Asparagus Leek and Mushroom Pizza with Roasted Beet Sauce is a delicious dinner that’s perfect for spring. It has all the flavors we associate with this time of year. The roasted beet sauce is delectably sweet and earthy, and the spring vegetables (and fungi!) are divine.
Asparagus Leek and Mushroom Pizza with Roasted Beet Sauce is Tasty for Spring!
Beautiful and Colorful Asparagus Pizza
The green and magenta color of this pizza is gorgeous. What do they say? “Half the meal is eye appeal.” And this pizza is pretty.
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Roasted Beet Sauce Recipe for Pizza
The roasted beet sauce that’s used on this asparagus leek and mushroom pizza is SO easy to make. You can make it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge or make it while your pizza dough is rising.
I’ve posted it as a separate recipe here:
Roasted Beet Sauce for Pasta or Pizza
It’s simple, just roast the beets, some shallots, and garlic, then puree it into a smooth sauce.
Gluten-Free Vegan Pizza Crust
This delicious vegan pizza starts with a gluten-free pizza crust. Once I discovered a couple of key ingredients, making gluten-free pizza crusts that are just like the “real thing” became simple and easy. There are two essential ingredients to make a delicious, authentically textured pizza crust. That’s psyllium husk powder and lactic acid. These are ingredients you will probably have to get online. These ingredients store for a very long time and most recipes don’t call for very much so they last and last. I keep a package of both and they really come in handy.
Psyllium Husk Powder is Great for Gluten-Free Baking
If you read the ingredients, you’ll see that psyllium husk powder is in most of the commercially available gluten-free baked goods. This is not a scary, weird ingredient that only food companies can find. To be honest, it’s the same thing that’s in Metamucil. It comes as a powder and, yes, it has a lot of fiber.
The biggest issue I have with gluten-free bread or pizza crust is they don’t have any of that chewy, stretchy structure that the delicious gluten-based ones do. Psyllium husk powder works wonderfully to put that chewy texture back in. I love it. Psyllium husk powder can turn bread purple. The way to prevent psyllium husk from turning bread purple is to make the dough slightly acidic. Lactic acid is perfect for this use.
Lactic Acid is a Vegan Ingredient
It doesn’t sound like it, but lactic acid is (usually) a vegan ingredient. It’s basically an acid made from fermenting sugars and the powdered form is used frequently in vegan cheese making. Acids used in foods have different flavor profiles so citric acid tastes, well, citrusy, for example. Lactic acid is tangier which is why it’s used in cheeses. It can also have something like a sourdough flavor which is what makes it ideal to use in bread and, like here, pizza crusts. It’s handy for a few things and is good to have on hand.
If You Don’t Have These Ingredients
Psyllium husk powder and lactic acid are great additions to a gluten-free pizza crust. If you don’t have them it’s not a deal-breaker. Just omit these two ingredients and make the recipe without them. The crust will be a little less chewy, that’s all.
Assemble the Pizza
Once the sauce and crust are made all that’s left is to assemble the pizza. Spread the sauce out over the crust and then add your favorite vegan cheese shreds. I always end up using Daiya mozzarella shreds but only because I can never find the Chao shreds.
How to Ribbon Cut the Asparagus
Ribbon-cut asparagus is going to cook up better, be more tender, and easier to eat on a pizza. It’s simple to do and the thin strips are pretty. Just wash the asparagus and use a vegetable peeler to peel long, thin strips from the asparagus spears.
This is how asparagus grows. Isn’t that amazing? We’ve just joined our local community garden where we’ll be growing some things veganically and they have a big, shared bed of asparagus. Win-win. Like-minded friends and asparagus!
Sliced Leeks
Leeks are delicious and like mild onions. The ends are kept white by them being buried in fine sand. This keeps the sun from the tips so the leeks don’t produce chlorophyll there and turn green. It also means leeks are usually full of sand that needs to be carefully washed out.
Portobellos Mushrooms are Ideal for Asparagus Leek and Mushroom Pizza
I used baby portobello mushrooms here. Portobellos are always delicious but you can use the larger portobellos cut into slices or just use white button mushrooms if that’s what you have on hand. As always, just brush away any dirt with a soft brush or cloth.
So once the asparagus is ribboned and the mushrooms, leeks, and onions sliced, just layer it all on top of the pizza.
A Hot Oven for Pizza
A hot oven is essential for pizza. Mine goes up to 550 degrees F so that’s the temperature I use. When it’s that hot, though, regular pans will sometimes warp, although mine have so far straightened back out once they cooled off.
Asparagus Leek and Mushroom Pizza with Roasted Beet Sauce
Asparagus Leek and Mushroom Pizza with Roasted Beet Sauce is a delicious dinner that's perfect for spring. It has all the flavors we associate with this time of year. The roasted beet sauce is delectably sweet and earthy, and the spring vegetables (and fungi!) are divine.
Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted beet sauce get recipe at link
Pizza Crust
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/4 cup Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour Mix or Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk
- 1/2 teaspoon lactic acid
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Toppings
- 8 oz vegan cheese shreds
- 1 cup asparagus ribbons
- 1 cup sliced leeks
- 1/2 cup sliced red onion
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon capers optional
Instructions
Pizza Crust
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Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl and add the yeast and sugar. Allow the yeast to bloom for about 5 minutes. The water will start to turn cloudy and little puffs of growing yeast will start to appear. You'll know it when you see it. This just means your yeast is alive.
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Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well to incorporate.
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Knead the dough by hand or use a dough hook attachment of a mixer. Knead it for about 3 minutes until it's well mixed. Gluten-free dough will not develop gluten strands but kneading does help it become mixed.
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Dust a baking sheet lightly with a sprinkle of flour or finely ground cornmeal.
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Roll the dough into your desired shape. You can do this directly on the baking sheet to avoid having to move the crust.
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Let the crust rise from 10 to 30 minutes in a warm place. The longer the rise the fluffier the crust will be.
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Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
Toppings
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Spread the roasted beet sauce on the crust then sprinkle on all but about 1/4 cup of the vegan cheese shreds.
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Evenly distribute the asparagus ribbons, sliced leeks, sliced mushrooms, red onion, and capers.
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Sprinkle on the last of the vegan cheese shreds.
Bake
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Bake at 500 degrees F for about 12 to 15 minutes until the crust and cheese is starting to brown.
XO Lisa
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Want more recipes that are great for spring? Try these!
Hello! I’m Lisa, a vegan artist, photographer, author, Vegan Life Coach Educator, and RYT 200 yoga teacher. I love showing others how simple and delicious a plant-based diet can be. I draw and paint, cook, write, take lots of pics, eat lots of chocolate, and practice gratitude daily.