Banza, maker of chickpea pasta [1] and frozen chickpea pizza crust, has added plant-based frozen pizza options to its line-up. One is a Plant-Based Cheese pizza [2] made with Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella, and one is a vegetarian Supreme pizza [3], which is made with Beyond Meat sausage crumbles — note this pizza is made with real dairy cheese. The crust made from chickpeas is not only gluten-free, but it's higher in protein and fibre compared to other frozen pizzas, which makes these a more filling option.
I popped them in the oven and snapped some pics, so read on to see photos of this pizza all hot and bubbly. You can also see the list of ingredients, nutritional info, and find out where you can pick up one of these pizzas for yourself.
Banza Plant-Based Cheese Pizza
Here's what the box of Banza Plant-Based Cheese frozen pizza looks like. It's made with vegan cheese and is a fairly small pizza, about nine inches in diameter.
Banza Plant-Based Cheese Pizza Nutritional Information
A serving size is half the pizza, but I appreciate how the box lists the nutritional info for the entire pizza, because let's be realistic here. But if you split the pizza with a friend, and eat a big salad with it, it's 410 calories, 19 grams of fat, nine grams of saturated fat, zero grams of cholesterol, and has 620 milligrams of sodium. It offers 56 grams of carbs, six grams of fibre, zero grams of added sugar, and has 10 grams of plant-based protein.
Banza Plant-Based Cheese Pizza Ingredients
The crust in this Banza Plant-Based Cheese Pizza Crust is made with: Chickpeas, Water, Tapioca, Cocoa Butter, Olive Oil, Less Than Two Percent of: Yeast, Oregano, Garlic Powder, Salt, Date Powder, Sunflower Lecithin, Xanthan Gum, and Baking Powder (Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate).
The topping is made with: Follow Your Heart Dairy-Free Mozzarella Shreds (Filtered Water, Organic Coconut Oil, Potato and Corn Starch, Expeller-Pressed Rapeseed Oil, Less than 2% of: Potato Protein, Sea Salt, Calcium Phosphate, Vegetable Glycerin, Cellulose, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Natural Flavours, Beta Carotene for Colour), Nutritional Yeast (Dried Yeast, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12)), Oregano, and Basil.
The sauce is made with: Tomatoes, Date Powder, Roasted Garlic, Salt, Caramelized Onion, Garlic Powder, Basil, Basil Extract, and Oregano.
Banza Supreme Pizza
This Banza Supreme Pizza is made with Beyond Meat sausage crumbles, so it's vegetarian, but note that it's not vegan since it's made with dairy cheese. If you're vegan like me, don't make the mistake I did biting into it thinking it's vegan just because it was made with Beyond Meat plant-based sausage. If you're not dairy-free, and just trying to avoid meat or eat more plant-based, enjoy!
Banza Supreme Pizza Nutritional Information
If you devour half a Banza Supreme Pizza, it's 410 calories (juist like the Plant-Based Cheese), but has 18 grams, seven grams of saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, and 690 milligrams of sodium. It offers 49 grams of carbs, eight grams of fibre, zero grams of added sugar, and has 19 grams of protein.
Banza Supreme Pizza Ingredients
The crust is made with: Chickpeas, Water, Tapioca, Cocoa Butter, Olive Oil, Less Than Two Percent of: Yeast, Oregano, Garlic Powder, Salt, Date Powder, Sunflower Lecithin, Xanthan Gum, and Baking Powder (Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate).
The toppings are made with: Mozzarella Cheese, Beyond Meat Italian Sausage Crumbles (Water, Pea Protein, Expeller-Pressed Rapeseed Oil, Natural Flavours, Spices, Garlic Powder, Citric Acid), White Cheddar Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cultures, Sat, Enzymes), Provolone Cheese Pasteurized Milk, Cultures, Sat, Enzymes), Red Onion, Roasted Green Bell Pepper, and Red Pell Pepper.
The sauce is made with: Tomatoes, Date Powder, Roasted Garlic, Salt, Basil, Garlic Powder, Smoked Paprika, Ground Fennel Seed, Basil Extract, and Oregano.
Banza Plant-Based Frozen Pizzas Before Cooking
Here's what the frozen pizzas look like before I popped them in the oven. I was pleasantly surprised at how much cheese they both had. And the toppings amount was decent on the Supreme pizza, although a little more would have been better. I baked these on a pizza stone in my oven at 400 °F, but the package said you can just place it on the rack.
Banza Plant-Based Frozen Pizzas After Cooking
Here's what the Banza frozen pizzas look like after cooking. The Supreme pizza took 16 minutes, and the Plant-Based Cheese took a little longer at 18 minutes.
How Does the Banza Plant-Based Cheese Pizza Taste?
OK, can we first just talk about that melty, stringy, cheesiness? It's rare to get that from a vegan mozzarella, so that wowed me right away. I'm already a fan of Follow Your Heart cheese (I use it in my vegan lasagna [4] recipe), so I really liked it on this Banza pizza. But what I loved more was the flavourful, chewy chickpea crust. It has a subtle sweet taste, and was firm enough to hold without flopping over. This is one of the best vegan frozen pizzas I've ever had.
How Does the Banza Supreme Pizza Taste?
When I tried a bite of the Banza Supreme pizza, (before I realised it wasn't vegan!), I liked the little spicy kick it had from the Beyond Meat sausage crumbles. Even my meat-eating husband couldn't tell it wasn't real meat. And again, the crust was yummy, chewy on the inside with a slightly crispy outside. This is just what you'd expect from a frozen pizza, but it's a great option for those looking to avoid meat.
How Much Do Banza Frozen pizzas Cost?
Both the Banza Plant-Based Cheese and the Supreme frozen pizzas cost $8.99 each. You can find them at Kroger, Market Basket, Thrive Market, Amazon [5], and on the Banza website [6]. If you're looking for a quick meal to keep in your freezer, I'd 100 percent recommend these.