This vegan buffalo chicken pizza is topped with simple yet spicy vegan buffalo chicken (or chickpeas), red onion, sweet corn, lots of fresh cilantro, and a drizzle of garlicky cashew crema. All the toppings sit on a soft yet chewy, golden brown homemade pizza dough. Perfect for a Super Bowl Party or a fun weeknight dinner!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Buffalo Pizza
- quick and easy pizza recipe: ready in under an hour for a perfect for any pizza lover and a homemade pizza night!
- crispy and chewy pizza crust: made with this homemade pizza crust recipe for the best texture.
- spicy vegan buffalo sauce: this recipe uses a super easy homemade vegan buffalo sauce that takes less than 3 minutes to make.
- flavor-packed: red onion, spicy buffalo sauce, fresh cilantro, sweet corn, and a creamy garlicky cashew sauce create tons of flavor in each bite.
Ingredients
What I love about pizza is that you can add lots of your favorite toppings! Below are the main ingredients for this pizza…however feel free to add or subtract toppings to your liking!
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Vegan Butter: like Country Crock Plant Butter
- Hot Sauce: choose a sauce with your preferred spice level
- Pizza Sauce: store-bought or homemade
- Vegan Cheese: like vegan mozzarella cheese shreds
- Red Onion
- Sweet Corn: fresh or frozen
- Fresh Cilantro
- Raw Cashews: for the cashew crema
The Best Vegan Cheese:
This recipe uses vegan mozzarella shreds but you could also use vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast. Below are some of my favorite vegan cheese brands for this recipe!
- Trader Joe’s Vegan Mozzarella Shreds: This is what I used in this recipe. I love Trader Joe’s vegan cheese. It’s affordable and works great in dishes where the cheese will be melted.
- Daiya Cutting Board Mozzarella Shreds: Daiya often gets a bad wrap for having a very distinctive taste. BUT they’ve modified their recipe over the years and came out with the Cutting Board Collection. So if you haven’t tried them recently you should try them out again. Daiya is the brand that often goes on sale the most at my local big-box grocery store making it the most affordable option for me.
Substitutions
- Store Bought Vegan Pizza Dough: stop by your local store and see if they carry vegan pizza dough that you can use instead of making your own.
- Trader Joe’s: I love TJ’s regular pizza dough and their garlic herb dough!
- Pillsbury Classic Pizza Dough: this pizza dough is accidentally vegan and available at most grocery stores.
- Cashew Crema: store-bought vegan ranch dressing (or homemade ranch dressing) can be subbed for the cashew crema.
- Vegan Chicken: sub in chickpeas, soy curls or even cauliflower florets for the store bought vegan chicken.
- Extra Hot Sauce: use your favorite hot sauce for the simple vegan buffalo sauce
Add-Ins and Other Pizza Toppings
- Green Onion
- Caramelized Onions
- Arugula or Fresh Spinach
- Sliced Black Olives
- Red Peppers
- Vegan Parmesan or Vegan Ricotta
- Vegan sausage
- Vegan Bacon
- Nutritional Yeast
- Vegan Sour Cream
Helpful Equipment
- Pizza Stone, Pizza Pan or Baking Sheet
- Pizza Cutter: to slice the pizza
- Pizza Peel: optional but helps to remove the pizza if using a pizza stone
Step-by-Step Instructions
STEP 1: Prep the homemade vegan pizza dough according to this recipe.
STEP 2: Prep the buffalo sauce by mixing the melted vegan butter with the hot sauce in a medium bowl. The vegan butter can be melted on the stove top or in the microwave.
STEP 3: Mix the shredded vegan chicken with the buffalo sauce. You can also make buffalo chickpeas or buffalo soy curls instead of using store bought vegan chicken.
STEP 4: Spread your pizza dough out onto the oiled baking tray. You can make a circle, rectangle or any shape you prefer. Spread the remaining olive oil on the top of the dough.
STEP 5: Spread about ¼-½ cup of the pizza sauce onto the crust, leaving a 3/4″ border around the edges of the dough. Add the vegan cheese on top.
STEP 6: Layer on the red onion, sweet corn, and prepared vegan buffalo chicken. Drizzle on another tablespoon of olive oil over the toppings and on the crust. Sprinkle on the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
STEP 7: Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted.
What To Serve with this Buffalo Pizza
Top the pizza with lots of fresh cilantro and a drizzle of cashew crema in the middle of the pizza!
You can also drizzle on some homemade dairy-free ranch dressing!
This vegan buffalo chicken pizza would pair so well with the following:
- Vegan Caesar Salad with Blackened “Chicken”
- Vegan Rose or White Wine
Storage Tips
IN THE FRIDGE:
Store the cooked pizza in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
IN THE FREEZER:
This pizza is best served fresh (the cilantro will wilt if frozen), so I don’t recommend freezing it.
However, the pizza can be frozen without the cilantro and cashew crema on top.
Pro Tips
- Bake at a high heat and preheat the oven: a hot surface and oven create a crispy exterior but soft interior.
- Make homemade pizza dough if possible: this homemade dough has a soft and chewy texture with a slightly sweet flavor.
- Season the pizza to taste: add more salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, or cilantro as needed!
FAQ
This pizza uses a super simple homemade vegan buffalo sauce that only requires two ingredients: vegan butter and hot sauce!
If you’re not a fan of vegan chicken, you can sub in chickpeas, soy curls, or even cauliflower florets!
MORE VEGAN PIZZA & Sandwich RECIPES:
- Squash & ‘Bacon’ Pizza
- Vegan BBQ Chicken Pizza with Caramelized Onions
- Vegan White Pizza with Garlic & Potato
- Vegan Philly Cheesesteaks
- Grilled Flatbread Pizza with Peaches
- Vegan Calzones
Did you make this vegan buffalo chicken pizza?
I’d love to know! Leave a star rating and comment below!
Vegan Buffalo Chicken Pizza with Garlic Cashew Cream
This vegan buffalo chicken pizza is topped with simple yet spicy vegan buffalo chicken (or chickpeas), red onion, sweet corn, lots of fresh cilantro, and a drizzle of garlicky cashew crema. All the toppings sit on a soft yet chewy, golden brown homemade pizza dough. Perfect for a Super Bowl Party, or a fun weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
The Crust
- 1 recipe of Thank You Berry Much’s Chewy Pizza Crust, or sub store-bought
- 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, for cooking
Simple Buffalo Sauce
- ¼ cup melted vegan butter, like Country Crock Plant Butter
- ¼ cup - ⅓ cup store-bought hot sauce, like Frank’s Hot Sauce
The Pizza
- 1 cup store-bought vegan chicken like Morningstar, shredded or sliced into 1” pieces (sub chickpeas or soy curls)
- ½ cup store-bought pizza sauce
- ¾ cup vegan mozzarella shreds, I used Trader Joe’s vegan mozzarella shreds
- ½ a small red onion, sliced thin
- ¼ cup sweet corn, fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
Cashew Crema
- ½ cup raw cashews, preferably soaked in warm water overnight
- ¼ cup warm or room temperature water, plus more if needed
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Make the pizza dough according to this recipe’s instructions.
- Prep the buffalo sauce by mixing the melted vegan butter with the hot sauce in a medium bowl.
- Mix the shredded vegan chicken (or chickpeas / soy curls) with the buffalo sauce.
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F or 245 C.
- Prep your pizza pan by drizzling 1 tbsp olive oil on it.
- Spread your pizza dough out onto the oiled baking tray. You can make a circle, rectangle or any shape you prefer. Spread the remaining olive oil on the top of the dough.
- Spread about ¼-½ cup of the pizza sauce onto the crust, leaving a 3/4" border around the edges. Add the vegan cheese on top.
- Layer on the red onion, sweet corn, and prepared vegan buffalo chicken. Drizzle on another tablespoon of olive oil over the toppings and on the crust. Sprinkle on the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.
- While the pizza cooks, blend the ingredients for the cashew crema together in a high speed blender until smooth. Add 1 tbsp of extra water at a time if the crema is too thick for your liking.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the fresh cilantro and a drizzle of cashew crema to taste.
Notes
- Season the pizza to taste: add more salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, or cashew cream as needed!
- If you want a thicker crust: stretch the dough until it is about ½” thick in the center
- If you prefer thin crust: stretch the dough until it is about ¼” thick in the center.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 288Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 1279mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 13g
Nutritional info is an estimate.
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