Quick Vegetarian Pizza

Back in 2007, my first summer in Puerto Rico as a resident, my nephews came to visit my house from the U.S. and encountered a strange phenomenon when it came to Auntie Lucy’s cooking. She didn’t cook any meat in any of her dishes because her partner was

Vegetarian. They didn’t understand what that meant because they were used to fried chicken that Grandma made at her house. My partner explained his reasons why eating meat was not important as long as you received proteins from vegetables and soy products. Of course he simplified the conversation for them to understand. What I tried to do was incorporate them into the vegetarian cooking experience so they could see how the benefits of eating vegetables was more important than cheeseburgers at a fast food restaurant.

A recipe that was a hit with them was making Vegetarian Pizza with all sorts of vegetable toppings on tortillas or flatbread. My nephew Daniel wanted to be a bit more creative with his toppings and added chocolate and olives besides just the broccoli. I chopped all the ingredients and had him build both of our pizzas.  While we waited for the pizzas to make, we talked about nutrition and what vegetables he liked to eat. My nephew didn’t miss the pepperoni he always because he made it with his own hands. When you involve children in the cooking process, they are more apt to eat what they make and it will taste better than if you made it for them. Vegetarian pizza is a quick and easy recipe that can be served as an appetizer or individual dinners. Below I provide the recipe.

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Ingredients

Flatbread or Tortillas (Small or Large)

Vegetarian Soy Mozzarella Cheese or Regular Mozzarella

Marinara sauce with mushrooms or plain (Not meat sauce)

Assorted vegetable toppings can include but not limited too:

Broccoli heads (Fresh or frozen. Fresh is preferable)

1 Small Onion

Grape Tomatoes cut in half for each pizza.

Button Mushrooms

Green Peppers

Shredded Carrots or Any other vegetables that you may like to top your pizza with. They can be pre-cooked or raw.

Add salt, pepper, and oregano to sprinkle for seasoning. (This can be omitted for children’s pizzas)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil in order to coat the Flatbread or Tortillas.

Steps

1. Pre-heat oven at 425 degrees. (Ovens may cook at different temperatures)

2. Brush on Extra Virgin Olive Oil on flatbread or tortillas to give it a nice golden brown color.

3. Spread marinara sauce on flat bread or tortillas.

4. Top with soy mozzarella cheese or regular mozzarella cheese.

5. Top flatbread or tortillas with all vegetables that you prefer on your individual pizzas.

6. Sprinkle oregano, salt, and pepper on top of vegetables for flavor.

7. Top with soy mozzarella cheese again.

8. Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil again.

9. Put flatbread pizza in oven for 15 – 18. (If using small tortillas cook for 10 minutes. Burrito sized tortillas 15-18 minutes.)

10. Let cool and serve.

Post Script: Here is an even easier recipe called Tortilla Pizza w/ Caramelized Onions

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