Australia’s obsession with pizza is undeniable. Nothing beats a good slice with a fresh base and delicious toppings hence the ultimate crowd pleaser, pizza, has the ability to feed the masses. Due to the immeasurable variety of toppings, the hot crust is made to suit pretty much everyone’s taste buds and diet. More importantly, the favourite food is accessible to all: budget-priced, gourmet style, thin crust, stuffed crust, deep dish, vegetarian, gluten-free bases, no-cheese pizzas, fresh or frozen. The baked pie is also the king of convenience food since its fast in the making, cheap and portable. Indeed, pizza has long been a consistent dinner favourite no matter what day of the week and with Australia’s pizza delivery stores finally catching up on serving different diets, great-tasting pizza is no longer off-limits to vegans.

As more and more people become aware of healthy and ethical lifestyle choices and the environmental impact they have, they are getting also mindful of the products they put in and on their bodies. While veganism has seen steady growth over the last decade, this year it is said to be the number one consumer trend of 2018. The economic impact the move away from animal products has and its effect on society has long been underestimated and the pressure to develop plant-based options in the food industry is on.

Vegan pizza used to be only served at hippie-ish, health-focused restaurants or something that was sadly made at home on dairy-free pitta bread with mock cheese that never came close to replicating the greasy gooey simplicity of the corner slice store. Some people might even doubt the existence of a vegan slice, saying pizza without cheese is not real pizza. But what exactly is a pizza? Is a white pie still pizza, since it has no red sauce? Is a ricotta-topped pizza just a flatbread, since it doesn’t have mozzarella cheese on it? But pizza historians say that cheese wasn’t even the main event when pizza was invented by the street vendors of Naples, as back then their main toppings were oil, lard, tallow, cheese, tomatoes or anchovies.

Unlike the gluten-free options, vegan pizza requires less substitution—it’s the same dough, after all— only the toppings are plant-based and ever since the last two years vegan pizza is on the up and go. More and more independent restaurants and pizza stores have added vegan options to their menu, bringing the meat- and dairy-free eating further into the mainstream and changing vegan cuisines reputation drastically. If you want to follow this year’s food trend and find out more about the best fixes of vegan pies, get your pizza delivery on and try out some of these vegan pizzas listed below:

Clean Heater

Tomato base, vegan cheese, onions, capsicum, spring onion, mushroom mix, garlic and chilli sauce

Pesto Mix

Tomato base mixed with vegan pesto, roast red peppers, mushrooms, caramelised onions, cherry tomatoes and garlic oil.

Protein Mix

Tomato base, chickpeas, spinach, mushrooms and rocket

Mediterranean

Vegan pesto base, roasted peppers, sweet corn, artichokes, zucchini

Wild Mushrooms and Spinach

Red vegan pesto base, Spinach, wild mushrooms, cashew nuts, red peppers and cherry tomatoes

Italian Gusto

Vegan mozzarella cheese, artichokes, mushrooms, red onions, and black olives

Melanzane

Roasted eggplant, cherry tomatoes, grilled onions, smoked garlic, toasted pine nuts, rocket leaves and olive oil

Smoked Beet and Tofu

Tomato base, chestnut mushrooms, smoked beets, fried tofu topped with BBQ sauce

Chickpeas and Caramelized Onions

Marinated chickpeas, caramelised onions, cherry tomatoes and baby spinach leaves

Vegan Hawaii

Roasted purple sweet potato, fresh pineapple and pea pancetta

Portobello

Portobello and chestnut mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, wild rocket topped with a Portobello mushroom sauce

Pesto Party

Pesto, red onions, fried zucchini, pine nuts, marinated spinach leaves and cherry tomatoes.