The best vegan pizzas, signature recipes from all over Italy

And what about vegan pizza? It's practically been around forever, even if you've never noticed. Just think that, unlike the very traditional piadina (you remember the lard in it, right?), the white pizza or focaccia we've never given up since childhood is 100% vegan. So are a good number of traditional recipes, like pizza rossa, pizza with mushrooms, ortolana, and pizza with potatoes. Today, the challenge is getting more interesting, and while some might consider it heretical, pizza without mozzarella or cured meats is much more common than it seems. We asked 12 pizza chefs and pizzerias across Italy to share a "creative" recipe from their menu. Here are their suggestions:

A Rota – Rome (Cream of pumpkin soup, spinach salad, mushrooms and onion)

At his recently opened Tor Pignattara location, in the vibrant and authentic outskirts of Rome, Roman pizza chef Sami El Sabawy offers a completely plant-based recipe. The crispy, highly digestible pizza base is topped with pumpkin cream, spinach salad, mushrooms, and red onion. The menu also features traditional Roman vegan options, such as the funghi (mushroom) and the simple rossa (red) pizza.

Battil'oro – Querceta – Lucca (Cream of onions, chickpeas, escarole, and wakame seaweed)

Gennaro Battiloro's pizza is a family affair. "It's called Rita and has a story tied to childhood memories with my grandmother, to whom I wanted to dedicate it. I still think back to Sundays with my family, to my fisherman uncles returning from the sea with crates full of fish and seaweed that my grandmother would transform into delicious fritters." This delicious pizza is made with sweet and sour red onion cream, chickpea mousse, rich raw escarole, and puffed wakame seaweed.

Berberè – Castelmaggiore – Bologna (Olives, onion, tomato and oregano)

At all Berberè locations (starting in Bologna, but also in Florence, Milan, Rome, Turin, and Verona), the current vegan pizza is called "Mediterranea." Black olives, sautéed red onion, tomato, and Pantelleria oregano are the ingredients. Alongside this specialty, marinara, and other more classic versions that don't include any animal products, the entire pizza menu can be adapted by removing cured meats and cheeses.

Cocciuto – Milan (Arugula, courgette flowers, dried tomatoes, olives)

In the elegant pizzerias of the Cocciuto brand, the pursuit of sustainability doesn't seem to be a purely accessory factor. Vegan options are now featured as specials on the pizza menu, which pays careful attention to local produce and Slow Food Presidia. An example? The vegan version with creamed arugula, zucchini flowers, sun-dried tomatoes, Caiazzo olives, organic extra virgin olive oil, and fresh organic basil.

Mamma Rosa -Ortezzano – Fermo (drained herbs, Taggiasca olives, dried tomatoes and walnuts)

In Ortezzano, in the province of Fermo, the simplicity of Marcello D'Erasmo's Neapolitan pizza is one of the keys to its success. His vegan offering is called "La Mestecanza" and is made with pan-fried herbs, Taggiasca olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and walnuts. The crust is airy and well-defined.

I Masanielli – Caserta (San Marzano tomatoes cooked in brown sugar and sprout salad)

There's a touch of poetry even in the name. "Come in un prato" by Francesco Martucci features a base of San Marzano tomatoes cooked in cane sugar. Out of the oven, it's topped with a salad of sprouts from 30 different varieties and a few mint leaves for a refreshing touch. As Francesco comments, this pizza was born from his extensive travels and his passion for cooking and great chefs. "One evening, eating at Alain Passard's, I realized that plant-based cuisine deserved to be explored in depth, and by studying this chef's cooking and plant-based cuisine, I created a pizza that also catered to vegans."

Plan B – Syracuse (Jerusalem artichoke, pumpkin, olives, pumpkin seeds, and chili pepper)

From pizza chef Friedrich Schmuck's Roman and South Tyrolean roots, pizzas are created that exude Sicilian ingredients. In this unique context, how could a vegan pizza be missing? Here it is: creamy Jerusalem artichoke soup, sautéed pumpkin cubes, Taggiasca olives, pumpkin seeds, and chili pepper flakes. The dough is made with whole wheat flour.

Pupillo Pura Pizza – Frosinone/ Priverno (Pumpkin and Cabbage)

At his two locations, Priverno and Frosinone, pizza chef Luca Mastracci offers a delicious Pumpkin and Cabbage pizza, a tribute to seasonal vegetables. The ingredients are creamed Sicilian broccoli, sautéed pumpkin, crispy cavolo nero, and toasted hazelnuts. In this pizza, "the sweetness of the diced pumpkin, combined with the softness and bold flavor of the Sicilian broccoli cream, make it a delightful discovery for everyone, thanks also to the crunchy hint of cavolo nero and the light toasted flavor of the hazelnuts."

Francesco and Salvatore Salvo Pizzeria – San Giorgio a Cremano – Naples (Six Tomatoes)

From an idea born with Chef Salvatore Bianco of Il Comandante Restaurant in Naples, here's "Tomato Pizza," made with six tomatoes for six textures. "Our passion for tomatoes guided us in imagining a pizza that embodies all the qualities of this fantastic vegetable." For this vegan pizza, Salvatore Bianco used six tomatoes and transformed them into six "different" ingredients: Corbara Corbarì tomatoes as a base, San Marzano DOP Conserve San Nicola dei Miri tomato pulp, oven-dried datterino tomatoes, grilled tomatoes, smoked datterino cream, and Piennolo del Vesuvio tomatoes marinated in oil and basil.

Renato Bosco Pizzeria – San Martino Buon Albergo – Verona (celeriac, pumpkin, and soy)

Renato Bosco presents one of his iconic creations: Steamed Bread Air. This pizza is unique both for its preparation (the dough is made exclusively with PastaMadreViva) and for its cooking, which, as the name suggests, is steamed. The vegan topping is made with creamed celeriac, radicchio, pumpkin, colored chard, sprouts, and soy sauce. "The original name for this pizza was REvoluzione because it was the RE-volution of REnato's pizza concept. The first people to try it said, 'It melts, it disappears, it's air!'" It was named: Bread Air. We read on the website. It's served in slices.

Seu Pizza Illuminati – Rome (Mushroom Absolute)

Pier Daniele Seu has been experimenting with different uses of vegetables in his absolutes for years. The Mushroom Absolute, for example, is a stylistic exercise in which mushrooms, the "absolute" protagonists of the recipe, are presented in five different ways: cream of porcini mushrooms, mixed seasonal mushrooms, marinated pioppini mushrooms, mushroom essence gel, mushroom slab, and savory. But there are many other options, which are renewed with great creativity with each menu and seasonal change.

La Sorgente – Guardiagrele – Chieti (mustard, mugnuli, marasciuolo, turnip tops, polenta)

In this corner of Abruzzo, vegan pizza is a modern twist on Pizz' e Foje (no anchovies in this version). The ingredients are wild mustard, mugnuli, marasciuolo, turnip greens, orange-glazed polenta, and Altino sweet peppers on a pizza base made with locally sourced spelt flour. The idea harks back to the peasant tradition of harvesting various vegetables (foje) from the fields to make them a "natural" sustenance, paired with a corn pizza. A truly wintery recipe, typical of this area.