5 Easy & Impressive Vegan Focaccia Recipes

Vegan focaccia is super easy to make and is one of the only bread recipes to not require kneading. It’s simple, but with its airy texture & salty taste is sure to wow all your guests.

While it is not known with certainty whether the recipe originates from the Etruscans (predecessors of the Romans in Northern Italy) or the ancient Greeks, it is agreed that focaccia is an ancient bread recipe dating back around 2000 years. In its infancy, it was a simple recipe of flour, salt, and water. Over the years many recipe adjustments have come about leading to what we now know as modern-day focaccia. It is incredibly popular in all regions of Italy – some eat it as a beach snack, others as sandwich bread. But the real beauty of focaccia comes in its versatility. Since I lived in Italy, I’ve always had a love affair with focaccia. This, combined with my love of cooking & experimenting, has led to my famous focaccia recipes.

I have a base recipe I always use for my focaccia bread, it’s the perfect blend of ingredients to get that famous Italian taste. The real fun though, comes with how you experiment with & decorate your focaccia. Some toppings require baking into the bread so make sure you read each recipe through before beginning baking to ensure your focaccia is perfect.

To make the bread you’ll need:

• 1 & half cups of warm water
• 2 and 2/3 cups of strong white bread flour
• 1 tablespoon of yeast
• 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1.5 tablespoons of salt
• Oven pan of around 13 x 9 inches

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To a large bowl whisk together the yeast & the warm water until well combined
2. Add the flour & the salt and stir well to combine
3. In a large new bowl add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and transfer your mixture
4. Give it a few turns in the bowl to make sure all the dough is coated in the oil
5. Cover with a tea towel or some saran wrap and put to one side to prove for 3-4 hours preferably somewhere warm
6. Once your dough has proved (it should be double in size), use 2 forks to remove the dough from the walls of the bowl. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to your oven pan & gently transfer the dough into the pan
7. Allow to prove again for another hour (again keep this somewhere warm and you should see the dough spread and grow in size across the pan)
8. Preheat your oven to 410°F for around 15 minutes – the key to perfect fluffy-on-the-inside-crispy-on-the-outside focaccia is a really hot oven
9. Next use your fingers to dimple the bread to give it that famous focaccia look
10. Bake for around 20 minutes until the top is golden brown
11. To keep a plain focaccia, you can brush with olive oil & serve hot

Now comes the fun part, you can decorate using your favorite ingredients – the more creative, the better! Below I’m going to list 5 of my favorite toppings & show you just how easy it is to make a show-stopping focaccia that will wow all your friends.

Tomato & Basil Vegan Focaccia

This is a classic flavor combination that stays true to the tastes & colors of traditional Italian bread.

The tanginess of the tomatoes paired with the sweet peppery basil makes for a winning combination. The simplicity of the flavors is a taste that is sure to please all palettes. You can also sprinkle some coarse rock salt or pink Himalayan salt for an extra kick of salty flavor.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of your tomatoes of choice (I like to use San Marzano)
• Handful of fresh basil
• Olive oil

When creating this vegan focaccia you’ll want to half your tomatoes and gently press them into the dough before baking. Make sure not to overpopulate the focaccia with the tomatoes as you don’t want a soggy bread!

Once fresh out of the oven, brush with olive oil & place your basil leaves over the bread. The oil will give the focaccia that beautiful oven glaze. This recipe is perfect as a side dish for a hearty Italian pasta dish.

Roasted Carrot with Rosemary & Garlic 

This play on traditional garlic bread and is a great side to any dish! The pop of color coming from the carrots gives it a signature autumnal look with that classic garlic taste. The fresh rosemary is an ode to the more traditional Italian focaccia recipes (of olive oil & rosemary), and really brings the flavors together. Once this is in the oven, it will have your whole house smelling divine.

INGREDIENTS

• 1-2 medium carrots sliced diagonally
• 1 tablespoon of sunflower spread / vegan butter
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Handful of fresh rosemary, washed & roughly chopped
• 1 large clove of garlic minced

For this vegan focaccia, you’ll want to prepare and par-boil your carrots whilst your bread is proving. This allows them to be soft and absorb more flavor whilst baking. I like to slice my carrots diagonally to allow for a better cross-section.

Par boil these for around 5 minutes until soft. Allow to cool while you dimple your dough. Once you are happy with your dough, spread the carrots evenly over the bread, again leaving space between for the bread to bake.

Put in the oven for 10 minutes whilst you prepare your garlic & rosemary glaze. To a bowl add your vegan butter and microwave for 10 seconds (you may need to put it in for another 10 seconds after this but it’s important to do this in small intervals to avoid burning). Once melted, add your olive oil, rosemary & garlic and stir well to combine.

Remove your focaccia from the oven, glaze it with your garlic butter, and put it back in the oven for the remaining 10 minutes.

Goats Cheese, Caramelised Onion & Spinach 

This is a classic flavor combination particularly popular on pizzas or tartlets. Before going vegan, it was a go-to choice for me. But who said we can’t veganize any dish or flavor?!

That sweet caramelized onion paired with the creaminess of the cheese & earthiness of the sautéed spinach is a combination sure to blow your socks off.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large handfuls of spinach
• 1 red onion chopped
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• Vegan goats’ cheese of choice (I use the Violife Greek white which works beautifully as both feta and/or goats cheese!)

For this vegan focaccia, you’ll need to sauté your spinach & caramelize your onions while your bread proves. To do this add your spinach to a saucepan with a splash of water and place on a medium heat stirring frequently to ensure all the spinach cooks down. Once wilted, drain and squeeze out the excess liquid. For the caramelized onion, add these to a pan with the olive oil and allow to cook through until soft. Use a low heat to add the balsamic vinegar & sugar, stirring frequently.

Once both are cooked, spread evenly over the dimpled dough, lightly pressing down into the dough to ensure they hold. Bake for 20 minutes and crumble your cheese over when fresh out of the oven.

Roasted Med Veg & Pesto Vegan Focaccia

This is a simple but effective choice of toppings offering a host of Mediterranean tastes! I am a big pesto fan at heart – if you’re feeling adventurous you can even make your own pesto. You can really cater it to your own palette then!

INGREDIENTS

• Half a courgette, sliced & halved
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1/3 cup of vegan pesto

For this vegan focaccia, you’ll want to prepare & roast your veggies ahead of your focaccia – you can do this while the dough proves. Lay the chopped veg on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes at 350°F. Remove from the oven, stir the pesto through & bake for another 5 minutes until everything is soft & with some color.

Simply spread your roasted veg over the dimpled focaccia before baking.

Pear, Walnut & Gorgonzola

This delectable blend of flavors offers a sweet & rich autumnal taste that will leave you wanting more. It’s a flavor combination that is special to me due to its origins in the piedmont region of Italy where I once lived. It was here I was first introduced to this bold amalgamation of flavors. I immediately fell in love… and I just know you will too!

The sweetness of the pear, the nutty crunch of the walnut, the saltiness of the bread, all topped with the bold richness of the cheese – makes for a true taste sensation.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pear thinly sliced lengthways
• ½ cup of walnuts
• Vegan blue cheese of your choice (I use the Violife Le Rond which is actually modeled as a soft ripened cheese, offering a slightly more subtle flavor than a true blue cheese)

For this vegan focaccia, you’ll want to press your pear slices & walnuts into the dough before baking. Allow an even spread of the ingredients being careful not to overpopulate the bread. It’s important to allow some of the dough open to ensure you get a crispy, not soggy, focaccia. Pop this in the oven for 15 minutes, removing to drizzle your ‘gorgonzola’ or ‘blue cheese’ for the last 5 minutes of baking.

For more delicious Italian and Mediterranean recipes why not try one of the following…

Vegan Bruschetta

5 Mediterranean Summer Recipes That Are Vegan