Authentic Pizza Bianca

I recently made a recipe for homemade italian pizza dough. So, I thought why not also make one of my favorite pizzas to share with you?! Today, I’m going to teach you how to make Pizza Bianca aka White Pizza!

It’s easy, delicious and quick to prepare. The first time I tried it, it was in a little pizza place near the Pantheon. It was one of those cold grey days and we had been walking all day, so we needed our batteries fueled again. And oh, man, this fueled even my soul. It was so tasty. And this recipe, it just brings me right back to that exact moment!

Look at this beauty! You can barely tell it’s homemade. It looks straight from that pizza place in Rome! It has everything you’re looking for in a pizza, creamy, full of flavor, crispy golden brown crust, a touch of heat… We ate one yesterday but we might have it again tonight.

We did a few tests and adjustments but I truly believe we finally got it! Rita isn’t the biggest fan of cheese, but she actually loves this Pizza. So, that’s how you can tell it’s THAT good!

What You’ll Need

For this recipe, you actually only need a few ingredients that you probably already have at home. It takes less than 10 minutes for me to prepare it. This is also a fun and simple activity to do with kids (our cats would join too if they could but then we’d have a furry pizza, ahah)!

• 1 pizza base (about 250 g dough) – you can use my homemade pizza dough recipe or a store-bought (it’ll still be good). If you want an even quicker version, try my Greek Yogurt Pizza Dough, it comes together fast and makes a surprisingly light crust
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (30 ml) – adds richness and helps to crisp up the crust
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced – gives a subtle savory flavor
• 3.5 oz mozzarella (about 1 cup, cut into small pieces) – my favorite pick for Pizza Bianca but I’ve tried Ricotta and Parmesan, still tasted great!
• Red pepper flakes (or dried oregano as an alternative) – to add a little heat or a touch of herbs
• A few fresh basil leaves – to add some freshness
• A pinch of salt – enhances the flavors

Now, let me ask you one thing… Do you know what is one of the best parts of homemade food? You can add anything you want to it! Don’t be afraid to give your own twist to it. I only started to enjoy cooking once I started to get creative!

You can add mozzarella and ricotta, other dried herbs… There’s only one rule you can’t break, and that is add tomato sauce OR any kind of red sauce! I mean, it’s called Pizza Bianca (White Pizza) for a reason…

How to Make Pizza Bianca

I start by preheating the oven to 400ºF (or 200ºC).

Lightly grease a pizza pan or a regular baking sheet. I used to do it in regular baking sheet before I bought the pizza pan, still works great!

You can also line it with parchment paper, instead of greasing with olive oil. But, I do feel like the crust doesn’t get that same crispiness to it. It will still be good but the crust will be on the softer side.

Stretch your pizza dough directly in the pan using your hands. Make sure it’s evenly spread. I always stretch it to about 11 to 12 inches wide.

I always thin the inside and leave a slightly raised edge around the rim. That’s how I achieve that thicker bubbly crust! But be careful not to thin it too much, I did it once and we couldn’t hold the pizza in our hands, it just flopped with the weight of the toppings.

Brush the surface of the pizza dough with the olive oil. Don’t go too heavy on the amount of olive oil, I’ve done it before and it was a bit soggy.

Distribute the minced garlic evenly but leave the borders uncovered. And if you’re wondering it will taste too garlicky, it won’t! Sometimes I add three or four garlics cloves, it adds so much flavor!

Add the cubed mozzarella pieces. But make sure you dried it properly first. I forgot to do it when we were still figuring out the recipe and we ended up with a soggy pizza.

Now you can either add the red pepper flakes or the dried oregano.

If you enjoy spicy food, like me, I highly recommend adding the red pepper flakes. But, if you have little ones or don’t like spicy food at all, dried oregano is your best choice.

Whenever I make this recipe for a party, I like to do half with red pepper flakes and the other half with just the oregano. That way everyone just grabs a slice from each side they enjoy best. (The one with red pepper always disappears first, just saying…)

Put it in the oven. I usually let it bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has fully melted. Whenever I want a more bubbly and more dark brown crust I let it bake for the 12 minutes, if I want a slightly softer crust (still crispy) I only bake it for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven, add some fresh basil leaves and a pinch of salt (I’ve done it without the salt, it didn’t taste the same…). Serve while it’s still hot!

Isn’t it one of the most beautiful pizzas you’ve ever seen? Look at that golden brown crispy crust. And the smell it leaves through your whole house? Mamma mia! If I close my eyes I could swear I’m still sitting on that Italian pizza place right in the center of Rome (expect it isn’t that cold)!

Tasty Variations to Try

You just glanced through the recipe and you thought to yourself: “Oh, I don’t like spicy food maybe this recipe isn’t for me.” Rita doesn’t like it either. If you’ve been following us for a while now, you’ll figure out that Rita is quite a picky eater. So, whenever she actually likes a recipe, you know it’s GOOD!

But, as I always say, the best part of homemade food is you can add or remove any ingredients. Here’s some tasty variations I have tried and loved too:

• Instead of mozzarella, I’ve added a mix of cheeses (ricotta, fontina or Parmesan) for extra flavor. If you’re a true cheese lover like me, add extra cheese on top before baking! Just don’t go overboard on the cheese, you’ll end up with a soggy pizza…
• Play around with the herbs and toppings. Rosemary, thyme and arugula also worked really well for me.
• For a dairy-free version, you can swap the the cheese with a plant-based cheese but make sure it melts well. I always use the Dairy-Free Mozzarella Style Shredded from Follow Your Heart, it’s so similar to the real deal that you won’t even know it’s not actually really cheese!

Just remember that one rule, no tomato sauce or any red sauce. Otherwise, it won’t be an authentic Pizza Bianca! If you absolutely must use any type of red sauce, maybe Pizza Margherita is a better fit for you. It’s just as easy as Pizza Bianca and… guess what?! It has tomato sauce!

Can I Make It Ahead of Time?

Yes, I do it all the time! You can either:

• I pre-bake the crust for about 5 minutes, wait until it has cooled down and finish it later in the day or the next day with the toppings.
• Freeze it! I prepare the whole pizza with toppings (except the basil leaves, it didn’t work out for us), put it in the freezer for about 2 hours (or until it’s firm) and wrap it with plastic wrap or slide it into a large freezer bag. We had one in the freezer for 1 month, still tasted the same and fresh. I always bake it directly from frozen (don’t thaw it, learned that back in UNI) and if your oven allows it, in a higher temperature, at 450ºF. If not 400ºF still works!

Now, if you ask me “Can I make the whole pizza ahead of time and put it in the fridge?” I wouldn’t recommend you to do that. The reason is pretty simple, most of these ingredients will end up releasing some sort of moisture or liquid to the dough (especially the cheese) and you’ll end up with a soggy dough and it won’t bake properly. Did it with one of our first tried and man, it looked awful!

This pizza is our go to for quick weeknight dinners, any type of party or even as a late night snack. And, besides the fact that this recipe is so easy, you can never go wrong with pizza. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do! If you make this, I’d love to see it. Leave a picture in the comments.

Before you leave, also take a look at this delicious and creative pizza baguette recipe