Change up your pizza night with this zucchini and ricotta pizza. You may think you need tomato sauce for pizza, but you really don’t! This combo will definitely change your mind for your next pizza night or easy weeknight dinner recipe.
You know those nights when you just can’t fathom the idea of cooking dinner, but you don’t want another takeout meal? Hi! That’s me at least once a week and my cure to this problem nine times out of ten is PIZZA NIGHT!
I’m not sure why, but for a while we reserved pizza night for special occasions. My guess is that since pizza isn’t always deemed the “healthiest” food on the block, even I developed guilty feelings around it. I’ve done a lot of personal work since that time of my life (read more here) and now view pizza as a very normal and balanced part of life! If you’ve never tried white pizza, promise me you’ll give this recipe a try! Pro-tip: To make these a super easy weeknight recipe just buy store-bought pizza crust.
What is White Pizza?
First things first, what the heck is white pizza? White pizza skips tomato sauce and focuses on the cheese. My kind of pizza. This recipe includes a drizzle of olive oil, herbs, veggies and a mixture of ricotta and mozzarella cheese. I love mixing in white pizzas every now and again just to switch things up!
Tips to Make the Perfect Ricotta Pizza
As a self proclaimed pizza connoisseur, I figured I’d share my pizza hacks with you…
Hack #1: Don’t feel you have to make the dough yourself. However I do have a delicious and super easy pizza dough recipe. Trust me – It’s fool-proof!
Hack #2: Stock up on dough. When I buy or make pizza dough, I actually buy several of them and store them in the freezer. Then I take one out an hour before I plan to make the pizza to let it thaw. This means that I am always prepared should I want to whip one up.
Hack #3: Quality matters. Now I know that not everyone has access to a local, sourdough bakery (they’re basically on every street corner in San Francisco!), but try to pick a better quality dough. Maybe that means reaching for whole wheat or a boxed brand like Simple Mills that does a great grain-free crust. Same goes for the veggies and cheese!
Hack #4: Fill half your plate with veggies and the other half with pizza. This is how I roll and if you’ve followed my Instagram shenanigans you know this to be the case. I always whip up a salad when I’m making pizza to ensure I’m also getting in my greens. Plus the pizza has zucchini so it’s basically a superfood.
RELATED: Simple Kale Tahini Salad
If my healthy hacks didn’t convince you, maybe this will: this meal LITERALLY takes 30 minutes to put together and only about 10 mins of work. Once you have the crust rolled out it’s just a matter of sprinkling on the ingredients and baking the pizza. If you’re a lazy weeknight eater or don’t meal prep like me, this recipe is your calling.
When in doubt, pizza is always the answer. I’m convinced of it!
PrintZucchini and Ricotta Pizza
Change up your pizza night with this zucchini and ricotta white pizza. You may think you need tomato sauce for pizza, but you really don’t! This combo will definitely change your mind for your next pizza night or easy weeknight dinner recipe.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 12 inch pizza dough*
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 8 ounces mozzarella, sliced
- 4 ounces ricotta
- 1 small zucchini, sliced
- 1/4–1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- optional: red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
- Spread your pizza dough directly onto a baking sheet (use flour if needed) until it’s 12 inches around.
- Drizzle crust with olive oil and top with minced garlic.
- Add mozzarella, ricotta and and zucchini slices.
- Bake for 10 mins on bottom rack. Place on top rack and bake for an additional 10 mins. Watch closely as all ovens are different.
- Remove from oven and top with fresh basil, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes, if using.
- Cut into 8 slices and serve immediately.
*I use organic sourdough crust that I get from a local bakery or I make my own using this recipe. Feel free to use what you have access to or if you’re gluten-free, I really enjoy the Simple Mills pizza crust.
Like this ricotta pizza recipe? Here are others your might enjoy:
- Mushroom, Asparagus and Ricotta Pizza
- Pear Fennel and Ricotta Kale Salad
- Savory Galette with Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onions and Asparagus
- Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad
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18 Comments
Lisa Haskell
June 17, 2020 at 8:46 pmThis pizza is definitely a winner! It is really delicious and my whole family loved it! I needed a quick dinner and had a zucchini and some ricotta that both had to be used up. My husband had made some dough earlier also! Since I have basil in my garden and I always have some mozzarella around, this recipe was made for our dinner! Thank you so much for this recipe! A+++
★★★★★
Davida Lederle
June 25, 2020 at 12:49 pmSo happy to hear you enjoyed, Lisa!
Becky
May 23, 2017 at 12:22 pmThis pizza looks wonderful! I am always looking up ways to switch up our meals and would have never thought of this combo!
Davida @ The Healthy Maven
May 23, 2017 at 6:02 pmAmazing! I hope you try it out!
Ashley @ The Naked Food Life
April 29, 2017 at 3:13 pmWhen I was in Tuscany, nearly every pizza I ate had zucchini on it and it was so perfect for Spring. Oh, and white pizza is the only way to go – it let’s the crust and fresh ingredients shine =)
Alison's Allspice
April 27, 2017 at 5:48 pmYou know, I have never put zucchini on a pizza! I have made zucchini pizza crust, I don’t know why I’ve never tried it as a topping, looks delicious!
Davida @ The Healthy Maven
April 28, 2017 at 3:19 pmI’ve never tried zucchini crust! I think we each have a new item on our list to try 😉
Casey the College Celiac
April 25, 2017 at 11:49 pmVeggie pizzas are the best – and I always love putting zucchini and squash on my pies! Great tips, too, for making pizza healthier. Veggie sides are such a great complement.
Davida @ The Healthy Maven
April 28, 2017 at 3:18 pmThanks so much, Casey!!
Rio aji
April 25, 2017 at 6:59 pmI very like pizza , i want to buy or make it . It look delicious, i want to add macaroni in my pizza
Caitlin
April 25, 2017 at 1:15 pmLooks delicious. I love white sauce pizza or pesto pizza! I made pizza the other day with a meal prep company, I need to buy a rolling pin for better pizza!
Davida @ The Healthy Maven
April 28, 2017 at 3:18 pmI feel ya! I end up using my hands and it takes a bit of patience but always does the trick!
Carrie this fit chick
April 25, 2017 at 8:28 amOh I love pizza! Anyone who says differently is a liar, hah. My go to dinner is usually something with zoodles or cauliflower rice!
Davida @ The Healthy Maven
April 28, 2017 at 3:18 pmRight?! No such thing as hating pizza!
jaden
April 25, 2017 at 7:31 amI’ve tasted thousands of pizza, everything you can imagine but this one is really unique for me. I’ve never thought you can add a zucchini on top of pizza. Will definitely try this
Davida @ The Healthy Maven
April 28, 2017 at 3:18 pmAbsolutely! Hope you enjoy!
Juliette | Namastay Traveling
April 25, 2017 at 6:39 amThis looks amazing! I try to avoid lots of tomato-based foods at night (hi, heartburn city) so this looks like an awesome alternative! Yum!
Davida @ The Healthy Maven
April 28, 2017 at 3:17 pmSuch a good alternative if you avoid tomatoes!