Apple Arugula Vegan Flatbread Pizza

An easy vegan flatbread pizza made with apples, arugula, sliced red onion, and homemade vegan mozzarella! Done in 30 minutes from start to finish including making the vegan mozzarella cheese! It’s a perfect weeknight meal.

Who doesn’t love pizza? Adults and kids are crazy for pizza. If you’re vegan you may have thought you’d have to give up your love for pizza or opt for one of those sad vegan pizzas from the freezer section. Even trying to make your own pizza at home with store bought cheese has probably ended with disappointment.

There’s no need to go to the store and spend a lot of money on a vegan cheese you’ll be disappointed in to make a homemade flatbread or pizza. You can whip up a vegan mozzarella in 15 minutes with some pretty easy to get ingredients. I was inspired by this recipe from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken.

Once you have your mozzarella you can create your own healthy vegan flatbread. The one I made is with apples, arugula and red onion, but feel free to change things up to what you like, what’s in season, or what you need to use up in the refrigerator.

I still had a bunch of apples from our trip to the apple orchard. I wanted to try a savory apple dish so I decided to use them in this pizza. Pear pizza is always popular, so why not apples?

I though the tart apples would pair well with peppery arugula and sweet red onions. It turned out to be a crazy good combination. Sprinkle a few red pepper flakes on top and you’ve got something special!

Why You’ll Love this Apple Arugula Vegan Flatbread

• It’s cheesy without cheese.
• It includes fruit and leafy greens.
• The crust is made from organic whole grains.
• It’s a complete meal and it’s pizza.
• Done in less than 30 minutes.
• Way healthier than take out pizza.
• You don’t need to make your own dough.
• The kids will love it, and you’ll be happy you’re giving them a serving of fruits and greens.

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Apple Arugula Vegan Flatbread Pizza

For the flatbread:

• 4 whole wheat flatbreads
• 2 apples
• 1 red onion
• 2 cups fresh arugula

For the vegan mozzarella cheese:

• ½ cup raw cashews
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon tapioca starch/flour
• 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Tools You’ll Need to Make Apple Arugula Flatbread Pizza

• High speed blender
• Saucepan
• Skillet
• Sheet Pan
• Pizza cutter
• Spatula
• Knife

How to Make Apple Arugula Pizza – Step by Step

Make the Vegan Mozzarella

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Step 2: Prepare the cashews for the vegan mozzarella. Soak ½ cup of cashews overnight. Or boil cashews in hot water for 10 minutes. Or grind the cashews in a coffee grinder ¼ cup at a time. Choose the method that best suits your time and tools. If you don’t have a high speed blender I recommend using the coffee grinder method.

Step 3: Combine drained and soaked cashews or cashew powder (if using the coffee grinder method) into a blender with water, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, salt, and garlic powder. Blend until the cashews are well combined. It will be very liquid. This is normal.

Step 4: Pour liquid into a medium skillet on medium heat. Stir continuously. The mixture will begin to clump. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens into a gooey cheesy consistency. Remove from heat.

Assemble the Flatbread

Step 5: Spread vegan mozzarella cheese onto four flatbreads. Sprinkle ¼ cup of arugula on top of each. Thinly slice apples and red onion. Spread evenly on top of each flatbread on top of the arugula. Optional: Sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

Step 6: Heat in oven at 350 F for 7 minutes. If you’d like it crispier broil for one additional minute.

Step 7: Remove from oven and serve. This recipe makes 4 servings with each person getting their own vegan flatbread. You might have a little extra mozzarella left over which you can use as a dip for crackers or on top of steamed veggies.

What to serve with Apple Arugula Vegan Flatbread?

If you have some extra arugula you can make a light side salad with the extra red onion, a few cherry tomatoes and some cucumbers. You could also make a side of steamed veggies and use a little of the extra mozzarella on top.

Is vegan flatbread healthy?

Yes, vegan flatbread is healthy! The crust is a whole wheat tortilla high in fiber and with 5 grams of protein. The vegan cheese is made from healthy raw cashews providing you with healthy fats and protein. The arugula, apple, and red onion topping offer loads of fiber, vitamins and nutrients and giving providing you with a serving of fruits and veggies.

What is tapioca starch?

Tapioca starch and tapioca flour are the same thing. It is frequently used in gluten-free baking. Tapioca comes from the cassava root. It is what makes the vegan mozzarella stringy and gooey like real cheese. It is essential in the mozzarella recipe to get the right consistency.

What is nutritional yeast?

Nutritional yeast is an inactive powdered yeast. It doesn’t act as normal yeast meaning it doesn’t have the ability to make dough rise. It has a savory, cheesy flavor which is why it is often used to make vegan cheeses. Nutritional yeast is naturally gluten-free and vegan. It contains B vitamins, folic acid, protein, iron, and potassium. It’s low in sodium, calories, and fat.

How do I make this vegan flatbread gluten-free?

If you’d like to make this arugula apple flatbread gluten-free as well as vegan all you’ll need to do is substitute the whole wheat flatbread for a gluten-free flatbread of your choice. I recommend this brand.

Recipe

Check Out These Other Easy Weeknight Dinners!

• 37 Vegan Prep Meals
• Easy Vegan Pasta Bake
• Easy Vegan Chili
• Vegan Curry with Sweet Potatoes

If you’ve tried my apple arugula vegan flatbread pizza, please rate it and let me know how they turned out. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more plant-based family recipes your whole family will enjoy!