White Pizza with Zucchini and Herbed Ricotta
This simple and delicious pizza is made with an herbed ricotta base and covered in gooey mozzarella cheese and garlicky sautéed zucchini.
Servings: 2 pizzas
Calories: 1235kcal
Equipment
- Parchment paper (optional, but makes cleanup much simpler)
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough (about 1 lb, homemade or store-bought; see Note 1)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese (see Note 2)
- 2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, divided
- 1 tsp salt, divided, or more to taste
- ¼ tsp lemon zest
- 2-3 tbsp milk or half and half cream
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4-5 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
- 2 cups zucchini, thinly sliced (Note 3)
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together ricotta, thyme, parsley, ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper, ½ tsp salt and lemon zest until combined
- Mix in the milk or cream 1 tbsp at a time just until the mixture is spreadable then set aside
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium low heat and add the olive oil
- Add the garlic and zucchini slices and season with remaining salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened but still tender-crisp then remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
- Preheat oven to 400℉ and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (or use a pizza stone if you have one)
- Divide the pizza dough into two pieces of equal size
- Using your hands or a rolling pin, stretch or roll out the pizza dough into 2 large circles about 10-12 inches wide (for a thicker crust, roll out to 10 inches and for a thinner crust, roll out to 12 inches)
- Spread the ricotta mixture all over both pizza doughs, leaving a small border for the crust
- Top with the mozzarella cheese, then arrange the zucchini slices all over the pizza, ensuring the slices are close together but barely overlapping
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is cooked through and lightly golden, and the cheese is melted, deep golden and bubbling
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing into 4-6 pieces
Notes
Note 1: I use my homemade pizza dough for this recipe because it makes the perfect amount for 2 medium pizzas, but you can use any store-bought pizza dough. You can usually find balls of pizza dough about 1 lb in size in the refrigerator or freezer section at the grocery store. I like to make 2 medium pizzas and cut them into 6 slices but you can also make them into even smaller pizzas by dividing the dough into 3 or 4 pieces.
Note 2: I use my homemade ricotta for this recipe, but any store-bought ricotta works too.
Note 3: I sauté the zucchini before adding it to the pizza because it gives it an amazing garlicky flavour that goes perfectly with this pizza. I don't recommend skipping this step because raw zucchini releases a lot of water and sautéing it helps release the excess water before the pizza bakes.
Nutrition Facts are calculated automatically and may be inaccurate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 pizza | Calories: 1235kcal | Carbohydrates: 108g | Protein: 59g | Fat: 65g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 162mg | Sodium: 3464mg | Potassium: 654mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 1943IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 936mg | Iron: 8mg