White Pizza Recipe (Pizza Bianca)
by Sommer Collier — last updated on May 28, 2025 
We’re sharing our easy step-by-step instructions and top tips to make restaurant-quality Best Pizza Bianca Recipe (White Pizza) with the most perfectly rich, creamy and garlicky white sauce in 30 minutes or less!
We Love This Pizza With White Sauce Recipe!
There’s nothing like homemade pizza with a crisp, bubbly crust and fresh toppings! While we are big fans of traditional pizza with a zesty tomato sauce, today we’re going a bit more elevated and sharing our favorite version of Pizza Bianca, AKA White Pizza.
This aptly named pizza bianca recipe combines creamy ricotta cheese, garlic, and dried seasonings to create a decadent white sauce for the base. You just stir the ingredients all together and then spread it over the unbaked pizza crust before adding the remaining toppings. (You can use scratch-made or store-bought dough in this recipe!)
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Here, we use a perfect combination of shredded mozzarella and grated pecorino Romano cheeses, fresh baby basil, a drizzle of olive oil, and just a bit of crushed red pepper for a slight kick of spicy heat. (Feel free to leave it off, if you prefer.) But we’re also including some scrumptious suggestions below of even more fabulous toppings for homemade pizza with white sauce.
You won’t believe how super simple it is to bake up a restaurant-style pizza right at home, and in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients You Need
For the Crust –
- Fresh or Store-Bought Dough – You can make pizza dough from scratch if you like. You can also find fresh dough in the deli department of most major grocery chains. Other options are frozen dough balls (thawed, of course) and refrigerated rollout pizza crusts.
- Cornmeal – You’ll also need some cornmeal to keep the pizza dough from sticking to the pan. If you don’t have cornmeal, an alternative like semolina or even raw oats will work.
For the White Pizza Sauce –
- Ricotta cheese – whole milk is best
- Garlic – minced
- Spices – dried oregano, salt and pepper
Pizza Toppings We’re Using Here –
- Mozzarella cheese – an entire ball to shred
- Basil – fresh baby basil leaves
- Pecorino cheese – or parmesan cheese, grated
- Olive oil – to drizzle onto the pizza before baking
- Crushed red pepper flakes – optional, for a nice mellow heat
But that’s not all! Keep reading for more of the best toppings for pizza bianca below!
How to Make the Best White Pizza
Find the full printable White Pizza Recipe and video tutorial in the recipe form at the bottom of the post. We offer detailed storage and reheating instructions here as well!
Top Tips for the Best Pizza Crust
- The key to making a wonderful pizza at home is to stretch the dough out thin, leaving a little extra thickness around the edges for the crust to bubble.
- I prefer not to roll pizza crust with a rolling pin, but rather pinch it, and let it hang down as I turn the pizza crust. Then the weight of the dough stretches and pulls the crust into a circular shape.
- Bake the crust in a very hot oven! I recommend using an oven thermometer to make sure you’re getting to the full 450 degrees.
- If working with frozen pizza dough, make sure to allow it plenty of time to fully thaw so that the dough is pliable and will rise when it bakes.
- And of course, feel free to use your favorite gluten-free pizza dough for a GF-friendly recipe!
Best Toppings for Pizza with White Sauce
This elegant pizza is fabulous as-is. Yet you can also layer it with the most deluxe and enticing toppings, like…
- Prosciutto – either deli style or crispy fried
- Anchovies and/or Clams – canned, drained and diced
- Pine nuts – lightly toasted
- Onions – either diced red onions or caramelized sweet onions
- Sun-dried tomatoes – jarred, drained
- Arugula – added before or after baking
But you can also top pizza bianca with more casual everyday goodies, just like pies with tomato sauce. Here are a few classic pizza toppings to get you going:
- Meat – ground cooked Italian sausage, pepperoni, shredded chicken, cooked chopped bacon, or slices of ham
- Veggies – sliced roma tomatoes, mushrooms, diced bell pepper, onion, black olives, or even chopped broccoli florets
- Extras – roasted garlic cloves, marinated and drained artichoke hearts, or pineapple
Frequently Asked Questions
Bianca is the Italian word for white. So pizza bianca is simply the way you say white pizza in Italian!
The base of the white sauce is creamy ricotta cheese, which tastes slightly sweet. It’s combined with garlic and Italian spices for a great balance of savory flavors as well! The richness and creaminess of the sauce is a delightful contrast to the chewy, crispy pizza crust and your choice of toppings.
Store leftover slices of Pizza Bianca in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Pizza can be reheated in the microwave (least favorite, but gets the job done), in the oven (most time-consuming), OR you can reheat slices in the air fryer for a perfectly crisp pizza in under 5 minutes.
Looking for More Homemade Pizza Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
- Mac and Cheese Pizza
- Butter Chicken Curry Pizza
- Red Pepper Pizza with Pickled Peppers
- Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza
- Slow Cooker Deep Dish Pizza
- Grilled Chicken Teriyaki Pizza
- Fig Prosciutto Pizza
White Pizza Recipe (Pizza Bianca)
Video
Ingredients
For the Pizza Dough –
- 1 pound fresh pizza dough store-bought or homemade
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal
For the White Pizza Sauce –
- ½ cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and pepper
Pizza Toppings –
- 8 ounce fresh mozzarella ball
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Set out a large flat baking sheet or a round pizza pan. Sprinkle cornmeal evenly over the pan, to ensure the pizza crust slides off easily.
- To form the pizza crust, flatten the dough ball between your hands. Then pinch around the edges in a circular motion, allowing the weight of the dough to hang down below your hands. Continue to pinch and turn the dough as it hangs down and stretches into a larger and larger circular crust. Be gentle and keep rotating the dough, so you don’t poke holes through the crust.
- Once the crust reaches approximately 15 to 16 inch circle, gently lay it on the baking sheet.
- Set out a small bowl for the white pizza sauce. Combine the ricotta cheese, minced garlic, oregano, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper. Mix well and taste. If needed, add additional salt and pepper.
- Gently spread the white pizza sauce over the pizza crust, leaving about a half-inch rim around the edges. Note: The pizza crust will shrink a little as it sets on the baking sheet. Re-stretched the crust back out into a 14 inch circle, as needed.
- Now tear the mozzarella ball into large shreds and lay the mozzarella cheese over the surface of the pizza crust. Sprinkle the top with fresh basil leaves and grated Pecorino Romano cheese. Drizzle the top with olive oil, then sprinkle with crushed red pepper if desired.
- Stretch the crust if needed, and place the pizza in the oven on the lowest rack. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are crispy and golden-brown.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Then cut and serve!
This recipe was super easy to follow and turned out incredible. The crust was perfectly crisp and the flavors were restaurant-quality!
This was hands-down the best white pizza I’ve ever made at home! The ricotta and garlic combo is absolutely divine. My whole family devoured it!