Daiya Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Pizza

sleepydvdr

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Today, I went to Whole Foods and ran across Daiya's new pizza (they make pizzas now? Why didn't anyone tell me about this!!??!!) There was also a roasted veggie pizza option, but roasted garlic and mushrooms appealed to me more, so that's what I grabbed.

It is vegan and gluten free. The crust is thin and dense and did not rise when baked. However, the crust was crispy and held everything together well. The tomato sauce was mediocre, but the toppings, a mix of Daiya cheddar and mozzarella, mushrooms and garlic, were very nice. It's not gourmet, but it is a bit better than Tofurky's pizzas, which is the closest pizza in this category. I think the roasted garlic gives this pizza a bit of sophistication. One thing to note is that I cooked it as directed for the shortest amount of time they recommended (10 min @ 500F degrees) and the crust was burned along the outer edge. I think it would have been fine at 8 minutes.

It cost $9.99 and the pizza's frozen weight was 13oz. So, it's no bargain. But I will probably try the other flavor someday, but these pizzas probably won't be a regular resident in my freezer, especially since I make homemade pizzas from scratch pretty well.

Pizza out of the box (the toppings had a gap slightly off from the center):
e1z3.jpg


Pizza cooked:
8xtf.jpg
 
One thing to note is that I cooked it as directed for the shortest amount of time they recommended (10 min @ 500F degrees) and the crust was burned along the outer edge

I haven't seen this or tried it yet, but I have read a lot of reviews on it. 95% of them said that the pizza burnt at that high of a temperature. I don't cook a lot of frozen foods , but I've never seen a set of directions that required baking something that high even for a short period of time.
 
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I have seen them in my Whole Foods. I'd like to try it.
 
I haven't seen this or tried it yet, but I have read a lot of reviews on it. 95% of them said that the pizza burnt at that high of a temperature. I don't cook a lot of frozen foods , but I've never seen a set of directions that required baking something that high even for a short period of time.

The dough is usually already partially cooked (frozen pizza) and 500 F which is 260 °C is far too high for cooking pizza. I usually cook mine at 220 °C for approx 12 minutes and that is starting from scratch.
 
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500 F which is 260 °C is far too high for cooking pizza.

Exactly.

I'm not the biggest fan of Daiya and for that price I doubt I will ever try it. I do like how the cheese is used sparingly on the pizza (at least from the pics). All of my (bad) experiences with Daiya have been when it was used too much. A little Daiya goes a long way. A lot of Daiya is overwhelmingly disgusting.

I really hate the fact that veggie products are so much more expensive than the omni ones.
 
Exactly.

I'm not the biggest fan of Daiya and for that price I doubt I will ever try it. I do like how the cheese is used sparingly on the pizza (at least from the pics). All of my (bad) experiences with Daiya have been when it was used too much. A little Daiya goes a long way. A lot of Daiya is overwhelmingly disgusting.

I really hate the fact that veggie products are so much more expensive than the omni ones.

That was my thought too - $10 for a pizza is much too expensive. I make it my-self and it really costs very little to make.

I'm going to make a Daiya Margherita pizza this week end as I still have some left.

The few vegan products that we get overhere are also overpriced.
 
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Exactly.

I'm not the biggest fan of Daiya and for that price I doubt I will ever try it. I do like how the cheese is used sparingly on the pizza (at least from the pics). All of my (bad) experiences with Daiya have been when it was used too much. A little Daiya goes a long way. A lot of Daiya is overwhelmingly disgusting.

I really hate the fact that veggie products are so much more expensive than the omni ones.

Yeah, and they give you less on top of that.. making it more expensive. -_-
Daiya pizzas are way too tiny for $10! I think you're better off ordering from papa johns and adding your own vegan cheese.
 
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Yeah, and they give you less on top of that.. making it more expensive. -_-
Daiya pizzas are way too tiny for $10! I think you're better off ordering from papa johns and adding your own vegan cheese.

Yep. The boxes are so deceiving! What a waste of cardboard.
 
True! When he took it out of the box, he said it looked the size of a drink coaster. :D
That's terrible, really...and purposefully deceitful to the consumer. I don't like that. Pooh heads. :(

I don't think I would know the size of it by checking the weight unless I was doing an actual caparison against a box of another brand that I was familiar with. And I will do just that next time I am trying something new.
 
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Sounds about right
1 daiya pizza = 1 pizza slice
Srsly

:yes: Yet the box claims you should get multiple servings out of it.
I guess vegan frozen pizzas are just like bags of chips that are filled mostly with air.:rolleyes:
 
:rolleyes:
:yes: Yet the box claims you should get multiple servings out of it.
I guess vegan frozen pizzas are just like bags of chips that are filled mostly with air.:rolleyes:

They omitted to state that they were kiddie servings.

I find that most industrials don't get the servings right. When you buy a cake/dessert/pudding, I find that when it says serves 4, I'd translate that to 2 or even 1 !
 
I'd love to try it but that cardboard circle that supports the pizza in the box looks way bigger than the pizza so it seems they use that as some kind of filler.:mad:

I don't know why a company that's as big as Daiya needs to rip people off.I'm sure they make millions.
 
I'd love to try it but that cardboard circle that supports the pizza in the box looks way bigger than the pizza so it seems they use that as some kind of filler.:mad:

I don't know why a company that's as big as Daiya needs to rip people off.I'm sure they make millions.

I totally agree. The products are pricey and they know that their goods are only bought by vegans. Prehaps we should send them a petition ?
 
Realistically, when I ate cheese pizza about 7 years ago, I went to a local pizza place and ordered 2 cheese slices. Two of their NY style slices were the size of this pizza and cost $4. The only factors between then and now are time (7 years), vegan cheese and toppings. This pizza has more toppings and vegan cheese. The pizza restaurant had better tasting pizza. My crude calculations of 3% inflation for 7 years should price the restaurant pizza at $5 for 2 slices. Given a tradeoff of vegan cheese and a handful of mushrooms and garlic versus fresh baked cheese pizza, I would say they were about equal in terms of what they offered. But the Daiya pizza costs twice as much. Sounds about right for the course. Vegan/veggie products always cost about twice as much as their "real" counterparts. So, I can't really blame Daiya for their price. They are just jumping into a market that doesn't have a lot of competition yet yields pretty good profits.

Near me, I have a Papa Murphy's, which is a take-and-bake pizza place. They are perfect for adding vegan pepperoni and/or cheese to a pizza without "real" cheese. It might not save you much money, but fresh ingredients like Papa Murphy's delivers a much better experience. A large veggie goes for less than $10 (they always have coupons! - check their website). A pack of Daiya is about $5, and half a pack is all that is needed for a pizza. So, for about $2 more than a Daiya pizza, you can have a larger, fresh baked pizza with lots of toppings and Daiya cheese. To me, the Papa Murphy's option is better, so I usually choose them for my pizza needs.
 
Realistically, when I ate cheese pizza about 7 years ago, I went to a local pizza place and ordered 2 cheese slices. Two of their NY style slices were the size of this pizza and cost $4. The only factors between then and now are time (7 years), vegan cheese and toppings. This pizza has more toppings and vegan cheese. The pizza restaurant had better tasting pizza. My crude calculations of 3% inflation for 7 years should price the restaurant pizza at $5 for 2 slices. Given a tradeoff of vegan cheese and a handful of mushrooms and garlic versus fresh baked cheese pizza, I would say they were about equal in terms of what they offered. But the Daiya pizza costs twice as much. Sounds about right for the course. Vegan/veggie products always cost about twice as much as their "real" counterparts. So, I can't really blame Daiya for their price. They are just jumping into a market that doesn't have a lot of competition yet yields pretty good profits.

Near me, I have a Papa Murphy's, which is a take-and-bake pizza place. They are perfect for adding vegan pepperoni and/or cheese to a pizza without "real" cheese. It might not save you much money, but fresh ingredients like Papa Murphy's delivers a much better experience. A large veggie goes for less than $10 (they always have coupons! - check their website). A pack of Daiya is about $5, and half a pack is all that is needed for a pizza. So, for about $2 more than a Daiya pizza, you can have a larger, fresh baked pizza with lots of toppings and Daiya cheese. To me, the Papa Murphy's option is better, so I usually choose them for my pizza needs.

It is always so fabulous to know that you have so many vegan options where you live. Pizza is one of my favourite meals and my only option is to make it.
I'll have to check the PM site and see whether they are located in California.
 
I totally agree. The products are pricey and they know that their goods are only bought by vegans. Prehaps we should send them a petition ?

They actually have a huge market with lactose intolerant people. The store I work in sells Daiya and most of it is purchased by non-vegans.

And there's something not quite right about putting orange 'cheese' on a pizza.