Mushroom Pizza

White Mushroom Pizza is one of the cheesiest, most delicious pizzas ever, even without traditional red sauce. And this pizza is especially perfect for mushroom lovers like me!

While it’s true I’m a card-carrying-pizza-lover that adores red sauce (tomato, marinara, etc. always extra sauce please), this white Mushroom Pizza has found a very special place in my pizza loving heart. ❤️

White Mushroom Pizza Recipe (Pizza Bianca)

How to make white Mushroom Pizza

1. Prep the pan and preheat the oven

Move the oven rack to the lowest position and preheat to 475 degrees F. Lightly grease a pizza stone or rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Set aside.

2. Make the mushrooms

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the mushrooms and salt. Stir to coat the mushrooms in oil then cook without stirring until dark brown on one side. Stir and continue cooking until the moisture is released and then evaporates.

Add red pepper flakes and minced garlic. Sauté until fragrant then remove the skillet from the heat. Set aside.

3. Form and shape the pizza dough

On a lightly floured work surface, stretch, press or roll the dough into a round or rectangle approximately the same size as your pizza stone or baking pan.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan.

4. Top the pizza

Dollop spoonfuls of ricotta evenly over the top of the dough leaving a one-inch border. Gently spread the ricotta using the back of a spoon.

Next sprinkle the fontina cheese over the ricotta. Add the mushrooms and finally sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan.

5. Bake and serve

Bake until the cheese is brown in spots and the crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Cool on a rack for 5 minutes then slice and serve. Top with fresh grated black pepper, minced chives, baby arugula or basil as desired.

For a plain White Pizza

For a plain White Pizza simply skip the mushrooms. However, I still recommend sautéing the garlic and red pepper flakes before stirring into the ricotta for easier distribution.

You can also add a little fresh minced basil, oregano, thyme or rosemary to the ricotta as desired. Any of your favorite fresh herbs will work well in this recipe.

Variations, Add-Ins and Tips

We love this pizza as-is and make it often. However, if you want to change it up try adding any of the following:

• Cooked, drained and crumbled Italian sausage
• Fresh vegetables like minced onions, shallots, red bell pepper, jalapeños or fresh spinach
• Caramelized onions are really great on this pizza
• Instead of a white pizza for the base, substitute your favorite red or tomato sauce for the ricotta. Continue with all remaining cheese.
• Mushrooms need a little salt so taste test before spreading on the pizza crust and season as needed.
• We don’t recommend white button mushrooms because they seem to lack flavor. Cremini mushrooms are my favorite because they’re easy to find and taste amazing.
• Use high quality whole milk ricotta for the best flavor and creaminess.
• Substitute whole milk cottage cheese for ricotta if a pinch.

About the cheese

This recipe calls for four different kinds of white cheese.

• Ricotta is typically made with cows milk but can be made with milk from sheep or goats. This Italian cheese is light, fluffy, creamy and so delicious. Buy the best quality whole fat ricotta you can find for great results.

• Fontina cheese can be found in the specialty cheese section of well stocked grocery stores. It’s extremely creamy and rich and has superior meltability.

• Parmesan cheese – everybody loves a great Parmesan. For this pizza we highly recommend using fresh grated in place of pre-shredded Parmesan found in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. Please don’t use the green canned kind either, unless it’s used as a garnish. Really good Parmesan has a fantastic salty flavor that makes this pizza something special.

• For this pizza we use pre-shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese. It melts well providing plenty of gooey, stringy cheese pulls. The flavor is light and the texture is super creamy.

Storing and reheating

Store any leftover pizza in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To reheat cold pizza simply preheat your oven and pizza stone to 325 degrees F. Place the pizza on the stone and heat for about 5 minutes.

Enjoy!