Have your pizza and your salad all in one bite with this easy recipe for white salad pizza. It’s the perfect way to have your veggies – and your pizza!
One of the things the Southern husband and I are trying to do these days is eat more veggies. Just to balance out the bacon a little bit, and because even though I still have ten foot (I am not kidding) piles of snow in my driveway, bathing suit season will be here before we know it. And so the other day when I had our favorite white pizza on the menu, I was planning to serve it with a nice salad on the side, which I knew we would dutifully eat in between gleeful bites of white pizza. And then….a giant lightbulb went off in my head.
What if I put the salad ON the pizza instead of next to it? Would the world keep turning on its axis? It was worth a try. So first I cooked up a white pizza, which is pizza with fresh ricotta and grated fontina and mozzarella cheese. Yum yum yum.
While the pizza was cooking away in the oven, I tossed together some frisee lettuce, a few cherry tomatoes and a little balsamic vinaigrette. I let the pizza cool for just a minute or two and then spread the salad over the whole thing.
And then we took a bite.
The cool salad and the hot pizza. The salty cheese and the sweet tomatoes. Our world rocked, pizza-wise.
The Southern husband, being the chivalrous guy that he is, let me have that last slice. But only after I promised to put salad pizza in the regular menu rotation. See what good things happen when you eat your veggies?
PrintWhite Salad Pizza
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Makes 2 ten inch pizzas 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Pizza crust
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 3/4 cup water, room temperature
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Pizza toppings
- 1/2 cup ricotta (fresh if possible!)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup shredded fontina
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- Fresh ground pepper
- 2 cups frisee lettuce
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halves
- 1–2 tablespoons bottled balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
Instructions
- Make the pizza crush dough: Pour the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Put the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the olive oil with the mixer on low speed, and then pour in the yeast and water mixture until it comes together. The dough will be sticky.
- Scoop out the dough and form it into a rough ball. Place it in a mixing bowl that has been coated with olive oil, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for about two hours (longer is fine too if you want to make it ahead).
- When you are ready to make the pizza, preheat the oven to 375.
- Place the dough on a floured surface and cut it in half. Roll each ball out into a ten inch circle. The circle doesn’t have to be perfect – the interesting shapes are part of the fun of homemade pizza! Place the dough on cookie sheets.
- Top with the fontina and mozzarella, and then drop dollops of ricotta on top. Scatter thyme on top and grind on some fresh pepper.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and the crust is golden. Remove and cool for a couple of minutes.
- While the pizza is baking, toss together the lettuce, tomatoes and dressing. Spread on top of the pizza, cut into wedges and serve.
Mindy says
Making this tonight! Quick question: do you oil the cookie sheets?
Kate says
Nope! No need to oil them – my pizzas slid right off!
Mindy says
Thanks, Kate! We loved this recipe–making it again tonight!
Kate says
Hurray! So glad to hear it is a hit.
Isadora says
My salad always ends up on top of my pizza, I think it helps to make me feel better about eating 4 slices of pizza! This looks delicious!
Kate says
This pizza definitely has your name on it then! :)
Joanne says
The local pizza place where I grew up always had salad pizza on the menu and my mom always ordered it!! I’m not sure it had quite the cheesy base that yours did though…which to my mind is what really makes this work.
Kate says
Cheese makes everything better. :)
Monica G. says
Thanks, I think I will make this tonight. White Salad Pizza – great idea!!!
Kate says
Hurray for pizza night!
Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says
Since there is salad involved, it must be healthy, right?
Kate says
Absolutely, definitely, positively. :)
Mindy says
What’s not to love!?
Kate says
We love it ALL! :)
Rachel says
I would roll that up and eat it like a gigantic calzone.
Kate says
Ha! My favorite comment of the day! :)