Learn to make these authentic Italian pizza recipes with meat-free toppings, from tomato and Asiago to fig and mascarpone
Looking for Italian pizza recipes with a vegetarian twist? First, master the basics of making the ultimate Italian-style pizza dough using fresh yeast. Then, take your pick of four meat-free recipes for authentic Italian pizza toppings.
Jump to:
- Italian pizza dough recipe
- Cherry tomato and Asiago pizza
- Cherry tomato, black olives and Gorgonzola pizza
- Goat’s cheese and pesto pizza with salad leaves
- Fig, mascarpone and almond pizza
Italian pizza recipes are often treated like a set formula: tomato, mozzarella, basil, repeated endlessly and without variation. Yet travel through Italy, or spend time in an Italian kitchen, and it quickly becomes clear that pizza has always been far more flexible than that.
Long before ‘vegetarian’ became a label, Italian cooks were topping pizza with whatever the season had to offer, ripe tomatoes in summer, bitter greens in spring, soft cheeses, olives, herbs, and occasionally fruit, when it made sense to do so.
About the recipes:
These Italian pizza recipes put vegetables and fruit firmly at the centre of the table, showing just how satisfying vegetarian pizza recipes can be when they stay true to Italian ingredients and instincts. Everything begins, as it should, with a well-made dough.
Using fresh yeast and allowing the dough plenty of time to rise creates a light, crisp base that needs very little embellishment. From there, it is all about balance, sweetness against salt, richness against freshness, and restraint rather than excess.
The four pizzas here each highlight a different expression of Italian-style vegetarian cooking. Cherry tomatoes appear twice, once paired simply with Asiago, and once with black olives and Gorgonzola, where sweetness, salt and gentle sharpness work together effortlessly.
A goat’s cheese and pesto pizza brings freshness and contrast, finished with salad leaves added after baking. Finally, the fig, mascarpone and almond pizza shows just how versatile authentic Italian pizza recipes can be, stepping confidently into sweet-savoury territory without losing their sense of place.
Taken together, they offer a reminder that some of the most authentic Italian pizza recipes are also the most vegetable-led, seasonal and quietly inventive.
A note on cheese
Of course, many Italian cheeses are not strictly vegetarian. Some (DOP Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano and Asiago, to give three examples) must use calf rennet, but there are many ‘Italian-style hard cheeses’ that don’t.
Soft cheese is as likely to be non-vegetarian as hard cheese (e.g. Gorgonzola), though mascarpone should be vegetarian, as should mozzarella.
For vegans, the Italian buzzword is ‘vormaggio’. (The French say ‘vromage’… Perhaps we should make more use of the word ‘vheese’.)
The ultimate authentic Italian pizza dough recipe
➤ MAKES: 4 pizzas
➤ PREPARATION: 2 hours
Ingredients:
- 20g fresh yeast
- 300ml tepid water
- 500g plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
Method:
- Start by dissolving the yeast in the water. It’s important to use tepid water (not too warm, not too cold) to keep the yeast alive and active. It should become foamy as it dissolves; this shows that it’s ready to help your dough rise.
- Sift the flour and salt together, then pile it up on a work surface. Make a well in the centre, and add the water and yeast. With your fingers, gradually draw some of the flour into the liquid. Do this a few times until the centre is soft (using about a quarter of the flour). Leave to rise for 15 minutes.
- Knead the rest of the flour into the dough, kneading for at least 5 minutes. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 1-1½ hours, until doubled in size. (In colder months, place your dough somewhere warmer, like a proving drawer or airing cupboard, to help the yeast along).
- Knock down the dough and knead again for 1-2 minutes. Divide the dough into four pieces and roll out into 5mm thick rounds ready for the toppings.
4 Italian-style vegetarian pizza recipes
Now you’ve perfected your dough, top it with your choice of Italian-style vegetarian toppings for a wholesome, authentic feast.
1. Cherry tomato and Asiago pizza | Pizza con pomodorini e Asiago
➤ MAKES: 4 pizzas
➤ PREPARATION: 15 minutes plus resting
➤ COOKING: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 quantity of pizza dough
- 400g cherry tomatoes
- 400g mild Asiago cheese, grated
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- A handful of dried thyme
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6. Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters and arrange equally over the pizza bases.
- Top with some grated Asiago cheese, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of dried thyme.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the dough is crisp and the cheese golden.
2. Cherry tomato, black olives and Gorgonzola pizza | Pizza con pomodorini, olive e Gorgonzola
➤ MAKES: 4 pizzas
➤ PREPARATION: 15 minutes plus resting
➤ COOKING: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 quantity of pizza dough
- 250g cherry tomatoes
- 200g black olives, pitted
- 250g mild Gorgonzola
- A sprinkle of oregano
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and scatter over the top of the pizza bases along with the olives.
- Top with the Gorgonzola cheese and a sprinkling of oregano.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the dough is crisp and the cheese golden.
3. Goat’s cheese and pesto pizza with salad leaves | Pizza con formaggio di capra, pesto e insalata
➤ MAKES: 4 pizzas
➤ PREPARATION: 15 minutes plus resting
➤ COOKING: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 quantity of pizza dough
- 250ml smooth tomato passata
- 250g mozzarella, torn
- 250g goat’s cheese, sliced widthwise
- A handful of small salad leaves
- 2-3 Tbsp basil pesto
- A sprinkle of oregano
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6. Spread a couple of tablespoons of passata over each pizza base and use the back of a spoon to coat the base evenly to within 1cm of the edge.
- Top each base with a mix of goat’s cheese and mozzarella, then sprinkle with oregano. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the pizzas from the oven, top with a handful of salad leaves and drizzle a tablespoon of pesto over the top. Serve immediately.
4. Fig, mascarpone and almond pizza | Pizza con fichi, mascarpone e mandorle
➤ MAKES: 4 pizzas
➤ PREPARATION: 15 minutes plus resting
➤ COOKING: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 quantity of pizza dough
- 6 large figs
- 250g mascarpone cheese
- 100g toasted almonds
- 2-3 Tbsp runny honey
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6. Spread a few tbsp mascarpone over the surface of each pizza base.
- Slice the figs into 3mm slices and arrange these on top of the mascarpone. Bake the pizzas in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the pizzas from the oven and sprinkle over the toasted almonds. To finish, drizzle the honey over the top of the pizza and serve hot.
Try something different with this polenta-based pizza recipe
All recipes by Mario Matassa