Here’s a date night idea – homemade white pizza! Trust me, there’s nothing better!
Traditional Italian style white pizza, or Pizza Bianca, doesn’t contain tomato sauce. White pizza is usually topped with olive oil, garlic, and lots of fresh cheese.
There are a million ways to customize white pizza! You can add fresh ricotta, creamy mozzarella, bits of kale, prosciutto or pancetta, fresh veggies and spices – the options are truly endless. For this particular pie I decided to go with ricotta cheese and Pure Flavor®’s Juno® Bites Red Grape Tomatoes.
These little sweet tomatoes are so fun to throw on top of a pizza before you toss it in the oven! I slice them down the middle and drop the halves all over the pie prior to baking so they crisp up a little in the oven.
For this recipe you’ll need:
- 1 Pizza Dough Kit* to prepare 10 – 12 inch pizza crust, store bought
- 1 Tbsp Fresh Parsley, minced
- 1 Tbsp + 2 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- ½ Cup Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
- ½ to 1 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper
- 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ Tsp Black Pepper
- 10 – 12 Pure Flavor® Juno® Bites Red Grape Tomatoes, halved
- 1/3 Cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- ¼ Cup Arugula
Start with an extra hot pizza stone!
A scorching hot pizza stone is an absolute necessity in my book for great pizza! Pizza stones help the bottom of the crust get extra crispy!
I place my pizza stone in the oven at 500° for 1 hour prior to rolling out my pizza dough.
If you’ve got a pizza scraper, you can build your pizza completely, slide it onto the scraper and drop it directly onto the hot stone in the oven. If you don’t have a pizza scraper, prep all of your ingredients while your stone heats up. Roll your dough out, season it, remove the stone from the oven, drop your dough onto it, and build your pizza swiftly! Then toss it back in the oven right away so it doesn’t lose much of its heat.
*Let’s talk pizza dough!
While I love to make my own pizza dough when possible, sometimes grabbing a dough kit from the store is just easier. I find pre-made and packaged pizza crust a little tough and dried out, so I usually like to get a dough kit that contains the proper flour and yeast measurement to make a soft fluffy dough.
You can find kits like these in the pizza/tomato sauce aisle of your grocery store. They usually come with a small pre-measured bag of flour and a yeast packet. The dough takes just about an hour from start to finish and comes out fluffy (but still crispy on the bottom) every time!
A secret to white pizza – season the dough!
Seasoning the pizza dough underneath all of the cheese and toppings is a must with white pizza! Since you don’t have a rich tomato sauce to seep into your pizza dough, you need something else to help create that delicious crust we all love underneath a great pizza!
Once you’ve got your pizza dough rolled out to whichever thickness you prefer, combine 1 tbsp of olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tbsp of minced parsley, and a sprinkle of salt in a small bowl. Brush this mixture on top of your pizza dough, making sure to brush it all the way out to the outer edge of your crust. Set the crust aside.
Extra cheese please!
When I make white pizza I love to add all sorts of spices to my ricotta cheese! The spices really help add an incredible flavor to each bite.
In another small bowl, combine ricotta, the remaining olive oil, crushed red pepper (1/2 tsp or 1 full tsp based on how spicy you like!), a sprinkle of kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine into a light fluffy texture. Set aside.
Sprinkle a light layer of mozzarella cheese onto prepared pizza dough. Don’t make this layer too thick, you’ve still got the ricotta to add!
Now you can drop dollops of the ricotta cheese mixture all over the pizza dough.
Now let’s add a little freshness.
Press the tomato halves into the pizza with the inside of the tomatoes facing up. I always add A TON of tomatoes to my pizza, you want one in every single bite!
These tomatoes are so perfect for these little pizzas! They crisp up beautifully in the oven, you just wait!
Time to finish your masterpiece!
Once you’re satisfied with the way your pizza is looking, place it in the oven to bake at 400° for 15 – 20 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Once the cheese has melted, turn on the broiler for 1 – 2 minutes just until you see a few crispy bubbles of cheese on top.
Remove your masterpiece from the oven, allow it to cool just slightly and top with fresh arugula and extra crushed red pepper to taste.
See, restaurant-quality homemade pizza doesn’t have to be difficult! I hope you enjoy!
If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to post a rating and comment!
I’d love to see your pictures on Instagram too! Tag @a_toastedcrumb and @pureflavor!
This post is sponsored by Pure Flavor®. Learn more about Pure Flavor and their commitment to supporting healthier lifestyles by visiting their website.
White Pizza with Roasted Tomatoes
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minutesA delicious date night treat! White pizza with spicy ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes, and arugula.
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Ingredients
1 Pizza Dough Kit* to prepare 10 – 12 inch pizza crust store bought
1 tbsp Fresh Parsley minced
1 tbsp + 2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil divided
2 Garlic Cloves minced
1/2 cup Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
1/2 to 1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
10 – 12 Pure Flavor® Juno® Bites Red Grape Tomatoes halved
1/3 cup Mozzarella Cheese shredded
1/4 cup Arugula
Directions
- Heat pizza stone in the oven at 500° for 1 hour while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
- Prepare pizza dough per the instructions on the package.
- Combine 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, garlic, parsley, and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Brush mixture onto prepared pizza dough all the way out to the outer edge. Set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, combine ricotta, the remaining olive oil, crushed red pepper, and a sprinkle each of kosher salt and black pepper. Stir to combine into a light fluffy texture.
- Turn the oven down to 400° in preparation for your pizza.
- Sprinkle a light later of mozzarella cheese on to prepared pizza dough.
- Drop dollops of ricotta cheese mixture all over pizza.
- Press tomato halves into the pizza with the inside of the tomatoes facing up.
- Slide pizza onto a pizza scraper* and place onto the hot pizza stone in the oven.
- Bake at 400° for 15 – 20 minutes until the crust is crisp and the cheese has melted.
- Broil for 1 – 2 minutes until you see a few crispy bubbles of cheese on top.
- Remove pizza from the oven, allow to cool just slightly and top with fresh arugula and extra crushed red pepper, to taste.
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