Fig Balsamic Pizza
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Have you ever enjoyed a meal at a restaurant and thought "man, I'm totally going to make that at home!" That's exactly what happened with this Fig Balsamic Pizza recipe.
While in Telluride, Colorado the summer of 2019, we had a fig pizza at Brown Dog Pizza. The ingredients were deceptively simple, but I never would've thought to put them together myself. So I knew it was going to be a great candidate for recreating at home.
The first time I tried making this Fig Balsamic Pizza, I started with a store-bought whole wheat crust, pictured above, topped it with fig preserves spread thinly, added purchased vegan mozzarella cheese, then my TVP pepperoni, and, once baked, drizzled it with balsamic glaze.
It was soooo good!
Now I've started making it with home made oil-free pizza dough. It's so much easier to make than I thought it would be! And after throwing away a couple of store bought dough balls because they overproofed in the fridge, it's much less wasteful. The ingredients are all shelf stable and easy to keep on hand.
And since it's hot outside right now, we've been cooking this on our Traeger Scout Pellet Grill. The smoky flavor it adds is similar to wood-fired pizza. I highly recommend you try grilling pizza if you haven't before.
You'll also see some photos below of this pizza with a broken up Boca Burger instead of my home made TVP pepperoni. Swap out ingredients - it's okay! Whether you decide to make all of the recipes for this Fig Balsamic Pizza or you buy some of those ingredients ready-made I promise the flavor profile is delicious.
Oil-Free Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast or bread machine or fast-acting active dry yeast
- ¾ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl stir together all of the ingredients until well mixed. Stir in 3/4 cup warm water (120°F to 130°F) until a ball starts to form and most of the flour is absorbed.
- Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 2-3 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. You can also do this in a stand mixer. Add more flour or water as needed to get a smooth dough. This will vary depending on the humidity and moisture content of the flour.
- Cover and let rest 10 minutes. It will rise slightly. Then it's ready to use. To make ahead, cover and chill up to 4 hours.
Notes
Below is the oil-free pizza dough version on our grill. For this pizza I used a crumbled up Boca Burger instead of the TVP Pepperoni.
TVP Pepperoni Crumbles
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) or crumbled soy curls
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 1 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
Instructions
- Mix spices together with TVP or Soy Curls in a medium bowl. Add the boiling water and liquid smoke, stir to combine, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and sprinkle on top of your pizza before cooking.
Notes
Fig Balsamic Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 oil-free pizza crust (recipe above) or your favorite pre-made crust or dough ball
- 1/2 TVP Pepperoni Crumbles (recipe above) or store bought pepperoni or burger crumbles
- 3 tablespoons fig jam or preserves
- 3/4 cup vegan mozzarella shreds
- 2 tbsp balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Make oil-free pizza crust if using. While it's rising, make the TVP Pepperoni Crumbles if you're using.
- Preheat oven to 400ºF or preheat your grill. Roll out crust to fit your pizza pan or grill surface (our grill surface is about the size of a 1/4 sheet pan.) If cooking on a pan instead of parchment or a grill mat, lightly sprinkle with cornmeal before putting down dough to prevent sticking.
- Bake or grill the crust for 5 minutes or so until it's just starting to color. When we grill our crust, we don't put a lip on it and flip it before adding toppings but that isn't totally necessary if you don't want to take the step.
- Spread the fig jam in a thin layer all over the crust. Top with vegan cheese shreds. Sprinkle the TVP Pepperoni Crumbles over the top. Return to the oven or grill and cook 5-7 more minutes until crust is cooked through and cheese starts to melt.
- When pizza is done cooking, squeeze balsamic glaze back and forth over the top of the pizza in a ribbon. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
How do you feel about mixing sweet and savory flavors? If you've never it, this Fig Balsamic Pizza is a good place to start!
