Vegan cheeseburger pizza with 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.

In this post:

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!

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

(I used to use Monteli crusts from Trader Joe’s, but sadly, they’ve been discontinued.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

📖 Recipe

Vegan cheeseburger pizza with special sauce

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 3 votes

This All-American favorite is topped with browned veggie burger, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and special sauce. By using short-cuts like a frozen pizza crust & store-bought veggie burger, this easy weeknight meal is ready in just 20 minutes. The whole family will love it!

The pizza serves 3 people with two slices per person.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 3 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 17 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 people

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: comfort food, semi-homemade, weeknight friendly

Ingredients

Vegan cheeseburger pizza

• ▢ ½ teaspoon avocado oil or other neutral-flavored, high heat oil
• ▢ 1 veggie burger thawed if necessary
• ▢ 1 10-inch frozen pizza crust
• ▢ ½ cup marinara or pizza sauce
• ▢ ¼ cup shredded non-dairy cheese I use a mixture of mozzarella & cheddar
• ▢ 2 romaine leaves chopped
• ▢ ¼ cup chopped tomatoes or 6 sliced cherry tomatoes
• ▢ ¼ cup dill pickle slices
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon minced onion

Special sauce (Vegan Thousand Island dressing)

• ▢ 2 Tablespoons vegan mayonnaise I use Vegenaise
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon ketchup
• ▢ ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon finely chopped dill pickles

Instructions

To make vegan cheeseburger pizza

• ▢
  Preheat oven to 420 degrees.

  (Depending on the pizza crust you are using, you may need to adjust the temperature and cooking time. Follow the package instructions on your specific crust.)
• ▢
  Bring a non-stick skillet to a medium heat along with oil. Crumble the veggie burger into the skillet. Saute a few minutes, until browned. Then remove from heat & set aside.
• ▢
  Use a spoon to cover the pizza crust in marinara. Top with browned veggie burger and shredded non-dairy cheese.
• ▢
  Put the pizza directly onto the oven grate & bake for 12 minutes (or however long it says to bake on your crust instructions).
• ▢
  While the pizza is baking, chop the vegetable toppings for the pizza and make the special sauce.
• ▢
  When the pizza is done, remove it from the oven and cut it into 6 slices. Top it with chopped romaine, tomatoes, dill pickle slices, and minced onion. Finish with drizzles of special sauce across the pizza and serve.

To make special sauce (vegan Thousand Island dressing)

• ▢
  In a small bowl, combine vegan mayonnaise, ketchup, lemon juice, and dill pickles. Set aside.

Notes

I use a frozen pizza crust. However, you can use the crust of your choice. Either make your own from scratch, or use store-bought crust or dough. Follow the directions specific to your crust for the oven temperature and cooking time.

For the veggie burger, I used a Gardein beefless burger. They come frozen. So I quickly thawed one in the microwave using the defrost function for 30 seconds to a minute. Then use your hands to crumble it into the pan.

Feel free to use your favorite veggie burger for the pizza. Other good veggie burger options for this pizza include Beyond Meat or Impossible burgers. Use about the same amount of vegan meat as you would for one burger. Or you can use beefless crumbles.

For the cheese, I like to do a half and half mixture of shredded non-dairy cheddar and mozzarella. 

If you have leftovers, I recommend removing the cold ingredients before reheating the pizza. It’s not as good with warm romaine and pickles. You can put them back onto the slices once they are reheated.

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Nutrition

Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 719mg | Potassium: 312mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1874IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1mg