Vegan cheeseburger pizza with special sauce

This vegan cheeseburger pizza recipe has all of the classic, All-American flavors of a burger but in pizza form.

Plus, it’s ready in just 20 minutes. Don’t forget the pickles & special sauce!

Every Monday at our house is pizza night.

When the week is just getting started, I like to ease in to real life by making something that’s super easy & always sounds good.

We change up what kind of toppings we do.

• Sometimes it’s a vegan taco pizza.
• Other times it’s a chili dog pizza.
• Occasionally, I hearken back to childhood with air fryer bagel pizzas.

But lately, I’ve been making this cheeseburger pizza recipe.

Oh, my goodness.

I can’t even say exactly which aspect of this pizza is my favorite, because it all works so perfectly together. It’s harmony in action.

There’s a meaty, smoky veggie burger that has the grill flavor built right in.

There are two kinds of non-dairy cheeses melted on top – mozzarella and cheddar.

There are the classic burger toppings of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles.

Then there’s a drizzling of special sauce that takes it all the way home. It’s that nostalgic fast food burger flavor, but on a crispy crust.

Plus, the whole shebang is ready in only 20 minutes!

By using some store-bought shortcuts of a frozen crust and prepared burger, a family-friendly dinner really couldn’t be much faster or more universally adored.

Which kind of veggie burger should I use?

For this recipe, I used a Gardein beefless burger. They come frozen with four to a package.

Since the whole pizza uses just one burger, you can really stretch out a bag of them this way.

But feel free to use any veggie burger you like.

Toothsome, meaty burgers work particularly well at evoking the traditional flavors of this dish.

Other good options would be Beyond Meat or Impossible burgers.

Just use about the same amount of vegan meat that you’d typically use for one burger. Then crumble it into the pan.

Or you can use beefless crumbles. Your call!

What kind of crust is best?

To make this a really simple & fast weeknight meal, I like to use a store-bought frozen crust.

Trader Joe’s sells frozen crusts from Monteli, which come two to a package.

They’re a freezer staple at our house, and one of my favorite vegan Trader Joe’s products. (<–You can see a picture of the package through that link.)

I do like to make one adjustment, though. The Monteli instructions say to cook the crust for 6 to 7 minutes.

I don’t think it’s crisp enough at that point. I recommend cooking for at least 12 minutes instead.

If you’d rather make a crust from scratch, use store-bought dough, or a different frozen crust, by all means, go for it. Simply follow the oven temperature & cooking times on the package.

Keep in mind that the Monteli crust is 10 inches. Adjust accordingly with the amount of toppings you might need on a different sized crust.

What about the special sauce?

The special sauce is also known as vegan Thousand Island dressing.

It’s made with a mixture of eggless mayo, ketchup, diced pickles, and lemon juice.

It has a tanginess and slight sweetness that really finishes the experience beautifully.

If you want to make a double batch, it’s also terrific on a jackfruit reuben, Rachel sandwich, or vegan crab cakes.

Short on time? Grab a bottle of prepared vegan Thousand Island dressing to use instead of homemade.

Step by step instructions

Start by preheating the oven to 420 degrees.

Then break up & brown a veggie burger in a skillet.

Top a frozen crust with marinara or pizza sauce, veggie burger, non-dairy mozzarella, and cheddar.

Pop it into the oven right on the grill grates.

While the pizza cooks, chop the cold vegetables to go on top.

Then mix up the special sauce in a bowl with eggless mayo, ketchup, lemon juice, and diced pickle.

Finish your pizza with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, and special sauce.

Tips on reheating

If you have leftovers, I recommend removing the cold ingredients before reheating.

Take off the lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. The onions can stay.

(Warm pickles and lettuce may be standard on a conveyer belt burger. But no one wants to emulate that, right?)

So take off the cold veggie toppings, and set them aside.

After you’ve warmed the pizza, pop them back on the slices.

If you have any special sauce left over, that’s a good time for another fresh drizzle.

By the way, my favorite way to reheat pizza these days is in the air fryer.

While it would be tricky to cook a full-sized pizza that way, it works like a dream for reheating slices.

You don’t have to preheat the air fryer. And it makes everything crisp & melty again, unlike the microwave, which doesn’t do a crust any favors.

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