Vegan Pizza Bites with Cashew Cheese, 3 ways (gluten free)

Today Simon & I are making one of my favorite childhood comfort food snacks: mini pizzas! These Vegan Pizza Bites with Cashew Cheese are gluten free, really easy to make and loaded with flavor. The vegan cheese is a recipe from my new book ‘Vegan & Raw 2’ and I included three variations for toppings. One with cherry tomatoes, one with caramelized onion, and a third one with smoky bell pepper. Which one would you pick first?

Vegan Pizza Bites with Cashew Cheese, 3 ways

SERVES: 30 small pizza bites (2 cups cashew cheese)

EQUIPMENT: blender, large frying pan

INGREDIENTS:

Cashew Cheese (adapted recipe from my newest cookbook Vegan & Raw 2)

1 ½ cup (180 g) cashews
10 tablespoons (130 ml) water
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
1 tablespoon white shiro miso (optional)
1 teaspoon sea salt

Vegan Pizza Bites

30 of your favorite crackers (I used ALL GOOD crackers – you could use raw zucchini slices or sweet potato toast too)

… with Caramelized Onion & Mushrooms

1 medium onion, sliced into rings
1 handful of mushrooms, sliced
Coconut oil, sea salt + sage (or rosemary, Herbes de Provence…)

… with Smoky Bell Pepper

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
Coconut oil, sea salt, smoked paprika powder + oregano
10 artichoke hearts
1 handful arugula (rocket)

… with Cherry Tomatoes & Basil

1 handful of cherry tomatoes
1 handful of fresh basil (or oregano)

DIRECTIONS:

Cashew cheese

1. Put the nuts, water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, miso and sea salt in the blender. Blend until smooth. Add a little extra water to help the mixture along if you don’t have a powerful high-speed blender at home.
2. Taste and add extra miso or sea salt, if desired.

Vegan Pizza Bites

1. Heat a little coconut oil in a large frying pan. Bake your onion rings and mushroom slices until golden brown and tender. Season with sea salt and sage to taste. Set aside.
2. Again, heat a little coconut oil in the frying pan (no need to wash it). Add the bell pepper slices to the pan and bake until tender. I like to season them with sea salt, smoked paprika and oregano – but feel free to use whatever you’re in the mood for.
3. Slice your cherry tomatoes in halves or quarters.
4. Spread a large spoonful of cashew cheese on top of your crackers, and add the toppings. Ten with caramelized onion, mushrooms and fresh sage. Ten with smoky bell pepper, artichoke hearts and arugula. Ten with cherry tomatoes, basil and some freshly ground black pepper. You could add some olives as well if your crackers aren’t salty.

JULIE’S TIPS & TRICKS:

• This cashew cheese will stay fresh for at least 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Shiro miso is a condiment made with rice and soybeans. It’s really high in probiotics and it will add a nice umami flavor to your cashew cheese. You can find it in organic shops, Asian stores and in some larger supermarkets too.
• If you don’t like bell pepper, replace it with roasted sweet potato, pumpkin, parsnip, eggplant (aubergine)…

Now I would love to hear from you! What are your favorite pizza toppings? My top 3 right now are olives, artichokes and roasted veggies – classics but never boring! I love trying out new flavors so any suggestions are welcome in the comments down below :)