Mini Sweet Potato Pizza With Tempeh

Perfect for any season, this vegan mini sweet potato pizza recipe makes a simple, nourishing dinner or a way to impress your friends and family at parties and get-togethers. They’re full of flavour, packed with micronutrients and made from simple ingredients. Enjoy them on their own or with mashed avocado and a side salad!

Do excuse the cliché reflection, but I can’t quite believe that we are more than half way through the first month of summer. It seems like two weeks ago that I sat down to write my intentions for 2018. One of them? Practicing yoga for fifteen minutes, three times a week. After months of procrastination, June was the month I made it happen. Better late than never, I guess. And 100% worth it. From time to time, doing something that stands in all-out contrast with your usual fitness routine is brilliant for both the body and the mind. (September 2018 update: the yoga habit didn’t last very long, but I’m trying to bring it back!)

Anyway, back to the original subject. By this stage, summer is fully upon us here in the UK: we’ve had a few onsets of rain (no surprises here), but nothing that undermined the overall pleasantness of the month. I’m talking balmy evenings, short nights and flowers blooming along every street. It’s been a delight. To make the most of it, I’ve been spending my spare time outdoors and, being the foodie that I am, trying out new recipes that align with the overall mood of the season. An abundance of thriving farmers markets and fresh produce makes summer one of my favourite times for cooking.

Thinking of summer food, salad comes to mind first, which is completely understandable because fresh salad always tastes better when it’s warm. I’ve posted a fair share on my Instagram, including ‘nourish bowls’ and cold pasta dishes. Then there are smoothies, juices and no-bake sweet treats for staying refreshed on a hot day. However, while the sort of foods I crave and ingredients I use varies from season to season, I still need my wholesome, carby meals for energy and happy tastebuds alike.

About this vegan sweet potato pizza

What’s great about there mini pizzas is that they match any season. In other words, they’re great for summer outdoor dining, or as a comforting treat on a cold autumnal evening. I’m a huge fan of sweet potato and love cooking with it, so I thought – why not bring pizza into the equation?

And no, I’m not going to claim they taste like takeout vegan pizza, just like cauliflower ‘rice’ doesn’t taste like my favourite Basmati variety. But you can appreciate it for its unique, fresh flavour without drawing needless comparisons. Because you know, balance is burgers and donuts on some days, vegetables and putting together ‘your entire five-a-day in one sitting’ meals from scratch on others.

This mini sweet potato pizza is:

• Gluten-free
• Made from whole, healthy ingredients
• Versatile
• Incredibly delicious
• Approved by vegans and non-vegans

Eat these either as a meal by themselves, with a side salad, or cook up a larger batch for BBQs, parties and picnics. Top them with simple mashed avocado to compliment the natural sweetness of the vegetables.

And of course, switch things up by trying different varieties of potato, toppings and condiments. I love switching up what vegetables I use and adding tofu instead of tempeh; if you like vegan ‘meat’, these taste great with vegan sausages (personally I don’t eat substitutes like that very often at all, but this sweet potato pizza is one of the exceptions). It’s very tricky to go wrong with pizza – unless we’re talking about the never-ending ‘does pineapple belong on pizza’ debate, which I’ve managed to stay out of. Never having tried the infamous combo, I don’t want to bring along uneccesary bias!

How to make mini sweet potato pizza

• Firstly, cut a large sweet potato into smaller chunks and roast in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until soft. You can leave the skin on if you want extra texture in the final pizza.
• Then, transfer the sweet potato to a large mixing bowl and add buckwheat flour (or any other flour of your choice, GF if needed), nutritional yeast, paprika and a flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 2 tbsp water, left to stand aside for 15 minutes).  Season with salt and pepper if desired. Mash the sweet potato using a fork or a potato masher until a dough forms.
• On a baking tray or parchment paper, form even, thin disks about 10cm (~4 inches) in diameter. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
• Take the pizza bases out of the oven and spread with tomato paste. Then, add your toppings (fresh tomatoes, red onion, carrot, mushrooms, tempeh, and anything else you want) and bake for a further 15-20 minutes.
• Serve straight away with mashed avocado, fresh vegetables and pumpkin seeds. Alternatively, store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days, reheating as needed.

Notes and modifications:

• Add any spices of your liking to the pizza dough for extra flavour, and adjust how much salt you use depending on your preferences.
• Be sure not to add too much flour, because then the sweet potato pizza will lose its wonderful chewy texture.
• If you want to add vegan cheese, do so along with the vegetables and the tempeh.

Mini sweet potato pizza recipe video

Let me know in the comments: do you like making your own pizza? If you give this recipe a go, be sure to tag me on Instagram (@earthofmariaa) and leave a rating below to let me know your thoughts. Also, be sure to give my page a like and a follow on Facebook, where I post plenty of updates and recipe videos.

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5 from 1 vote

Mini Sweet Potato Pizzas With Tempeh (Vegan And Gluten-free)

Perfect for any season, this vegan mini sweet potato pizza recipe makes a simple, nourishing dinner or a way to impress your friends and family at parties and get-togethers. They're full of flavour, packed with micronutrients and made from simple ingredients. Enjoy them on their own or with mashed avocado and a side salad!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Vegan

Keyword appetizer, Dinner, Gluten free, party food, pizza, side dish, Snack, sweet potato, whole food plant based

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 3 mini pizzas (~10cm/4 inches in diameter)

Author Maria Gureeva

Ingredients

• 1 large (about 350g) sweet potato, chopped Use any potato variety you have on hand!
• 1/2 cup (70g) buckwheat flour*
• 3 tbsp gluten-free nutritional yeast
• 1 flax egg**
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 3 tbsp tomato purée

Toppings

• 2-3 small vine tomatoes, sliced
• 1/4 small red onion, sliced
• 1/4 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2-3 chestnut mushrooms, chopped
• 4 tbsp (about 50g) tempeh, crumbled

To serve (optional)

• 1/2 medium avocado, mashed
• red onion, chopped
• fresh arugula (rocket)
• pumpkin seeds
• soy yoghurt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees C/392 F. Add instructions on how to microwave potato.
• Mash the sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, the nutritional yeast and the flax egg, combining thoroughly. 
• Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Coat your hands with a light dusting of flour and form the 'dough' into patties around 1cm in thickness and 10cm in diameter. Bake in the preheated oven for around 20 minutes, until slightly crispy. 
• Stir together the tomato paste and the juice from the canned tomatoes. Remove crusts from the oven, and spread evenly with the resulting mixture. 
• Top with the zucchini, bell pepper, red onion, frozen peas and sausages. Bake for a further 20-25 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked through. 
• Meanwhile, make the sauce by simply blending together the avocado, spring onions, green peas and lemon juice. 
• Serve the pizzas immediately or leave to cool for as long as desired. 

Notes

Make as many or as few pizzas as you want out of the 'dough', but keep in mind that this may affect cooking times. 

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