Today is one of those wacky random holiday, National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day! It was the perfect excuse to prepare the final recipe from Travis’s Lunchtime Love set from Raddish Kids. Travis and Veronika sure did take over with this one, including a messy buffet of all the different types of vegan cheese we needed to make the recipe!

We needed to make a few vegan adjustments to Raddish’s original recipe, including the use of prepared pizza dough instead of puff pastry, whipping up a batch of vegan tofu ricotta, and using tempeh bacon in place of pepperoni.

Ingredients:

For the ricotta:

• 1 (1 pound) package firm tofu
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the pizza pockets:

• 1/2 cup chopped baby spinach
• 1/4 cup shredded non-dairy mozzarella
• 1/4 cup vegan Parmesan
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 slices tempeh bacon
• 1 pound pizza dough
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce

1. To prepare the ricotta, combine the tofu, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, basil, nutritional yeast, and salt in a blender; process until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. To prepare the pizza pockets, spoon 1/3 cup prepared ricotta into a large bowl; reserve the remaining ricotta for another use.
3. Stir in the spinach, mozzarella, Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano, and salt.
4. Cut the tempeh bacon into 12 pieces; set aside.
5. Divide the pizza dough into 6 portions on a lightly floured surface. Roll each into a rectangle.
6. Top each portion of dough with 2 tempeh pieces, 1 heaping tablespoon ricotta mixture, and 2 teaspoons tomato sauce. Fold in half, and press a fork around the edges to seal.
7. Transfer the pizza pockets to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Let cool before serving.