After a whirlwind weekend of family events down in California, my parents and I retreated to my apartment in Keizer, OR for some much needed R & R. My mom and I weren’t so exhausted, however, that we couldn’t team up for a little vegan comfort food.

Although this pizza with a vegan ratatouille recipe requires a bit of prep time, if you’ve got a few friends or family members helping, it’s a breeze. This healthy and summery veggie-laden pizza is at once casual and gourmet. Since my dad is allergic to yeast (including nutritional yeast–the horror!), the dough is yeast-free, a slight adaptation of my mom’s biscuit recipe. A regular pizza dough will work, too!

Feel free to customize the topping ingredients with whatever you’ve got in the fridge. The more colorful, the better! So gather your loved ones and get those veggies chopped!

Vegan Ratatouille Pizza

Yeast-free crust ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup almond milk

2 tbsp. coconut or other oil

1/2 tsp. salt

Splash of olive oil

Fresh or dried thyme

Freshly ground pepper

Dried oregano

Black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together. Add almond milk and coconut oil and form into dough. Knead for ten turns on the counter and roll/press onto a pizza pan or cookie sheet. (Or roll out purchased pizza dough.)

Generously splash olive oil on the uncooked crust and spread it around to protect the crust from the moisture of the vegetables. Dust with oregano, black pepper, and thyme.

Pre-bake dough for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Topping ingredients:

1 small zucchini sliced into coins

I small yellow summer squash sliced into coins

2 bell peppers, a combination of red, orange, or yellow, sliced into strips

4 green onions, white and pale green sections, thinly sliced

5 or 6 sliced baby Bella mushrooms, lightly sautéed in olive oil

Several halves of Kalemetto olives

1 tomato, sliced thinly

handful of basil sliced in chiffonade

Directions:

Set aside tomatoes and basil and toss the rest of the toppings in olive oil.

Spread the mixture out on the dough and sprinkle it with a little thyme.

Bake at 400F for about 20 to 25 minutes or until veggies are tender and crust is browned. Remove from oven and top with tomatoes and basil.

Photos: Mary Hood