White pizza (pizza bianca) is pizza without tomato sauce: the dough gets brushed with garlic-infused olive oil, then layered with mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmesan, and baked until the crust blisters and the cheese bubbles. That is the whole idea, and the full recipe below takes about 15 minutes of active work once your dough is ready.
If your homemade pizzas have been stuck in a red-sauce rut, this is the pie that breaks the routine. The flavors you usually hide under tomatoes, good olive oil, fresh garlic, creamy cheese, get to lead for once. We have tested this combination across home ovens and pizza ovens, and the version below is the one that keeps getting requested again.
Here is what white pizza actually is (there are two traditions, and mixing them up causes soggy crusts), the exact ingredients and steps, and the toppings that work best when tomato is off the table.
Key Takeaways
- White pizza skips tomato sauce entirely. The base is garlic-infused olive oil under mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmesan.
- American white pizza is a cheese-topped pie; Roman pizza bianca is a plain, oil-dressed flatbread. Both are delicious, but they are different dishes.
- Drain the ricotta and blot fresh mozzarella before topping. Extra moisture is the number one cause of soggy white pizza.
- Bake as hot as your oven goes, ideally on a preheated steel or stone, for a crisp bottom and blistered rim.
Table of Contents
What Is White Pizza (Pizza Bianca)?
Two Traditions, One Name
Order a white pizza in New Haven or New York and you get a round pie topped with garlic oil and a trio of white cheeses. Order pizza bianca in Rome and you get something else entirely: a plain, airy flatbread dressed with olive oil and salt, sold by weight and often split for sandwiches. Your Guardian Chef’s Roman pizza bianca recipe walks through that second tradition, a highly hydrated dough with no toppings at all. This recipe is the American pizzeria version, the one with ricotta and mozzarella, and it is the one most searchers mean when they say white pizza. If you want the tomato-free flatbread instead, the technique overlaps heavily with our pizza dough hydration guide.
Why Skip the Tomato?
Tomato sauce is acidic and sweet, and it dominates everything under it. Remove it and the whole flavor balance shifts: the fruity bite of good olive oil, the warmth of garlic, and the creamy richness of the cheeses step forward. It is the same crust and the same oven, but the pizza tastes like a different dish. White pizza is also more forgiving for the tomato-averse, the acid-sensitive, and anyone whose sauce always turns out a little watery. And if you love the style, our Connecticut white clam pizza guide shows the famous seafood spin on the same base.
White Pizza Ingredients
For one 12-inch (30 cm) pizza you need: 1 ball of pizza dough (about 250 grams), 3 tablespoons (39 g) of extra virgin olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic (minced), 4 ounces (113 g) of shredded low-moisture mozzarella, 4 ounces (113 g) of whole-milk ricotta (drained), 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, and a pinch of dried oregano and black pepper. Fresh basil for finishing is optional but recommended.
| Cheese | Amount | Job on the Pizza |
|---|---|---|
| Low-moisture mozzarella | 4 oz (113 g), shredded | The melt: gooey, stretchy coverage |
| Whole-milk ricotta | 4 oz (113 g), drained | Creamy pockets of richness |
| Parmesan or Pecorino | 2 tbsp (30 ml), grated | Salty, savory depth |
The Cheese Trio
Each cheese has a distinct job, so resist the urge to use just one. Shredded low-moisture mozzarella gives you the classic stretch and golden bubbles; our low-moisture mozzarella guide explains why it beats fresh for coverage, and a whole-milk low-moisture mozzarella loaf grated at home melts noticeably better than pre-shredded bags. The ricotta is the soul of the pie: BelGioioso’s ricotta page describes what separates real whole-milk ricotta from the grainy stuff, and a creamy whole-milk ricotta like Galbani dollops instead of spreads, which is exactly what you want. Parmesan finishes with salt and umami. Skip the draining step on the ricotta and mozzarella and you will bake a puddle instead of a pizza.
The Garlic Oil Base
The base of a white pizza is not a sauce at all: stir the minced garlic into the olive oil with a pinch of salt and let it sit for 10 minutes while the oven preheats. That short steep tames the raw garlic bite and perfumes the oil. Some pizzerias go richer with a cream-based white sauce; Bon Appétit’s white pizza sauce is the classic example, and our homemade garlic sauce splits the difference beautifully. Start with the plain garlic oil version first. It is faster, lighter, and lets the cheeses shine, and you can always go creamier next time.
How to Make White Pizza
Total active time is about 15 minutes. The one non-negotiable is heat: put a baking steel or stone in your oven and preheat at its maximum temperature (500 to 550° F (260 to 290° C) for most home ovens) for a full hour. Our oven temperature guide covers rack position. Without that stored heat, the bottom of your white pizza will lag behind the cheese.
- Drain the ricotta in a fine strainer and blot the mozzarella. Stir the garlic, olive oil, and a pinch of salt together and set aside.
- Stretch the dough into a 12-inch (30 cm) round on a floured surface, keeping a slightly thicker rim. Transfer to a floured or semolina-dusted peel; our semolina vs. cornmeal guide explains the dusting choice.
- Brush the garlic oil over the dough, leaving a half-inch border. Work fast from here so the dough does not stick.
- Sprinkle on the shredded mozzarella, then dollop the ricotta in spoonfuls, then the Parmesan, oregano, and black pepper.
- Launch onto the hot steel and bake 6 to 9 minutes, until the crust is deeply golden and the cheese bubbles with browned spots.
- Finish with torn basil and a thread of raw olive oil. Rest 2 minutes, slice, and serve.
The first slice tells you everything: a crisp, blistered underside, a creamy garlic-scented middle, and none of the sogginess that ruins lesser white pies. A sturdy aluminum pizza peel makes the transfer drama-free. Skimp on the preheat or the draining and you are back to limp, watery slices, the exact failure this recipe is built to avoid.
The Best White Pizza Toppings
Without tomato sauce anchoring the flavor, white pizza welcomes toppings that would get lost on a red pie. The best additions, tested on many Friday nights:
- Fresh spinach or arugula: add arugula raw after baking, spinach sautéed and squeezed dry before it.
- Mushrooms: sauté first; raw mushrooms release water and undo all your draining work.
- Prosciutto: lay it on after the bake so it stays silky instead of turning leathery.
- Caramelized onions: sweetness that plays perfectly against the salty cheeses.
- Broccoli or broccolini: blanch and dry thoroughly first, a trick the top-ranking white pizza recipes all share.
- Red pepper flakes and lemon zest: the zero-effort upgrade; a little heat and citrus make the cheeses taste brighter.
Keep the total topping load light. White pizza is about the interplay of oil, garlic, and cheese, and three additions at most keeps every bite balanced. Master the base recipe once and you have a whole rotation of pizzas that never touch a jar of sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions about white pizza.
What is white pizza made of?
White pizza skips tomato sauce. The dough is brushed with garlic-infused olive oil, then topped with mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmesan or Pecorino, plus herbs. In Rome, pizza bianca is a related but plainer flatbread dressed only with olive oil and salt.
Is white pizza sauce the same as Alfredo sauce?
No. Classic white pizza uses plain garlic-infused olive oil, not a cream sauce. Some recipes and pizzerias use a cream-based white sauce similar to Alfredo, and that variation is tasty, but it is richer and heavier than the traditional oil base.
Why is my white pizza watery?
Almost always excess moisture in the cheeses. Drain the ricotta in a strainer for at least 15 minutes, blot fresh mozzarella with paper towels, and pre-cook watery vegetables like mushrooms and spinach. A fully preheated steel or stone also evaporates moisture faster.
What toppings go well on white pizza?
Spinach, arugula, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, prosciutto, blanched broccoli, and red pepper flakes all work beautifully. Keep it to two or three additions so the garlic oil and cheeses stay in balance, and pre-cook any vegetable that holds water.
Can you buy white pizza sauce?
Jarred white and Alfredo-style pizza sauces exist, but the traditional base is just olive oil, minced garlic, and salt stirred together 10 minutes before baking. The homemade version costs almost nothing and tastes fresher than anything from a jar.
Is white pizza healthier than regular pizza?
Not meaningfully. White pizza skips the tomato sauce but usually carries more cheese and olive oil, so calories are similar or slightly higher. The practical upside is for people avoiding tomato acidity, not calorie savings.
