuring spoons
- Small saucepan
- Small bowl
- Large saute pan
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Pizza Cutter sharp knife
Ingredients
Spicy Agave:
- 170 grams agave
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (adjust to your preference)
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Pizza crust:
- 15 grams granulated sugar
- 240 grams water
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 352 grams bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 14 grams extra virgin olive oil
Toppings:
- Vegan pepperoni
- Baby Bella mushrooms (thinly sliced)
- Vegan mozzarella
- Vegan-friendly jarred pizza sauce
Instructions
Spicy Agave:
- Add agave and crushed red pepper flakes to a small saucepan.
- Bring this to a simmer over medium heat, remove from heat and stir in apple cider vinegar.
- Cool to room temperature and transfer to a glass container.
Make the pizza dough.
- In a small bowl, combine sugar and warm water and mix until the sugar has dissolved. Then add in the yeast and whisk to combine. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. It should be frothy and bubbly after 5 minutes, if not, I would start over or buy new yeast.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, extra virgin olive oil, and the frothy yeast mixture. With the dough hook attachment, knead the dough on low until you get a shaggy dough, then increase the speed to 2. Continue to knead for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Flour the surface of the dough and lightly knead and shape it into a smooth round ball.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a bowl cover. Allow the dough to sit for 45 minutes to an hour or until doubled in size.
Sautee the mushrooms
- Heat up the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add in the mushrooms. Do not overcrowd the pan!
- Allow the mushrooms to cook for 5 minutes. They will start to sweat and shrink down a bit. Do not stir them at this point! Just leave them alone on the pan. Once they are golden, flip and cook the other side for another 5 minutes.
- Once they are done cooking, season them with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and set them aside to cool before adding them to the pizza.
Assembly
- When your dough is ready, preheat the oven to 475°F. Prepare a large (or two) baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Shape the dough. Release the air from the dough by punching it down. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and with a bench scraper or knife, divide the dough into two.
- Working with one dough ball at a time, flour the surface of the dough and begin shaping by pressing and stretching it into a rough oval, and until it is about ½ inch thick. Alternatively, you can use a floured rolling pin! Repeat for the second piece of dough.
- Carefully transfer both pieces of dough to the prepared baking sheet and prick a few holes with a fork. Drizzle or brush more extra virgin olive oil and top each piece of dough with pizza sauce, vegan mozzarella, sauteed mushrooms, and vegan pepperoni.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust and toppings are browned to your liking. Carefully remove from the oven.
- Before serving, drizzle the spicy agave over both pizzas. Slice and serve warm!
Notes
- Measure your flour properly. My recipes are 100% tested in grams. A common reason baked goods fail is incorrectly measured flour. I always recommend using a scale for accuracy when baking. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessens room for error.
- If you’re measuring by cups, avoid scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour. This tends to pack the flour into the cup, resulting in too much flour and a very dense or gummy finished product. Instead, aerate your flour (fluff it with a fork or spoon) and then spoon it into your measuring cups, leveling it with your finger or the back of a butter knife. Keep in mind though, that this method is not guaranteed to be accurate.
- Watch this video from King Arthur on how to properly measure your flour if you don’t have a food scale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUSovVHpqsU
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