Easier than pizza, healthier than pizza, and way more fun than pizza, these baked gyozas are a super hit! They make wonderful vegan appetizers; your carnivorous Super Bowl buddies will love them. No cruelty necessary.
Did you all see how I broke my foot playing soccer? A testament to my skill (or intensity) I should think... buuut considering that it was like my 6th game ever, I think it really means that my dribbling is garbage and needs some serious work. Dribbling, wait, that's basketball. Footwork? Is that what it's called? I have no idea, but you can see my x-ray on Instagram or Facebook. It's no wonder I broke myself.
“In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.”
Like most my meals, these Easy Pizza Gyozas arose from trying to solve a problem. Namely having half a used jar of pizza sauce that was aging in the fridge, fresh mushrooms that I wanted to stay that way before I used them, and a package of leftover gyoza wrappers. I confess, this is not my typical recipe. I'm not a buffalo wings, casserole, or tater-tot-loving type of lady. I didn't grow up that style of food and never really gained a taste for it. However, my homemade, little handheld pizza pocket type things are pretty darn tasty. Enjoy this outlier in my normal cuisine!
I was thrilled when I thought I had a small stroke of genius in creating these wanna-be miniature pizza rolls. The feeling was subsequently crushed moments later when it dawned on me that I was fairly positive this had to have been done before. To my surprise though, not really. Rejoice! For once; something my weird little brain conjured up had in fact not been straight-up popularized. Though, if you google "pizza gyoza" something regarding the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comes up in the search results... forgive me, but I did not explore it further. I never really got into TMNT. I mean, enough to know the hip acronym, but not enough to know anything about them and their bizarre relationship with pizza gyozas.
These gyozas are really easy to make and I feel like they would be a lot of fun to do with kiddos too. Todd and I don't have any human children, but we do have the four-legged kind. Apparently cooking with dogs (Bailey is my sous chef) is frowned upon by some in our place of residence... I can't imagine why. He's the world's most adorable composter/swiffer sweeper! On that note, I'd actually like to get a couple baby goats. A major bonus would be when random people are always asking if you have kids when they're trying to connect and bond with you, you could finally just say yes and technically it wouldn't be a lie. You know how kids = baby goats but also kids = young humans? *Siri* Add baby goats to my shopping list.
Easy Pizza Gyozas
Easier than pizza, healthier than pizza, and way more fun than pizza, these baked gyozas are a super hit! They make wonderful vegan appetizers; your carnivorous Super Bowl buddies will love them. No cruelty necessary.
Yield: 42 gyoza
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil + more for brushing
- 1/2 red onion, diced small
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 4 cups diced small cremini mushrooms
- 1 link of Field Roast Mexican Chipotle Sausage, minced
- scant 1 cup pizza sauce + more for dipping if you like
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1 package (42) square gyoza wrappers
- 1.5 cups vegan shredded cheese
Cooking Directions
- In a large cast iron skillet, heat the 1/2 tbsp oil over medium-low. Add the onion and garlic; sauté about 5 minutes until the onion begins to brown. Meanwhile, chop the mushrooms and sausage.
- Add the mushrooms and sausage to the pan. Sauté over medium-low for about 8-10 minutes until the mushrooms have shrunk and browned and all the water has evaporated from the pan.
- Remove from heat and stir in the pizza sauce and oregano. Preheat the oven to 375°F and spray two pans with nonstick cooking spray.
- To assemble the gyoza, pour ¼ cup of water into a small bowl. Place ½ tbsp of the filling into the middle of one gyoza square and top with a pinch of cheese. Wet two adjoining edges of the square with water using your finger and then fold the other two edges over to make a triangle, pressing firmly to seal. Repeat with remaining gyoza and filling.
- Arrange all the gyoza on the two baking sheets so they aren’t touching. Brush lightly with olive oil and bake for about 12 minute until they are slightly crispy and the edges are golden brown; be sure to keep your eye on them! Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Eat plain or top with vegan parmesan cheese, green onions, and crushed red pepper if you like and/or dip into pizza sauce.
Below is a video that is obviously the best thing ever and makes me laugh out loud every time I hear it. A must watch. I must meet this genius. LOOK AT THAT GOAT! Omg.
P.P.S. - Thanks for your patience while we figure out the lighting situation in our new place. I promise orange tinted, shadowy photos won't be the norm.
