The Best Vegetarian Pizza Toppings (Typical Toppings and More)

You’re plant-based and you want to show your meat-eating friends that vegetarian pizza is great. But you need to choose the right vegetarian pizza toppings. 

Vegetarian pizza toppings start with vegetables, but some of the best toppings aren’t vegetables at all. While earthy vegetables like mushrooms and peppers are famous on pizza, the best toppings are full of healthy fats and vitamins like hemp hearts and nutritional yeast. Getting a good mix of toppings on your pizza gives you more nutrition and flavor to your pizza. 

You won’t only impress your friends with these pizza toppings, you’ll surprise yourself. Our list of the best vegetable pizza toppings will help you come up with combinations that have as much nutrition as they do taste. 

Keep reading to find out how to create a healthy veggie pizza. Use our list of the best toppings, vegetables or not, to put on your pizza. We’ll even answer whether or not you should put pineapples on your pizza once and for all. 

Is Vegetarian Pizza Healthy?

Choosing a vegetarian pizza doesn’t automatically mean you made a healthy choice. If you load your pizza up with cheese (even vegan cheese) and high-calorie toppings your pizza will be unhealthy. 

It’s possible to create a healthy pizza. A healthy pizza is nutrient-dense with a reasonable amount of calories. To make a healthy pizza you’ll have to be picky about your toppings and make some lighter calorie choices. 

To make healthier choices for your pizza think about how you also would make a salad more filling. You’d choose toppings and ingredients that taste great, but also provide vitamins and minerals without a lot of calories. When it comes to the crust, get creative. Having healthy ingredients as the base of your pizza may be easier than you think. 

If you can have grains, choose whole grain or whole-wheat pizza dough. You can bake hemp hearts inside the crust to give it an additional health boost. 

Even if you aren’t gluten-free you can try a vegetable base crust, you don’t have to choose an empty calorie crust. For a gluten-free pizza try using cauliflower or brown rice and flaxseeds to make your crust.

What Cheese Do You Put on Pizza?

When in doubt about what cheese to put on pizza choose mozzarella. Classic cheese pizza is made with mozzarella cheese. The overly gooey pizza covered in cheese is an American standard. 

 

 

Mozzarella is even typical in some places in Italy. However, the type of cheese in Italy often depends on what’s available in the region. Even then the cheese is used more sparingly and isn’t the shredded cheese we are used to.

A few strategically placed bites are enough. In fact, pizza from Italy may ruin pizza in America for us as we know it. What we can learn is that we don’t need a pizza loaded with cheese. The right kind of cheese strategically placed will do the trick.

I mention Italian pizza to show there’s no wrong answer for your pizza toppings. We’ve already changed pizza enough that we can have fun with it. So choose your favorite cheese for your pizza. 

The best cheese is something salty enough to add flavor, but mild enough not to overpower the tomato sauce, and that’s why mozzarella reigns supreme. However, there are exceptions and good reasons to use bold cheese depending on your toppings.

If you are looking for the best cheese for pizza try:

• Mozzarella
• Parmesan 
• Monterey
• Gorgonzola 
• Pecorino-Romano
• Havarti
• Feta Cheese
• Ricotta Cheese 
• Goat Cheese

Vegan cheese is a special topping because it can be used in place of cheese if you have a dairy allergy. However vegan cheese isn’t made to be overused either. Too much will overpower your pizza because it too can have a strong flavor. 

What Can I Put on Pizza Instead of Cheese?

Some people believe that without cheese it’s not a real pizza, but there are plenty of pizza options that can be made without cheese at all. The best cheese-less pizzas are brick oven-baked and have just the right amount of fresh herbs and spices, so you never even miss the cheese. 

If you miss the fat from cheese, try adding something with texture and fattiness like caramelized onions or olives. To finish a cheese-less pizza be sure to add healthy fat by sprinkling your pie with hemp hearts. You can even ditch the tomato sauce and go with a hemp heart pesto, a cashew cheese, or a tahini spread.

What Vegetables Go Well on a Pizza?

Vegetables that go well on pizza are nightshades and vegetables that offer umami, like peppers and mushrooms. Nearly all vegetables make good pizza toppings, even some fruits. 

Yes, I like pineapple on pizza. I was prepared to take this fight personally and not blame all of Humming Hemp, but we took a poll, and pineapple won.

Whether you choose to put pineapple on your pizza or not don’t hold my choice against me as you take a look at the list below. 

 

 

Peppers

Peppers taste great on pizza and have the power to guide the entire flavor profile. Feeling a little sweet, then go for roasted sweet red peppers. If you want some spice on your pizza, choose pepperoncini. 

Of course, the classic bell pepper tastes great with all vegetables, which is why you find it on most classic “supreme” pizzas sitting right next to the mushrooms. 

Mushrooms

Mushrooms have an earthy flavor that tastes especially good with hemp flavors. With peppers, hemp hearts, and mushrooms you’ve already got the start of a perfect pizza. Mushrooms provide umami, that savory flavor that we just can’t put our finger on, that every dish needs. If you want meatiness on your vegetarian pizza mushrooms are a must.

Eggplant

The meaty texture of the eggplant works as well as a mushroom, but it’s even more versatile. You can slice large pieces of eggplant thin to give you a meaty roasted taste in each bite. Or cut into little squares for tender smoky bites in your cheese. Either way, eggplant holds up to the high heat of the pizza oven well and adds to the flavor of strong cheese.  

Sun-dried Tomatoes

Although tomatoes are in pizza sauce it doesn’t mean you can’t top your pizza with sun-dried tomatoes as well. Rather than baking sun-dried tomatoes onto the pizza, save them as a finishing touch. Add tomatoes on top of fresh basil, arugula, or spinach. 

If you select a pizza without cheese adding sun-dried tomatoes and finishing with oil brings texture and fat you may be missing. 

Fresh Herbs and Greens

No pizza is complete without herbs. Put herbs in your sauce and top your pizza with fresh herbs right at the end. Fresh spinach, basil, or arugula all work well with only a few seconds in the oven or without being baked at all. 

Try some more unconventional greens like mustard greens and kale or other fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro. Pick out herbs and greens that compliment the rest of the flavors you’re going for. 

The goal is to make a fresh herb pizza where all you see is green. Your pizza will look beautiful, taste great, and be a healthy option. 

Chickpeas

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, add a certain amount of meatiness to pizza. Garbanzo beans aren’t conventionally used on pizza, but when you skip meat and cheese chickpeas make a good vegan pizza substitute.

Roast chickpeas ahead of time to give your pizza a textured crunch. Or you can let your oven do the trick and enjoy them as a soft hearty bite with red peppers on your slice.

The list of vegetables that make amazing vegetarian pizza is long. So here’s a quick list of a few more veggies you can try:

• Asparagus
• Peas
• Mustard Greens
• Kale
• Zucchini
• Beets
• Red Cabbage
• Butternut Squash
• Broccoli

Be sure to add some toppings that aren’t traditional veggies as well. 

The Best Vegetarian Pizza Toppings That Aren’t Vegetables

The best vegetarian pizza toppings that aren’t vegetables are nutritional finishes that give pizza a final spice. Hemp hearts and nutritional yeast are the last touches to vegetarian pizza that add as much nutritional value as it does flavor. 

Although you’re going for a vegetarian pizza everything you top your pizza doesn’t have to be vegetables. Think outside of the box and add toppings that are fun and exciting that bring on the nutrition. 

Hemp Hearts

We couldn’t help mentioning them before and that’s because hemp hearts are the best pizza topping. Every pizza should be drizzled with something and sprinkled with something as a final touch. 

A fresh herb pizza drizzled with garlic hemp oil and sprinkled with hemp hearts is just perfect. How can something so healthy and versatile taste so amazing? 

 

 

The beauty of hemp hearts is they add nutrition to every aspect of the cooking process. No matter which kind of toppings or crust you can incorporate the benefits of the nutritional hemp heart. It will help you achieve a healthy pizza and not one loaded with no nutrition. 

Hemp hearts are nutrient-dense and they have your healthy fats and protein covered. You can bake them in the crust, blend them into the sauces, and sprinkle them on top of your pizza. Preparing your pizza with hemp hearts is all about how you want to get your nutrition.

Sauces and Oils

A final drizzle on your pizza isn’t just for show. While it does look beautiful when you add sriracha or hot sauce to your pizza it adds flavor. A drizzle of hot sauce has just enough spice to make your pizza something special. 

The right oil gives your pizza a final fatty touch and a dressing to your vegetables. If you’ve chosen the right oil, say garlic hemp oil, you’ll add just the right amount of healthy fat to finish your pizza. Omega fatty acids give you the right kind of fat to keep your pizza healthy.

Spices

Red pepper flakes sit on the table of some of the best pizzerias. Using spices as your final topping gives your pizza the zest it needs at your table. However, you don’t have to stop with yummy red pepper flakes. Sprinkle fresh cracked pepper, oregano, thyme, and basil. Any dried herbs and spices will complement that final touch.

Nutritional Yeast

Nutritional yeast is nutrition in a shaker. If you aren’t using parmesan cheese on your pizza, nutritional yeast is a must. Nutritional yeast adds much-needed b12 vitamins and a cheesy finish to any pizza toppings you selected. 

Fruit

Fruit goes beyond the berries we love in the morning. Think outside the box and add fruit to your pizza that roasts nicely and leaves behind bold flavors like figs. You can also create wonderful fruit and cheese pairings. Pears, apples, and roasted peaches taste amazing with cheese and create a delightfully sweet and salty flavor profile on pizza. 

Also, pineapple belongs on pizza.

 

 

Summary: The Best Vegetarian Pizza Toppings

Now you have a long list of the best vegetarian pizza toppings to choose from. You can build a good pizza with vegetables and toppings that you may not have thought of. 

Even if you choose to go without cheese, cashew cheese or tahini is a substitute that everyone will love. If your pizza has a great sauce and the nutrition of hemp you won’t miss the cheese.

Eating pizza doesn’t mean you have to feel unhealthy, and eating healthy doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. In fact, vegetarian pizza gives you so many fun new options to choose from you’ll be having too much fun. 

You have vegetable toppings like peppers, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and more to choose from. Don’t forget, when you choose your vegetarian toppings to choose some toppings that aren’t vegetables as well. 

Add hemp hearts and nutritional yeast to make the nutrient-dense pizza you deserve. Order some hemp hearts today and add them to your pizza crust, sauce, and final product.

Does pineapple belong on your pizza? Let us know on Instagram and use #humminghemp. Until then get all the supplies you need to make your perfect hemp topped pizza in the Humming Hemp store on Amazon.