vegetables - olives, mushrooms, artichokes, eggplant, zucchini, raddichio, tomato, broccoli, the list goes on

drizzle olive oil over it all

you could finely chop up nuts and/or use nutritional yeast to sprinkle over the top, it comes out cheesy tasting. or there are a lot of vegan cheeses for sale at wholefoods and health food stores now.
check out vegweb.com for a ton of recipes! enjoy :D

grated smoked tofu! It doesn't melt per se, but it does have a nice salty-smoky flavour that goes well on pizza

amy's makes this amazing no cheese pizza with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts. i have replicated this combo and added other roasted veggies with success. the key is the onions. it is so good.

I really love Daiya vegan cheese. You can find it at your local Whole Foods market. Of all the vegan/veg cheese I've tried, Daiya is the best. It's very 'cheesy' tasting. Also, it melts really, really well. What I really love about Daiya is that it's completely vegan and is soy-free. Another good bet is almond cheese, though I do prefer the Daiya. These are good options for cheezy pizza, however, I actually prefer my pizza without cheese. Maybe with a nice layer of cheese-free pesto and some grilled veggies on top.

if you're lactose intolerant you could try tofu ricotta, cashew cheese, or the incredible daiya cheese.
Also, pesto and as many veggies as you can find and stack on top.

i second the caramelized onion suggestion. with a nicely tomato sauce and good dough, this is delicious!

Goat cheese is often more tolerated - that is the case for me. I put chevre or any goat milk cheese on mine. Its delish!

Very thinly sliced potatoes (so thin they're almost translucent), rosemary, Nicoise olives, and thinly sliced garlic. Just brush the crust with olive oil.

nutritive yeast, it kinda taste like parm cheese.

Also If you are lactose intolerant you would benefit from raw milk cheeses. You can find these at health food stores or depending on your state, a local farmer may have it. Belgioioso has several cheeses that are not pasteurized. The reason you prob. can't tolerate it is because when milk is pasteurized, the enzymes you need to digest it are killed making it very hard to digest.

Pesto! You can leave out the parmesan if you have a milk allergy, but it has virtually no lactose (lactose intolerant husband can handle it no problem--not so mozzarella!). Olivada is another good topping.

I have dairy issues as well and find that a teeny bit of feta never bothers me (also perhaps because it's sheep vs. cow milk). Mozz is the worst for me too and I really don't like the flavor or texture of fake cheese.

I do pizza without cheese all the time, and find that strong or hearty flavors are the best. My favs are: really good olive oil, tomato sauce, or pesto (my own homemade w/out cheese) as a base and then a monstrous load of arugula, olives, pine nuts, good quality anchovies, roasted eggplant, portabella mushrooms, hot peppers. I find I crave the fat that's missing without cheese, so I also often serve it with more good olive oil at the table!

I make a white bean dip (onions, white wine, garlic, stock, white beans, sage..... ) anyway, I have spread that on grilled pizza dough then topped with thin proscuttio slices, grilled mushrooms etc. So I guess a bit more like a flatbread dish, but yummy nonetheless.

I'm lactose intolerant and my boy is not, so we make our pizzas half-cheesed, half-cheeseless. I use pesto a lot (the parmesan doesn't bother me unless I go overboard with it), sundried tomatoes, olives, veggie sausage (or meat on occasion), MUSHROOMS (my favorite hence the caps - usually sauteed first to remove the water), a handful of spinach or arugula. Roasted red pepper. Sometimes artichoke hearts. Baby broccoli (pre-steamed a little bit). A little red onion. Sometimes tomato sauce. If I'm feeling really ambitious, breaded eggplant.

hummus! I like to throw on a little goat cheese, too, as well as lots of veggies.

My GF is allergic to milk, and I second the Amy's veggie pizza. Sooo good with some balsamic vinegar and extra garlic drizzled over it, pepperoni, and the tofuti cheese. Even I like it (though it wouldn't stand up to my usual supreme pizza choice, it's still leaps and bounds above the other types we've tried).

i love using tofu. you can crumble it with your fingers, season with salt, pepper, basil and lemon juice. let it marinate for an hour or so, and use it like you would ricotta cheese on top. here is a link to my recipe! enjoy!
http://eatthecookie.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/make-your-own-darn-pizza/

Have you tried the soy-cheeses, the rice-cheeses or the almond based cheeses? They might be a workable alternative.

smoked salmon, capers, and some greens (arugula, perhaps) or just load it up with roasted veggies (eggplant, artichoke hearts, peppers, onion).

I also recommend Daiya, and if not then Veganrella or Follow Your Heart Gourmet Mozzarella. Several pizzarias use Daiya, since it has the most cheese-like melting and stretching properties, but the other two melt well and taste good (when cooked). I found it took a few pizzas to make the switch myself, but after a few months I found myself craving the non-milk cheese, rather than the milk kind, so be kind to your tastebuds and give them a chance to adjust.

If you don't want or can't find those, then black olives and/or artichoke hearts with some olive oil and garlic usually do the trick for me. They give that hearty, salty factor that you crave. Good luck!

There are many great ways to make a pizza without using cheese! I do a great vegan pizza by starting with a homemade tomato sauce base, then layering heaping tablespoons full of homemade pesto (pine nuts blended with basil), load it up with lots of veggies (olives, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, anything!) and voila! You would never notice that the cheese isn't there.

http://www.abbeycatchat.com

We usually do caramelized onions in place of cheese - so delicious and the house smells good too!

i recently recreated a cheeseless pizza that i usually get at a local pizza place. loaded with mushrooms, roasted red peppers and sundried tomatoes. recipe posted here:

http://mostly-vegan.blogspot.com/2010/02/pizza.html

YOU SHOULD TRY THIS, SERIOUSLY!

Yeah, sorry for the all-caps, but really this is awesome.
I'm a severley lactose intolerant vegetarian and the best thing to put on pizza to replace cheese is sliced avocado. It's healthy, delicious and the fats in it make it really satisfying. Put it on after you take your pizza outta the oven then thank me for making your life that much better! ;)

cashew ricotta!!

it is my all time favorite pizza cheese-y topping. I throw a block of tofu and a cup of cashews in the food processor with lemon juice, olive oil, s&p & any spices/herbs you want - I usually just do a little basil. it is so freakin delicious.... try it!

I make this lovely turkish pizza with spinach, onions pine nuts and pomegranates. Drizzle olive oil over the top, and I don't even notice theres's no cheese. Would feta work better for you (being a sheep's cheese? I don't know much about lactose)-if so that's lovely on this pizza too.

I use Pecorino Romano on pizza most of the time; as noted, a hard cheese that is less likely to bother the lactose intolerant (not sure about milk vs lactose allergies since I'm allergic to neither). I just like the way it tastes. I'm totally converted to this from softer cheeses like Provolone or Mozzarella, except for really fresh mozzarella.

The question posted is mine-- thanks everyone! These are some GREAT suggestions. I have not tried the non-dairy cheeses out there because I didn't think they would melt properly but I will try them now, along with all of the other fantastic suggestions. Am a big fan of caramelized onions on my pizza already. Thank you, thank you!

my vegan friend made us pizza with smoked tofu and it was pretty good... also she made one that was topped with mushrooms and caramalized onions and drizzed with evoo and herbs... so good we didn't miss the cheese.

YUM

I'm lactose intolerant, so I know what Heahter is going through.

However, I have found (by trial and error) that there are certain cheeses I can eat. I can eat Cheddar, Blue Cheeses, hard cheeses, and any goat or sheep's milk cheese without a problem. My problem is with fresh (non-aged) cow's milk cheeses like Ricotta, Mozzarella, and Feta.

Since I can eat goat cheese without a problem, I have resorted to goat mozzarella instead of cow's. I can usually find it at Trader Joe's or Harris Teeter without a problem, but you can usually make your own at home, too (if you can find goat's milk).

I suggest Heather test her lactose intolerance with goat and sheep products. We're all different, but she might find she can eat those products.

i've had the carmalized onions and mushrooms on tomato sauce before, and goat cheese is pretty awesome too

My boyfriend is severely lactose intolerant, but he can eat aged, hard cheeses. The lactose levels are very low to nonexistent in cheese such as good parmesans and aged cheddars. He uses both on his homemade pizzas.

Maybe if the cheddar doesn't appeal to you (I'm not a huge fan of it on pizza), just try some parmesan on top of all of the good veggies that people are suggesting.

So I have had a problem with dairy products most of my life however, I just found out recently it is the hormones within the dairy products I have an issue with. Switching to grass fed, hormone free, dairy has made it so I can eat dairy again, have you tried this? I does cost a little more but it not only tastes better but is better for you.

However, if you have tried this, I like doing hummus with some roasted veggies, or sometimes toffuti cream cheese and add the pizza seasonings to make it more of like a white pizza.

My husband is vegan, and I am lactose intolerant, which pretty much makes me vegan too. We love to make pizza without cheese - you just need to load up on good, savory toppings, and you won't even miss the cheese. Here's a blog post that I did on our Shitake Mushroom-Cornmeal Crust Pizza: http://vegangoodthings.blogspot.com/2010/02/two-moons-special-shitake-mushroom.html

Years ago I started to make a pizza only to find that I didn't have any cheese in the fridge after I'd put everything together. I looked in my fridge desperate for a replacement. I found some yoghurt and thought maybe I could dollop that on. OH. MY. GOD. I loooooved it! Now it is my preferred pizza topping. I can live without the cheese but not the yoghurt on my home made pizza. I dollop on about 8 tablespoons in spots on my pizza. It firms up a little. And for a little saltiness I sprinkle a little parmesan (but not essential). I guess once the yoghurt is baked, it tastes a little like labneh or paneer. (I also use low fat greek style yoghurt).

Hi there!

I love making white sauce pizza and this favorite recipe of mine is 100% plant-based, dairy-free, vegan and super healthy, too! The white sauce I use is called "Cosmic Sauce" and it's my own vegan cheese alternative to Alfredo, or any white sauce.

I am the creator of a vegan cheese alternative company called PeaceCheese, and "Cosmic Sauce" is one of my products. My favorite recipe for white sauce pizza centers around "Cosmic Sauce" as the base. It's truly the most delicious white sauce pizza I've ever had. So here's how you do it:

Start by lightly sauteing one medium sized yellow onion and enough Crimini mushrooms and Shiitake mushrooms to cover your pizza (I love mushrooms so I load them on!).

When sauteing is done, prepare your pizza dough. Any dough will work; gluten-free or not gluten-free. If you're not on a gluten-free diet, then Trader Joe's has a really yummy garlic and herb ready-made pizza dough.

Coat a flat surface with flour and stretch out your dough to form a pizza pie. Follow the directions on your dough recipe or dough package to pre-heat the oven. Now cover a pre-heated pizza stone, if you have one, with corn meal and transfer your pizza pie over to the stone.

Coat your pizza dough with a nice thick layer of PeaceCheese "Cosmic Sauce." Now add raw spinach leaves, your sauteed onions and mushrooms. sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and black pitted olives, if you like them.

Place your beautifully prepared white "Cosmic Sauce" pizza in the oven and prepare your palate for the best vegan white sauce pizza ever!

All PeaceCheese products, including the "Cosmic Sauce" used here, are 100% plant-based, dairy-free, cholesterol-free and really are delicious, and I don't mean delicious in an alternative-to-cheese kind of way or merely as a substitute to cheese. They really are irresistibly tasty! I have many customers who are not even dairy-free but choose PeaceCheese over dairy cheese simply because they love the taste. I think you will too, it's that good and good for you!

I have four varieties, including this recipe's "Cosmic Sauce," that I am selling in San Diego and on my website, www.ILovePeaceCheese.com. You can purchase all products via the "Shop" page and have them shipped right to your door. I'd love for you to check them out and you have any questions at all you can contact me here or on the PeaceCheese website. Thanks so much:) Enjoy!

One more thing, since I like my white sauce pizza nice and rich, I usually drizzle the whole pizza once more with "Cosmic Sauce" over all the toppings right before I throw it in the oven. Yummm....