Week 49: Mushroom, Tomato, Artichoke, and Spinach Pizza with Vegan Cashew Cheese Sauce

You can do irrefutably impossible things with the right amount of planning and support from intelligent and hardworking people and pizza.

Scott Gimple, former showrunner of The Walking Dead

This pizza was so good. The crust came out of the oven with perfect crispness. The cashew cheese sauce was creamy and flavorful. The veggie combo is one of my favorites. I had never been a big mushroom fan before, but sliced mushrooms on pizza has become something I crave.

I add garlic, onions, and tomatoes to almost all of my pizzas. Artichokes and spinach go well together and compliment the other flavors, textures, and colors of this pizza. This combo got a big thumbs up from my partner and we plan to make it again soon.

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The most labor intensive part of this pizza was making the cashew cheese sauce. You can do it a day in advance and store it in the fridge. I typically make enough cheese sauce for two meals and use 1/2 of it as a sauce for penne pasta. I cut up a few sundried tomatoes and add them to my pasta water just before I take it off the heat to drain it, then I return the pasta to the pot and add the cashew cheese sauce while the pasta is warm. It’s delicious!

Cashew Cheese Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours in warm water, then drained
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• dash of ground black pepper

Cashew Cheese Sauce Instructions

1. Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender for about 1-1.5 minutes, until thoroughly mixed.
2. You can add a splash more almond milk if needed to combine.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. In a saucepan on the stove, heat the mixture over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, whisking frequently to prevent burning.
5. You will know the mixture is ready because it will look more like cheese sauce and less like a liquidly concoction. Take it off the stove so it doesn’t burn.

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Ingredients

• dough of choice
• cashew cheese sauce
• drizzle of marinara or chunks from a can of fire roasted tomatoes (optional, but recommended- see photo above)
• 1/2 cup artichoke hearts, cut into smaller pieces
• 8 button mushrooms, sliced
• handful fresh spinach
• 1 roma tomato, sliced
• 1/4 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• glug of extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Note: I happened to have some marinara sauce on hand so used a few drizzles over the cashew cheese sauce. The jarred marinara added a nice flavor boost, but if you don’t have any or don’t want to open a jar and use just a little bit of it, it’s fine to leave it out.

I prefer artichoke hearts marinated in a mixture that is mostly water with a little oil and some herbs. You can also use canned artichoke hearts.

Instructions

1. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add a glug of oil.
2. Add the onions. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Add the garlic, stir, and cook another 15 seconds.
4. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms brown.
5. Add the spinach, lower the heat, and stir occasionally for about 2-3 minutes until the spinach wilts.
6. Take the mixture off the heat, but leave in the pan.

Assembly

1. Roll out your dough.
2. Slather with cashew cheese sauce.
3. Add dollops of marinara.
4. Layer with the mushroom and spinach mixture from your frying pan.
5. Top with artichoke hearts and tomatoes.
6. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
7. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

We hope you enjoy this pizza. If you make this or any other vegan pizza and would like to share with us @52veganpizzas, we look forward to seeing your creations.