The Surprising Cheese Substitute That Will Improve Your Vegan Pizzas

Pizza is a universal language that transcends cultural boundaries. Teeming with comforting carbs, tangy sauce, gooey cheese, and a smorgasbord of toppings, pizza is for the people, and yes, that includes vegans and lactose-sensitive foodies. The only trouble with dairy-free pizza is that plant-based cheese alternatives don't always stack up to the rich, fatty essence of real stuff. But that isn't a hard rule, especially if you use the right ingredients. To get the scoop on how to make the cheesiest cheese-free pizzas, Chowhound spoke with celebrity chef Chris Tucker — vegan extraordinaire and purveyor of plant-based cheeses that satisfy just like the real thing.

As a vegan chef, Tucker is perfectly aware that the biggest challenge with making plant-based pizza is perfecting the cheese. But his solution is simple and accessible, "If you can't find one that you like," he says, "I would use cashew cream as a pourable cheese." Vegan cheese is notoriously difficult to melt, but cashew cream is velvety enough to mimic the drippy goddess of oven-baked cheese. Plus, Tucker notes that it browns up nicely, giving it that smoldering, blistered finish that pizza lovers know and love.

The foundation of cashew cream is, you guessed it, cashews. The nuts are typically soaked overnight to soften them up, before getting blended with water to create a thick, dairy cream alternative that's surprisingly fatty and deceptively cheesy. Of course, you can always introduce added fixings like lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and spices for a little extra pizzazz. If you don't want to make cashew cream at home, you may be able to find it at your supermarket with other vegan items in the dairy aisle.

Cashew cream is a vegan pizza's secret weapon, but there are other ways to enjoy the gooey comforts of a hearty pizza pie sans cheese. Whether you integrate them into a cashew cream pizza to double up on faux dairy goodness or use them in place of cashew cream altogether, having alternative options lends itself to more diverse ingredient combos — a tenet of pizza-making.

Nutritional yeast is a staple in vegan kitchens for good reason. Notoriously cheesy and as yellow as sharp cheddar, dusting your pizza with nutritional yeast is just as tasty as adding on an avalanche of grated parmesan. Dot your pizza with almond ricotta dollops by blending skinned almonds with nutritional yeast, lemon juice, almond milk, and water until it's thick and creamy. To enjoy the plush mouthfeel of cheese without using official cheese alternatives, consider topping your pizza with provisions that are rich in fat like avocado, olives, and tahini.

And when all else fails, and takeout pizza is calling your name, Tucker reminds us that "Most places offer vegan cheese these days, but if they don't," he adds, "just opt to go cheese-less and load it up with veggies!" After all, double the sauce can be double the fun, even without cheese of any kind.