Vegan Pesto Sauce:
Fresh basil- about 1.5 ounces, I bought a 4 ounce container of fresh basil from Trader Joe’s and used a little over a quarter of the container
2 tbsp chopped garlic
Cold pressed olive oil- will use about 2 – 3 tbsp’s
½ tsp pink Himalayan sea salt
In a small food processor add all ingredients and blend until almost smooth- a little chunky is just fine.
For the crust I used Trader Joe’s garlic and herb pizza dough. I put in a bowl with a tsp of olive oil and let sit for 3-4 hours.
Roll out dough (flour your surface first) and then place on a cookie sheet that has some cornmeal on it or if using a stone- put onto a pizza peel with cornmeal on it. Spread the pesto over the surface of the pizza and then top with some Daiya Mozzarella cheese. Do not be as heavy handed as you would with real mozzarella cheese- I would say less than half of what you would use of the real stuff.
I heat my stone to 500 degrees and bake until the crust is crisp. This was the first time with this recipe- next time I will add Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy jalapeno pepper rings and Trader Joe’s chickenless chicken (diced up). This makes an awesome pesto pizza (I have made it before with vegan pesto sauce so I know it will taste great with my new sauce.
Daiya cheese- you can get Daiya at Raley’s or Whole Foods- when it goes on sale stock up and put in the freezer. You will use about half of the Daiya cheese as you would regular dairy mozzarella.
Recipe by Raw Chef Debra Garner
To learn more about the raw food diet and Debra’s services please visit her Facebook page. She is offering a 30 day raw vegan/plant based eating coaching program. Message her via her Facebook