Vegan BBQ Chickpea Pizza

 

Under 45 minutes from start to finish, made on one baking sheet, smoky and deeply satisfying, loaded with sticky BBQ-glazed chickpeas and the creamiest homemade vegan mozzarella that stretches, melts, and tastes absolutely extraordinary — this is the vegan pizza recipe that proves, definitively and beyond any possible doubt, that plant-based pizza is not just good enough, it is actually better than the original. The BBQ chickpeas are the undisputed star of the show here: tossed in a sticky smoky barbecue sauce, they caramelise beautifully in the oven and provide the most satisfying, hearty, protein-rich topping that fills the same role as chicken on a classic BBQ pizza with zero compromise on flavour, texture, or satisfaction.

Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 20–22 mins | Total Time: 35–45 mins | 

Servings: 1 large pizza (serves 3–4)    

---

Ingredients

Pizza:

• 1 batch of pizza dough (store-bought or homemade — about 280–340g / 10–12 oz)
• ½ cup (120ml) your favourite vegan BBQ sauce (plus extra for drizzling after baking)
• ¼ cup (60ml) vegan pizza tomato sauce or passata

BBQ Chickpeas:

• 1 can (400g / 14 oz) chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
• 3 tablespoons vegan BBQ sauce
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch of cayenne (optional)

Quick Cashew Vegan Mozzarella:

• ¾ cup (100g) raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes then drained
• 1 cup (240ml) water (plus an extra ⅓ cup added separately to loosen for spreading)
• 1 tablespoon tapioca starch or arrowroot powder (creates the stretchy, gooey texture)
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Toppings:

• ½ red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
• ½ cup sliced banana peppers or pickled jalapeños (optional)
• ½ cup vegan shredded mozzarella, for extra gooeyness (optional, in addition to the cashew cheese)

Finishing Garnish:

• Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• Extra BBQ sauce drizzled in stripes across the finished pizza

---

Instructions

1. If using store-bought dough, allow it to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before stretching. If making homemade dough, prepare according to your chosen recipe.
2. Soak the cashews: place raw cashews in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for 15 minutes, then drain and rinse. Set aside.
3. Make the cashew mozzarella: place the drained soaked cashews, 1 cup water, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, and garlic powder in a blender. Blend on high for 1–2 full minutes until the mixture is completely smooth with no cashew chunks — it should look like thin, pourable cream. Pour into a small saucepan, add the extra ⅓ cup of water, and whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the mixture thickens, becomes very stretchy, gooey, and elastic — about 3–5 minutes. Remove from heat. It should look like melted mozzarella when done.
4. Make the BBQ chickpeas: in a small bowl, toss the dried chickpeas with the BBQ sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne until every chickpea is well coated. Set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F) with your pizza stone, cast iron skillet, or upside-down heavy baking sheet inside the oven.
6. On a lightly floured surface, stretch the pizza dough by hand or roll with a rolling pin until it fits your baking surface. Transfer to a piece of parchment paper.
7. Spread the tomato sauce thinly across the pizza base. Pour the warm cashew mozzarella over the top and spread with a spatula into an even layer.
8. Scatter the BBQ chickpeas evenly across the cheese. Top with thinly sliced red onion and banana peppers or jalapeños if using. If adding vegan shredded mozzarella, scatter that on top now.
9. Carefully slide the pizza on the parchment paper onto the preheated baking surface. Bake for 18–22 minutes until the crust is deeply golden and crisped on the bottom and edges, and the toppings are caramelised and bubbling.
10. Remove from the oven. Immediately drizzle extra BBQ sauce in decorative stripes across the entire pizza. Scatter fresh cilantro generously over the top.
11. Allow to rest for 3–5 minutes before slicing and serving.

---

Notes

• The cashew mozzarella: This 15-minute homemade vegan mozzarella is the element that elevates this pizza from good to genuinely extraordinary. The tapioca starch is the ingredient that creates the stretchy, gooey, melt-like quality — do not substitute it. If you are short on time, a store-bought vegan shredded mozzarella works well and produces excellent results.
• Pizza stone or cast iron: Preheating a pizza stone or heavy cast iron skillet in the oven before adding the pizza is the single most effective technique for achieving a crispy, restaurant-style pizza base at home. The intense heat from the surface immediately begins to cook the base from the bottom up, mimicking a pizza oven.
• BBQ sauce selection: Choose a vegan BBQ sauce that you genuinely love eating on its own — since it is used both in the topping and as a finishing drizzle, the flavour of the sauce defines the entire pizza.
• Chickpea crispiness: For extra-crispy chickpeas, bake them on a separate lined tray at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes before tossing in BBQ sauce and adding to the pizza. This creates a firmer, crunchier texture.
• Storage: Leftover pizza keeps in the fridge for 3–4 days. Reheat slices in a hot dry skillet over medium heat for 3–4 minutes to restore the crispy base — a microwave will make the crust soggy.

Hungry for more? 🌱 

Get 200+ done-for-you vegan recipes in 

The Complete Plant Based Recipe Cookbook