This Oil-free Easy Vegan Pizza Crust is so simple to make, requires no yeast and is also just 5 main ingredients and oil-free! It takes only 15 minutes prep and about 15 minutes in the oven and it’s ready to eat!
OIL-FREE EASY VEGAN PIZZA CRUST NO YEAST
When the pizza dough is so delicious that my daughter keeps eating it raw and asking if she can have more, you know it’s good, haha!
I’m all about sharing simple recipes with simple methods and as much as I love a fluffy, airy and light pizza crust, they just take too much time. Since we eat pizza literally every weekend, I created this no yeast oil-free pizza crust awhile back and and we’ve been eating it every weekend and am excited to finally share it. I was waiting to share it within the same week as the Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese, so that is why it took me awhile.
What kind of crust fan are you? Me? I love a thin and crispy crust much more than a super thick one. This is simply because I don’t want to just eat tons of crust, but would rather have a crispy edge with lots of sauce, toppings and vegan cheese as my perfect pizza.
Because of that, this yeast-free vegan pizza crust is the perfect pizza dough for thin and crispy pizzas. In fact, it is really the only kind of pizza dough it should be. The texture is simply better than a really fluffy kind when it comes to pizza dough. This is because fluffy pizza crust you will want to be really light and airy, which is the result of using yeast. Since we aren’t using yeast, thin and crispy is the way to go. If you are wanting fluffy and airy, find a pizza crust recipe with yeast instead. This is meant to be a quick and easy recipe for quick pizza night. Make sense? Good, let’s make some easy vegan pizza crust.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(full amounts and details on recipe card below)
- Regular all-purpose white flour
- Baking powder
- Garlic powder
- Italian seasoning: Use either my homemade recipe (which I used) or store-bought is totally fine.
- Salt
- Dairy-free plain, unsweetened high fat yogurt: I used Kite Hill almond yogurt that is high fat, super thick and creamy. Coconut or soy yogurt should work fine as well, just do not use a low-fat, watery one. Remember, this is a no oil pizza crust and most pizza dough recipes rely on oil for some fat, so this is why you want a really creamy yogurt here. It is also provides SO much flavor to the dough. My daughter honestly likes to just eat the dough because it’s so flavorful and not bland like many pizza doughs can be.
- Water
HOW TO MAKE PIZZA CRUST WITHOUT YEAST
Step 1: First, before you get started on making this oil-free pizza crust, make sure you have some of my Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese and Homemade 5 Minute Pizza Sauce made, so you can have the ultimate vegan pizza! Both are featured here on the pizza in the photos.
Step 2: To a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt. Whisk very well until thoroughly blended.
Step 3: To the same bowl, add the yogurt and water.
Step 4: Use a large wooden spoon and stir together the ingredients until it all comes together into a rough ball and no longer sticking to the bowl. It should be slightly sticky, but not wet.
Step 5: Add the ball of dough to a floured work surface and knead the dough for just a few minutes until smooth and cohesive, patting the palms of each hand with the flour from the surface, as needed, to work and knead the dough to prevent sticking.
Step 6: Form it into a smooth round even ball.
Step 7: This dough will yield 2 large pizzas or 3 personal size pizzas. Sometimes I divide the dough into 3 and make 3 different pizzas. OR, I will make 2 large separate pizzas. In this case, you will divide the dough in half. If making just one large pizza, you can freeze the other half of the dough. Or bake them both right away onto separate pans.
Step 8: Flour a rolling pin and roll out repeatedly in every direction to form a large round-ish shape. Now, super important, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick. Get out a ruler if you need to, to make sure. This is what will yield a thin and crispy crust, if you do not roll it this thin, your crust will fluff up way too much and be dry.
Step 9: Carefully transfer the dough to the lined pan and prebake it for ONLY 4 minutes at 400°F. This is so the center gets cooked well and not soggy.
Step 10: Add toppings of choice. Bake 10-15 more minutes until the cheese is golden and the edges are crispy. See recipe card for further details.
FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS
Yay, this oil free vegan pizza dough can be frozen! You will take any unused dough and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and place inside a freezer-safe container. Once ready to use, remove from the freezer and let it come back to room temperature and soft before making the pizza crust. This should take anywhere from 4-5 hours depending on how long it has been frozen.
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Oil-free Easy Vegan Pizza Crust (No Yeast!)
Ingredients
- 3 cups (384g) regular white all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (either my homemade blend or store-bought)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons (45g) dairy-free plain, unsweetened high fat yogurt (I used Kite Hill almond yogurt that is high fat, super thick and creamy. Coconut or soy yogurt should work fine as well, just do not use a low-fat, watery one.)
- 3/4 cup + 3 tablespoons (225g) room temperature water
NOTE
- Always when working with flours and especially dough, you want your measurements accurate. Please weigh your ingredients if possible, so you get the exact right ratios. You don't need to use the cups to compare measurements, just simply use my gram weights listed, hitting zero before and after each ingredient addition. Everybody scoops flour differently, so this is important when working with dough and makes it so easy.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Now, before you get started on making this pizza dough, make sure you have some of my Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese and Homemade 5 Minute Pizza Sauce made, so you can have the ultimate vegan pizza!
- Please keep in mind since this is a no-yeast pizza dough, it will not taste the same as a traditional light and airy, fluffy pizza crust, obviously. It is a thin and crispy crust that is perfect for quick pizza night. We all love it and I make it weekly, but it is not comparable to a yeasted pizza dough, so just keep that in mind. The dough is obviously more dense because of no yeast, so this is why we roll out the dough very thin, so it bakes up nice and crispy. This recipe is not meant to be used for a fluffy pizza crust.
- The great thing about this dough is it yields 2 large pizzas, about 10-12 inch in size OR yields 3 personal size pizzas, about 8 inch in size. You can use all the dough at once or divide it in half and freeze the rest.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a pizza pan or large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- To a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt. Whisk very well until thoroughly blended.
- To the same bowl, add the yogurt and water.
- Use a large wooden spoon and stir together the ingredients until it all comes together into a rough ball and no longer sticking to the bowl. It should be slightly sticky, but not wet.
- Flour a large work surface, as you will need to use the flour to add as you work and knead the dough and so the bottom doesn't stick.
- Add the ball of dough to the floured work surface and knead the dough for just a few minutes until smooth and cohesive, patting the palms of each hand with the flour from the surface, as needed, to work and knead the dough to prevent sticking. If will be slightly sticky so you will need the flour. If you are new to kneading dough, the method is pressing the dough with your hands, folding it over on itself, flipping it over, etc. and basically massaging it until it becomes smooth and pliable and no longer breaking off into pieces. It should be holding its shape but not be overly tough. (Refer to pics)
- Form it into a smooth round even ball as pictured. This dough will yield 2 large pizzas or 3 personal size pizzas. Sometimes I divide the dough into 3 and make a different pizza for each my daughter, myself and my husband. OR, I will make 2 large separate pizzas. In this case, you will divide the dough in half. If making just one large pizza, you can freeze the other half of the dough. Or bake them both right away onto separate pans. See freezing instructions under Notes below.
- TIP: If you are nervous about transferring your rolled out pizza dough to the pan, then roll it out onto a large piece of parchment paper so you can easily pick it up and move it. Otherwise, make sure your surface is floured and roll the dough out directly on it. (That is what I do, since I find rolling annoying on paper.) Get a rolling pin and flour it well. After halving the dough, roll out repeatedly in every direction to form a large round-ish shape. Now, super important, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick. Get out a ruler if you need to, to make sure. If you don't roll it out this thin, it will bake and fluff up TOO much and the texture will not turn out right or be crispy on the edges. Remember, as mentioned, this is a no yeast dough, therefore it is not meant to be a fluffy, airy dough, only thin and crispy. The dough will still bake up plenty, regardless of how it may seem for rolling it out that thin.
- Do your best to make it an even 1/8 inch thick across. It doesn't matter what size round you make it (personal size if you are doing 3 or 2 large ones), as long as the 1/8 inch thickness is correct, so don't stress over making it exactly round or 12 inches wide. It should be roughly between 10-12 inches when doing 2 large ones and about 8 inch round doing personal size.
- Carefully transfer the dough to the lined pan and prebake it for ONLY 4 minutes. Set the timer. This is just to slightly bake it before adding our toppings, so the center is cooked through and yields a better texture. You will notice how much it rises just from that 4 minutes!
- Add any toppings of choice. My favorite toppings are to add my homemade pizza sauce spread out generously right up the edge with a small gap as pictured. Add lots of diced bell peppers, sliced olives, sliced pickled jalapenos and then huge dollops and drizzles of my vegan mozzarella and a generous sprinkling of my Italian seasoning all over!
- Bake for another 10-15 minutes (I went the full 15 minutes) until the cheese is golden brown on top. Ovens can vary. For my oven, the full 15 minutes yielded nice crispy/crunchy edges and browned cheese. If you don't want an extra crispy crust, cook only 10 minutes. After removing from the oven, add fresh basil leaves if desired. Serve!
Notes
- FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS: Yay, this dough can be frozen! You will take any unused dough and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and place inside a freezer-safe container. Once ready to use, remove from the freezer and let it come back to room temperature and soft before making the pizza crust. This should take anywhere from 4-5 hours depending on how long it has been frozen.
- GLUTEN-FREE: Can this be made gluten-free? I do not know. You are welcome to try an all-purpose gluten-free blend if you like, but since those all perform so differently, I cannot give advice on how it will work or bake up. I only ever make this with white flour, so I do not know how other flours will perform.
- YOGURT: The yogurt adds a lot of flavor to the dough and replaces any oil that normally would be used, so it's an important ingredient. I love the Kite Hill almond artisan yogurt because it is high fat and exceptionally thick and creamy. You can find this yogurt at Sprouts, Kroger or Whole Foods. But a soy or coconut yogurt or cashew yogurt should all work. Just make sure to not use a low-fat yogurt. If you absolutely cannot find yogurt where you live, maybe try a vegan sour cream? Or try thick coconut cream (not milk!) with adding a teaspoon of lemon juice mixed into the cream first. Please note I have not tested this, but it would be my best suggestion.
Nutrition
Do you HAVE TO USE ANY YOGURT or can I just use some plant milk? Really dislike the yogurt. Thx!
The yogurt adds moisture and flavor. I haven’t tried it with anything else so I don’t know the result. You could try a thick coconut cream in place of it, but it will make the crust less flavorful.
Being from St. Louis originally thin crispy curst is my jam! This along with your sauce and cheese was 2 legit to quit 🙂 Keep on keeping on. I can’t wait to keep trying more!!
Have you or anyone tried using this dough for calzones? I’m wondering how it does with the stretching and crimping to hold the ingredients in. It sounds great.
I haven’t but that sounds so delicious! Worth an experiment.
Help! I prebaked the crust for just 4 minutes as instructed then added the toppings and baked for another 15-17 minutes. The edges were still white after that time.
It was a bit soggy on the top half of the crust along where the toppings are but tough(not crispy) along the edges. Could this be because my pizza sauce was too wet I guess? Or is it under-cooked still? I used your pizza sauce recipe.
This is a VERY simple and flavourful recipe! I substitute the coconut cream without the lemon juice with no problems and use a pizza stone. It turns out delicious every time! The stone needs to be at 425 and the crust still turns out perfect. I’ve made it 3 times in 3 weeks and it never fails, even though I’m not a very precise cook. I’ve made it 1/4″ and 1/8″. It is definitely not fluffy (which we love), but it is also not dry or tough. It reheats in the microwave perfectly if you put it on a damp paper towel. This will definitely remain a regular go-to recipe in our house.
I prefer a thicker crust pizza dough typically, so was hesitant to try this recipe, but decided to go for it since it looked so easy. Man, am I glad I tried it! It was great! Since it was so thin, I was able to stuff myself with so much more pizza! LOL. All the kids loved it and so did my husband, win/win!
So very happy you loved this thin crust style Nina!! Haha, yes, way more toppings and pizza you can eat when there is less crust, hahaha!
Sorry, what I meant to say was — I need it to be very low-fat, or none. No oil. No yogurt. No cheese, etc.
Hi Alex, this pizza crust is already really low-fat. There is only 3 tablespoons of yogurt in the whole recipe, and it makes 2 large pizza crusts. Depending on if you serve 4-6 with both pizzas, it’s only 1 to 3 grams of fat per serving (for the crust). For my particular recipe, the yogurt is crucial so it’s not super dry. If you don’t want yogurt either, I’d try to find a very plain wheat crust online that doesn’t use any oil or yogurt either.
Hi there. I have a question — I’m trying to make a low-fat vegan pizza crust WITHOUT oil. Is it possible?
Tasting good is good too 🙂
We loved this pizza crust recipe. It was so easy & baked up nice & crispy just the way we like it. Topped with lots of veggies & your AMAZING mozzarella cheese recipe, it was a win & will definitely be a keeper recipe!
So wonderful to hear that Megan!!
Brandi, we had the crust and cheese for pizza last night and they were WONDERFUL! I think we can add pizza back into our rotation. Finding the yogurt was a bit of a challenge since I had to go to Whole Foods which is about a 30 minute drive away but I paired it with lunch with a friend who lives out that way so win:win for me! Thanks for your wonderful recipes!
That is so amazing to hear Linda, thank you so much for making them Linda!!
Can you recommend a pizza crust I can buy that is whole food plant based? Thank you.
I’ve never found a healthy pizza crust in the stores, which is why I created this recipe above!
Judy, Engine 2 makes a wfpb premade pizza crust. I’ve never had it but I know it exists. You can but it online
I had been searching everywhere for a pizza crust that is oil-free, doesn’t require yeast, and is not gluten free. I was so happy when I saw your post this week with a recipe for the exact pizza crust! I made this last night, and it was delicious! I also ordered your book and am eagerly looking forward to receiving it!
That is so wonderful to hear Jennifer, so happy you loved it!!
My husband actually made this recipe and I just got to eat it but it was FABULOUS. As Brandi notes, it’s not a chewy crust but a great thin crispy crust. We used Brandi’s pizza sauce recipe which is a favorite and ended dinner with Brandi’s fudgy bean brownies! You couldn’t ask for more!
Hubby actually made 2 crusts and baked them so we’ve frozen a ready to use crust and we’ll see how that works later. YUMMM…..
This makes me so very happy to hear Peggy, thank you so much for making it and leaving a review. So awesome to hear about the bean brownies too!!
We are making this recipe today, but are using the only vegan yogurt we have available within 60 miles, so I’m sure it will taste slightly different than intended. No matter, I still have high hopes. Your recipes always leave our family satisfied, and are always the go-to when cooking for our non-vegan friends. They are always impressed! Thank you so much.
Hi Jason, thank you! Yes, I listed you can use either coconut or soy as well, as it should still technically work. Might not be as rich, but still tasty! Let me know after you make it!
Thank you for your response and I apologize for not seeing it when I read through the recipe.
This recipe sounds wonderful but I need it to also be gluten free. Do you have any suggestions as to what flour would work? Or will I have to find a GF recipe that uses yeast?
Thank you.
Hi Margaret, please see the recipe card addressing gluten-free.
Friends I just made Brandi’s new pizza and mozzarella recipe. Oh my word. I literally have no words for these 2 recipes. I’ve made the vegan mozzarella w the tapioca a million times and this is Soo much better – and no cooking. And that crust with no yeast is super crispy and totally heavenly. The best part is it’s so fast while so tasty. James was moaning!! Brandi, I can’t thank you enough for all you do. You’re such a blessing to our life!!
You are the best! Your pics you shared and your review made my whole day!! They were beautiful! xx
I try and stay away from white flour products and I would prefer to make this from white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour. Is that possible to do with this recipe? Thanks,
I wouldn’t do pastry flour, it is not enough gluten for this recipe. You can try white whole wheat! But keep in mind it is whole wheat, higher gluten and a stronger taste since it’s whole grain, so it will make it taste very different and more dense/chewy. I can’t say how it will compare to all-purpose flour since I’ve never tried it, but let me know after you do!