White Pizza (Pizza Bianca) is an Italian pizza variant made without tomato sauce, built instead on a base of olive oil, garlic, ricotta, and shredded provolone, finished with red pepper flakes, fresh basil, and a drizzle of chili oil. It's the move when you want pizza without the acidity of a tomato base. If you love a creamy-cheese pizza, my Burrata Pizza Pie takes the white-pizza idea even further. For an Italian-bread crossover, my Caprese Focaccia Bread hits the same chewy-crust register. And if you're building out a pizza-night rotation, my 55 Pizza Recipes Better Than Delivery roundup has the rest of the lineup.
White Pizza at a Glance
- 🕒 Total Time: 30 minutes (10 prep + 12 to 15 bake + 5 rest), assumes pre-made dough
- 👪 Servings: 4 (one 12-inch pizza, 8 slices)
- 🍝 Cuisine Type: Italian / Italian-American (Roman-style Pizza Bianca lineage)
- 🧂 Flavor Profile: Creamy, garlicky, salty-sharp from the provolone, lifted by basil and a chili-oil heat finish
- 📖 Dietary Info: Contains dairy and gluten; vegetarian
- 📦 Storage Notes: Best fresh out of the oven. Leftovers reheat well in a 400°F oven for 5 minutes (skip the microwave; the crust goes soggy). Holds 2 days in the fridge in a sealed container
- ⭐Why You'll Love It: A no-sauce pizza built on garlicky ricotta and melted provolone, finished with basil and chili oil. Comes together in 30 minutes if you've got pre-made dough. The kind of pizza that makes you forget tomato sauce was ever the default.
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Why I Love This Recipie
White Pizza (aka Pizza Bianco) was one of my fav pizzas last time we visited Southern Italy. It was all over Naples and Amalfi and I've made various versions over the years. This one is ricotta and provolone based with a garlicky olive oil sauce. It's very simple, very flavorful and fantastic served with a simple peppery arugula salad!
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Ingredients
- Pizza dough – feel free to use store-bought here or try this Homemade Pizza Dough recipe
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Ricotta cheese
- Shredded provolone
- Red pepper flakes
- Chili oil – this one is my favorite
- Fresh basil
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below
Substitutions & Swaps
🍕 Dough
- Store-bought pizza dough - Fastest; pull from the cold case at most major groceries
- Homemade pizza dough - My preferred; a 24-hour cold rise gives the best flavor and chew
- Sourdough discard pizza dough - Chewier crust with a slight tang; works for any white-pizza application
- Naan or flatbread - Full sub for individual mini-pizzas; cuts the bake time in half
🧀 Ricotta (Base Cheese)
- Whole-milk ricotta - What the recipe calls for; drain through cheesecloth 30 minutes if it's watery
- Cottage cheese (small curd) - Pulse in a food processor for smooth texture; tangier than ricotta
- Stracchino - Italian fresh cheese; melts even silkier than ricotta
- Mascarpone - Richer, slightly sweet; use a 50/50 mascarpone-ricotta blend for a luxe upgrade
🧀 Shredded Cheese (Top)
- Provolone - What we use; sharp-salty, melts beautifully
- Low-moisture mozzarella, shredded - Milder, the classic Italian-American move
- Fontina - Italian Alpine cheese, melts beautifully, adds a slight funk
- Asiago or Pecorino - Sharper, more pungent finish; use sparingly (½ cup max blended with mozzarella)
🌶️ Heat / Drizzle
- Calabrian chili oil - My move; deep fruity-spice notes, more flavor than pure heat
- Chili crisp - Adds crunch, more umami than heat
- Red pepper flake oil - Bloom flakes in warm olive oil for 5 minutes; drizzle to taste
- Hot honey - Sweet-spicy crossover; works on a finished white pizza, especially with the basil
🌿 Herb / Finishing
- Fresh basil - Torn after the pizza comes out of the oven; never bake basil
- Arugula - Pile on raw after baking; peppery contrast against the creamy cheese
- Lemon zest - Finer fragrance, especially with ricotta; grate over right before serving
- Honey drizzle - Turns white pizza into dessert-adjacent territory; pair with prosciutto or arugula
How to make this White Pizza
Step 1: Take your store-bought or homemade pizza dough and divide it into 2 even pieces. Stretch each piece of dough in a circular motion, then lay them both out on a flat surface and flatten out using a rolling pin. If you have a pizza peel, sprinkle some flour on it and place the stretched out dough on the peel.
Step 2:
Once your 2 pizza doughs are flat and ready to be cooked, brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with finely chopped garlic.
Step 3: Arrange the ricotta, provolone, and some red pepper flakes on top. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 4: Transfer the pizzas into the oven and bake for 12-13 minutes until the crust is golden. Remove the pizza from the oven. Drizzle with chili oil, and then slice and serve.
Tips and Tricks
- Your pizza dough needs to be at room temp before you try and roll it out. If it’s too cold, it will seize up and not get big enough to really add the toppings.
- I’ve done every pizza here on WGC with both Homemade Pizza Dough and store bought dough. Both are delish but if you want to level it up, homemade is the way to go.
- Don’t OVERTOP your pizza. This goes for any recipe you’re making. If you add too much cheese, it will become watery. If you add too many toppings, it becomes too heavy and doesn’t bake as perfectly and evenly. Just something to keep in mind.
- A pizza stone is a game changer for making pizza at home in your oven, but if you don't have one you can also use a baking sheet.
White Pizza FAQs
What is white pizza (Pizza Bianca)?
White Pizza (Pizza Bianca) is an Italian pizza variant made without tomato sauce. The base is olive oil, garlic, and cheese (typically ricotta plus mozzarella or provolone), finished with herbs and chili oil. It's pizza built on creamy-savory instead of acidic-sweet.
What toppings are good on a white pizza?
Mushrooms, spinach, artichoke hearts, leeks, prosciutto, caramelized onions, and fresh tomato slices all work. My personal favorite finish is hot honey or a drizzle of chili oil; the sweet-spicy contrast against the creamy cheese is the play.
What is white pizza sauce made from?
There's no traditional sauce on a white pizza; the 'sauce' is a paste or drizzle of olive oil, finely chopped garlic, and salt brushed across the dough before the cheese goes on. For a richer version, blend ricotta with garlic, olive oil, and lemon zest and spread it directly on the dough.
Can I make white pizza ahead of time?
Yes, partially. Pre-stretch the dough, par-bake for 4 to 5 minutes at 475°F so it sets but doesn't color, cool, then top and finish-bake 7 minutes when you're ready to serve. Or assemble all the topping ingredients separately and build right before the oven hits temp.
Another Amazing Blanco Style Pizzas
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
White Pizza (Pizza Bianca)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound pizza dough
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded provolone
- red pepper flakes to taste
- chili oil to drizzle
- fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Thirty minutes before cooking the pizza, put your pizza stone in the oven.
- Divide the pizza dough into 2 even pieces. Stretch each piece of dough in a circular motion, then lay them both out on a flat surface and flatten out using a rolling pin. If you have a pizza peel, sprinkle some flour on it and place the stretched out dough on the peel.
- Once your 2 pizza doughs are flat and ready to be cooked, Brush the olive oil over the pizza and sprinkle with garlic. Arrange the ricotta, provolone and some red pepper flakes on top. Season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the pizzas into the oven and bake for 12-13 minutes until the crust is golden. Remove pizza from the oven. Drizzle with chili oil, and then slice and serve.
Gaby this was beyond! So easy and a million times better than take out pizza. It was such a treat for a Friday night.
My crust doesn’t brown on bottom even tho using pizza stone heated up to 500 for over 30 mins prior…any tips??
what kind of dough are you using?
O.M.G.