9 Healthy and Delicious White Pizza Toppings (with Recipe)

Whether you prefer to keep it classic or are looking for ways to spice up your white pizza toppings, I’ve got you covered! 

Follow along with my easy recipe to customize your perfect white pizza pie. In this recipe we will skip the high calorie cream sauce in favor of a garlic and olive oil spread and sneak in a serving or two of veggies using fresh and healthy ingredients. 

If you are obsessed with pizza Bianca (aka white pizza), this post all about the best white pizza toppings is for you! 

Origin of White Pizza

What is white pizza you ask? It’s lighter take on the more traditional Neapolitan-style pizza with red sauce. Put simply it’s just a pizza without red sauce.

White pizza originated in Rome. Roman bread bakers would bake a small piece of dough that had been risen and stretched to check the temperature of the bread ovens. They added cheese and cream to the tester dough, and voila, pizza Bianca was born!

If you are not a huge fan of red sauce or try to avoid it for health reasons, I highly recommend you try making a white pizza- you will fall in love and never look back! Make sure to read through this post so you don’t miss any important tips on how to make the perfect white pizza.

Best White Pizza Toppings

You can add all of these or just a few. Remember, that the more toppings you use, the heavier the pizza will be and may become soggy. This is especially true if you are using fresh vegetables- they give off moisture as they cook. Keep reading for tips on how to avoid the dreaded soggy crust!

Ricotta.

This might be the only non-negotiable topping on this list. For a classic white pizza, ricotta cheese is a must.

I definitely recommend going with the whole milk option here since it’s the least processed. You may be tempted to go with the part-skim variety to save a few calories, but skim milk is high processed. It is also pumped full of synthetic vitamins and milk solids in an effort to replace the natural vitamins and proteins lost during processing. For this reason, I always opt for full-fat, organic dairy products when available.

Pros: it’s light, creamy, and easy to find.

Con: you won’t be able to stop eating it.

Broccoli.

You have a few options here. You can use frozen broccoli, but you will need to defrost it before putting it on your pizza to remove all the moisture before it has a chance to ruin your crust! To do this, simply place the defrosted broccoli in a clean kitchen towel and wring it out over the sink.

You can also use fresh broccoli. Give it a quick 4-minute steam and it’s ready for the pie. My personal favorite (and easiest) option is using leftover roasted broccoli from a previous night’s dinner. I always make more than I need, so I usually have some in the fridge to use in a quick lunch or throw on a pizza.

You can even opt for cauliflower to keep it an all-white pie, just be sure to get all the moisture out first!

This is one way your kids are going to love eating their broccoli. Chop it up into tiny little pieces, smother it with cheese, and they will be happy campers.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are divine on white pizza. They add an earthy meatiness which really helps to bulk up this pizza if you are keeping it all vegetarian. They also pair perfectly with the fresh ricotta.

Fun fact about mushrooms: they contain an essential nutrient called selenium that helps to boost your immunity by making antioxidants to resist cell damage.

Garlic

Need I say more? Garlic and white pizza go together like peanut butter and jelly! I find that the garlic adds a little kick that really stands out over all the other ingredients, and you will definitely miss it if you skip it.

Chicken

Have some leftover chicken in the fridge that you need to use? Now is your perfect chance! Honestly any type of chicken will do just fine here. I happened to have a few pieces of leftover grilled chicken, so that’s what I used. If you don’t have any on hand and really want to boost the protein on your white pizza, grab some of these.

Spinach

Spinach offers another opportunity to sneak in some veggies. Frozen chopped spinach works great since its already cut up. Just make sure you defrost it and wring out the moisture before you put it on your pizza.

If you’re using fresh spinach, give it a rough chop and you’re good to go!

Red onion

Here’s your chance to add a little color. I love how red onions stand out on the white pizza, and they also taste delicious paired with any of the other toppings on this list. Plus, you probably already have one I hand.

Romano

Fresh grated Romano is a necessity here (and everywhere, always). The ricotta is very mild and gives a neutral creaminess, so adding a sprinkle of fresh Romano as a finishing touch adds a nutty saltiness that you aren’t getting anywhere else.

Arugula

If you haven’t had arugla on pizza yet, you are missing out! This peppery, leafy green is such a delicious addition to any pizza, but I especially love it on white pizza. You can add it with the other toppings of your choice before baking. Alternatively, toss it with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice as a last-minute fresh topping once it comes out of the oven. Either way is delicious!

With all of these delicious white pizza toppings, you have plenty of options to keep things exiting every time you get a hankering for a pizza Bianca (which for me is quite often).

How to Make Homemade White Pizza

*This is an overview of the recipe and instructions. For full recipe with measurements and detailed directions, see recipe at bottom of page.

Ingredients

Pizza dough (I roughly follow Laura Vitale’s recipe with a few small adjustments):

• 3 1/2 cups organic, unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 2 tsp pink Himalayan salt (can also use kosher)
• 1 tsp organic cane sugar (less processed than granulated)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/3 cups warm water (around 110 degrees F)

Toppings (you can use as many or as few of these as you’d like, and switch up their combinations to find your fave):

• broccoli (see above notes about fresh vs frozen)
• spinach (see above notes about fresh vs frozen)
• extra virgin olive oil
• garlic
• ricotta cheese (see above notes on whole milk vs part-skim)
• freshly grated Romano cheese
• red onion
• chicken (see above notes for tips on what to use)
• mushrooms

Instructions

For the dough:

This dough is super easy, and if you happen to have a stand mixer in your kitchen, it’s even easier. You want to start by activating the dry yeast. Add the entire yeast packet to the warm water, give it a quick stir, and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes or so, until its starts to bubble/foam on the top. It should look slightly murky like the one pictured below:

Next, combine the rest of your dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer (or any bowl if mixing by hand). Give your yeast mixture another stir and add it to the bowl.

With a dough hook attachment, turn mixer on medium speed and allow ingredients to combine for a minute or two. Reduce the speed to low and allow to knead for 8 minutes. Alternatively, combine all ingredients and knead by hand for about 10 minutes. The kneading allows the gluten chains in the dough to begin developing.

Remove dough from mixer, divide into desired number of pies (2 medium or 4 mini) and form each section into a tight ball. Coat bowls with extra virgin olive oil (to prevent sticking) and place each dough ball in prepared bowl like this:

Cover the dough with a kitchen tea towel or beeswax wrap, set in a warm spot in your kitchen and allow to rise for about an hour and a half, or until the dough has doubled in size. It should look like this:

Remove the dough ball from the bowl and roll out in desired shape on a floured pizza peel.

Transfer the pie crust to a preheated pizza stone and bake 8-10 minutes (dough should be about half-way cooked).

Using a pizza peel, remove the crust from the oven and add toppings of your choice.

Toppings:

Traditionally, white pizza is made using a creamy white bechamel style sauce as its base instead of tomato sauce. I have skipped that step here in an effort to keep the pizza light, quick and easy!

For my white pizza toppings, I started by combining two cloves of minced garlic with two tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and brushed it onto the pre-baked pizza crust.

Next, I added dollops of ricotta cheese, leftover grilled chicken strips, leftover roasted broccoli, and thinly sliced red onions. I finished my pie with a (large) sprinkle of Romano cheese.

I returned the pizza to the oven and continued baking for an additional 10-15 minutes. The crust should be brick-oven crispy and the cheese should be perfectly melted, but not burned!

Pro tips:

Bake on a preheated pizza stone (475 degrees F for about 20 min). I’ve had great luck with this one by Emile Henry. If you’re starting from scratch in the pizza tool department, there are a ton of options for value pizza sets that include a pizza stone, a pizza peel (I have this one), and a rock cutter. Tip: the pizza peel also looks great left out on the counter behind your stove area as a decorative item!

Pre-bake your pizza crust. There is nothing worse than burning the cheese or toppings on your pizza before the crust is done. When you are starting with raw, homemade dough, the dough needs more baking time than your toppings do. To make sure you have a perfectly crispy pizza crust while not burning your toppings, pre-bake the crust at 475 for 10 minutes, then add your toppings and continue baking for 10-15 minutes.

Making for kids? Kids LOVE a make-your-own-pizza night. Try dividing the pizza dough into four smaller portions so that everyone can customize their own white pizza toppings!

Home made health spotlight: spinach.

A member of the beets/chard family, spinach is a power-house in terms of nutritional value. It is rich in iron (essential for growth and development), iodine (great for hypothyroidism) and Vitamin K (helps with blood clotting and bone regeneration). It also contains 13 antioxidant and cancer-fighting flavonoids!

Spinach is a staple in our house because it’s so easy to sneak into recipes. If you have picky eaters, try incorporating spinach in sauces, soups, smoothies, and even baked goods where its taste will be mostly masked. It’s also one of the few leafy greens that maintains its nutritional value really well when frozen.

Spinach was also one of the first foods that I added to homemade baby purees, soups and pastas since babies natural iron levels bottom out around 9 months of age. Tip: finely chop a few leafs and add it to a scrambled egg in the morning for your little ones!

Now that you know how to make the perfect pizza Bianca, pencil in a make-your-own pizza night this week and customize your perfect pie using these white pizza toppings!