I never get tired of pizza! We usually make regular Italian style pizza with marinara, but I thought it was time to spice it up. I thought about making this pizza last week and thought it would be a great way to use tempeh. Tempeh is fermented soybeans so some people think it’s easier to digest and it’s a great source of protein. You can marinate it, grill it, fry it, sauté, or bake it. I usually make it into some kind of crumble, usually the tempeh sausage crumbles. This time I boiled it for a few minutes to get rid of any bitterness and then sautéed it with spices and bbq sauce. I also added mushrooms, red onion, and roasted cauliflower and of course bbq sauce! I used whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe’s, which is healthier but it was a little too wheat-y than I like for pizza. I would have preferred it on white or sourdough so I’ll know next time. You just roll it out, top it, and bake it in a hot oven for not long at all and it’s ready to dig in!

BBQ Tempeh Pizza

1/2 block organic tempeh

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1/2 head cauliflower, thinly sliced

1 ball pizza dough

1/2 cup bbq sauce + 3 tbsp

1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh cilantro to top

1. Preheat oven to 400* and chop veggies.

2. Add sliced cauliflower to a parchment lined pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 15-20 minutes until tender. Turn oven up to 500*

3. In a small sauté pan, add tempeh and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer for 7-10 minutes then drain.

4. Use a wooden spoon to break tempeh into crumbles and add in chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika then 3 tbsp of bbq sauce and stir to combine. Simmer for 2-4 more minutes until thickened.

5. Add mushrooms to another skillet and sauté for 4-5 minutes until tender.

6. Roll and pat the pizza dough into a parchment lined pan, then spread with bbq sauce. Add the tempeh, mushrooms, cauliflower, red onion, nutritional yeast, and drizzle with extra bbq sauce.

7. Bake pizza for 8-10 minutes until crust is cooked through and crispy on the edges.

8. Remove and add fresh cilantro for extra flavor.