Appetizers/Snacks

February 14, 2022

Veggie Pizza Dip

Veggie Pizza Dip is a fun and tasty addition to any game-day spread, movie night, or party snacks! 

This Veggie Pizza Dip is a hearty, yet lightened up version of a dip I grew up with. My family used to make a pizza dip every year for the Super Bowl. It started with cream cheese as the base, followed by pizza sauce, lots of shredded cheese, and our favorite pizza toppings. It’s the one food that stands out most in my memories of our Super Bowl parties!

This new version replaces the cream cheese with a homemade tofu ricotta for the base. Not only does this reduce the amount of dairy in the dish, but it also amps up the protein content. It also means this dip could easily be made vegan by using a plant-based shredded cheese in place of mozzarella, and omitting the parmesan topping. If you have vegetarian or vegan friends coming to the party, or if you are just looking for more plant-based options for yourself, make this dip! Your guests will thank you, and likely not leave you any leftovers. 

If there does happen to be leftovers, spread the dip between two slices of bread, add an extra slice of good melting cheese, and make yourself a grilled cheese sandwich. Trust me on this - pizza grilled cheese is beautiful marriage of comfort foods. 

Ingredients assembled for Veggie Pizza Dip
Assemble your ingredients.

Making the tofu ricotta mixture in a high-speed blender
Start by making the tofu ricotta mixture in a food processor or high-speed blender.

Stages of layering the pizza dip in a baking dish
Layer the pizza dip ingredients in a square baking dish: start with the tofu ricotta, then the pizza sauce, then shredded mozzarella, then veggies, and top with parmesan.

Veggie Pizza Dip hot from the oven
Bake the pizza dip covered with foil for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake 10 minutes more.

Two slices of French bread covered with pizza dip on a white plate
Serve with slices of crusty French bread for dipping.

A hand holding a slice of bread covered in pizza dip with a good stretch of melted cheese
Watch as your guests (or you!) devour this Veggie Pizza Dip!

Veggie Pizza Dip

Veggie Pizza Dip is a fun and tasty addition to any game-day spread, movie night, or party snacks!

Author:

Kira Freed - The Joyful Plateful

Prep:

15

min

cook:

35

min

total:

50

min

Ingredients

For tofu ricotta: 

16 oz. extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed to remove excess moisture

4 cloves garlic, peeled

Juice of 1 small lemon

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

1 Tbsp. white miso paste

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper


For Pizza Dip:

14 oz. pizza sauce (1 jar)

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 small red onion, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

3 oz. black olives, sliced

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese


Sliced crusty French bread or baguette, for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a deep 9x9-inch baking dish, and set aside. 
  2. Start by making the tofu ricotta. In a food processor or high-speed blender, combine all the tofu ricotta ingredients. Process or blend until smooth. Spread the tofu ricotta mixture evenly in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. 
  3. Pour the pizza sauce over the tofu ricotta mixture, and spread to evenly cover. 
  4. Scatter the shredded mozzarella evenly over the top of the pizza sauce. 
  5. Scatter the diced red onion, diced green bell pepper, and sliced olives evenly over the cheese. 
  6. Top with grated parmesan, evenly scattered over the vegetables. 
  7. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes, covered. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes uncovered. 
  8. Serve pizza dip hot from the oven with sliced crusty bread for dipping. Store leftover pizza dip in the fridge (if there is any!). 


Note: You can substitute a plant-based shredded cheese for the mozzarella, and omit the parmesan topping if you want to make this dip vegan. 

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March 19, 2024
Hannah
Sounds sooooo yummy. I will definitely prepare this