Tasty pizza that's easy to make with only a few ingredients - sounds like a dream come true, right? Make it even simpler with store bought dough and you'll have this pizza bianca or white pizza with roasted garlic ready in no time. You can do this, and I can show you how!
What is white pizza?
Also known as pizza bianca, white pizza is a pizza without marinara sauce. The dough is the same as a regular pizza, however, pizza bianca is topped only with mozzarella and spoonfuls of ricotta cheese. Mushrooms, spinach, and broccoli are all great toppings for this pizza. This is the recipe for the classic garlic white slice you'd find in any New York pizzeria.
All sliced up and looking heavenly!
What do we need to make this pizza bianca?
I recommend buying pizza dough from your favorite pizzeria.
Mine here in Minnesota is Joey Nova's in Tonka Bay. Making pizza dough is easy, but buying it is so much easier. And if you're pressed for time, buying the dough from the experts will make the process a snap.
Mozzarella, ricotta, olive oil, and seasoning are all that's needed. If you want roasted garlic like I did for this pizza, (and trust me - you will want it!) I suggest preparing it in advance.
Roasting garlic is so easy, and you can do it anytime you use the oven. It also saves nicely in the fridge so you can use it in a pinch. Toss a few garlic heads in foil with some olive oil and roast in the oven for 1 hour at 400 degrees - it's that simple.
Here's a shot of roasted garlic.
Mixed up ricotta with salt, pepper, olive oil, and garlic powder.
Rolled out pizza dough.
The process:
First set your oven to 450 degrees and move the baking rack to the middle of the oven.
Next, move on to the dough preparation. Rolling out the dough is much easier when it is at room temperature, so make sure you take it out of the fridge a couple of hours before starting.
If you're getting it from a pizzeria and using it immediately, it should already be at an almost perfect temperature.
I like my pizza thin with a small crust like you see in the pics. Hold the dough and allow gravity to help stretch it out. Then, roll it and form your desired shape.
If you want it perfectly round - go for it. I'm not that particular and just try to roll it out to about ¼ inch thick. Make sure you flour your hands, board, and rolling pin so the dough does not stick.
After the dough is rolled out, place it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Lightly oil the paper with a Tbsp of olive oil and place the dough on it.
Fix the shape and add 1 Tbsp of olive oil on top of the dough. Pile the mozzarella onto the dough. Then take the ricotta mixture and dollop tablespoons of it into random places on the pizza.
As tempted as you may be, don't over do it with the ricotta, the contrast between the taste and texture of the two cheeses is what makes this pizza bianca with roasted garlic so incredible.
Finally, add the seasoning, and any desired toppings. I kept things simple this time and chose to just use chopped up roasted garlic and a bit of red pepper flakes.
If you want to add another textural element, you can add sesame seeds to the crust. I absolutely love it this way and think it only adds to the deliciousness!
A healthy drizzle of olive oil all over the pie and it is oven-ready.
Ready for the oven.
Beautiful roasted garlic white pizza - ready for my belly.
If you are looking for a no cheese pizza check out this Cheeseless Pizza With Heirloom Tomatoes. Totally different than this one but absolutely delicious. In fact why not make both? They both use the same dough and baking process.
Check out these other great Italian dishes:
- Authentic Italian Meatballs And Sunday Sauce Recipe
- Broccoli Rabe Sausage Rolls
- Italian Roasted Peppers
- Italian Beef Braciole
- Instant Pot Pasta Fagioli
- Spaghetti Amatriciana Recipe
And of course the drink pairings:
Did you try this recipe?
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Ingredients
- 1 16oz pizza dough .....From pizza place or Trader Joes.
- 2 cups grated mozzarella
- 1 cup ricotta
- 6 cloves chopped roasted garlic .....Totally optional, garlic powder can be substituted.
- 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes .....Optional
- 1 tsp sesame seeds .....Optional
Instructions
- Make sure dough is at room temp.
- Heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Mix ricotta cheese with salt, pepper, and a tsp of olive oil. Add ½ tsp of garlic powder if not using roasted garlic.
- Roll out dough to ¼" thick. Use flour on hands, cutting board, and rolling pin to avoid sticking. I like to roll it then hold and rotate it in my fingers letting gravity stretch it out. Return it back to the cutting board and roll out to the proper thickness.
- Place dough on parchment paper-lined baking sheet coated with 1 Tbsp of oil. Parchment paper is not required, a regular sheet pan will work just as well, though it might require a little more oil to avoid sticking.
- Drizzle pizza with 1 Tbsp of olive oil then cover pizza to within 1" of sides with the grated mozzarella. Next add the ricotta in 1 Tbsp drops onto pizza. Apply in a random pattern trying to not put too much ricotta in any one place.
- Place roasted garlic pieces all over the pizza. If desired, add sesame seeds to crust. Next, drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil onto pizza and place in oven.
- 15-20 mins is a good time. Start checking at the 15 minute mark and look for nice bubbling cheese and a firm crust. Remove and let rest 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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