This simple but tasty broccoli pizza is loaded with four cheeses including mozzarella, goat cheese, ricotta cheese and Parmesan. And even better, you get the veggies you need with the broccoli.
Pizza… you’ll soon realize it’s our favorite food. I’ve made more than my fair share of pizzas and will be sharing many more in the coming months as we have pizza once a week. For as much as I’ve enjoyed pizza over the years, it was just two years ago that I made my own dough for the first time. Before that, I would use naan or pita bread, which is still very good in its own right. However I recently came across a no-knead pizza dough recipe which really takes out the hard work. You literally just mix the ingredients in a bowl and then let it rise overnight.
One note on this dough. You can use it in a baking sheet or on a pizza stone. I found if you like to make pizza a fair amount, then a $30 investment in a stone is worth the price. While it’s no pizza oven, it gets the bottom crisper than a baking sheet. Early on when using the stone however, I had trouble transferring the pizza from the peel to the stone. I soon discovered that parchment paper helps transfer the pizza.
Growing up I was a pretty picky eater. One thing I really couldn’t stand was tomato sauce. I could handle it on a pizza if it was very light but otherwise, a pizza doused in tomato sauce was terrible to me, so no I would never even try a Chicago-style pizza! Because of my weird dislike of tomato sauce, I loved pizzas that didn’t have a tomato base. So naturally, a traditional white pizza was one of my favorites. I actually remember the first time I ever had goat cheese was with a four cheese pizza at Wolfgang Puck’s in Downtown Disney. Needless to say it was love at first taste with goat cheese and I’ve never looked back. With a sauce that is just olive oil and garlic, what could be better? Ironically the first vegetable I really enjoyed was broccoli, which goes against everything said about being picky. So today I’m sharing an adaptation of what I grew up on.
What Ingredients are in this Four Cheese White Broccoli Pizza Recipe?
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Mozzarella cheese
- Goat cheese
- Ricotta cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Broccoli
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Fresh basil
How to Make Four Cheese White Broccoli Pizza
- Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat and add broccoli, seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes until bright green and then add the garlic and crushed red pepper. Cook for an additional 30 seconds then remove from heat and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp olive oil with 3 cloves chopped garlic and set aside.
- Lay out pizza dough and spread garlic olive oil mixture evenly on dough. Add mozzarella, crumbled goat cheese, dollops of ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and broccoli throughout pizza.
- Once pizza stone has been at 500°F for 1 hour, turn on broiler. Place pizza in oven for 4-5 minutes or until crust is browned on bottom and top. Finish with some freshly chopped basil and serve immediately.
What are Keys to No-Knead Dough?
Honestly not much. Make sure you use lukewarm water for the yeast and then after you mix, just give it time to rise overnight. Probably the most important thing would be in a warm area, preferably around 72°F. After the dough has risen overnight transfer to a floured surface and shape in a ball, then let rise for a couple more hours. Obviously with a no-knead dough you have to plan on making the pizza the following day. So if you’re like us and have Pizza Friday’s, you just make the dough Thursday night.
Do I Have To Make My Own Pizza Dough?
Of course not. I just like making pizza dough, but you can buy fresh pizza dough where you roll out yourself or pre-baked crusts. I still suggest buying the fresh pizza dough. Most grocery stores carry it these days, but Trader Joe’s has the best!
What is the Best Temperature to Cook Homemade Pizza?
There are a couple of important steps when it comes to homemade pizza. First of if you want to make a pizza just as good a local pizzeria, you need a pizza stone. Place the pizza stone in the oven 8″ from the broiler element. Turn the oven to 500°F. You want to place the pizza stone in a cold oven, otherwise it could crack.
From there, leave the pizza stone in the oven once it reaches 500°F for at least 30 minutes, but preferably 1 hour. When you are ready to make the pizza turn the broiler on. Transfer the pizza to the stone and bake for 4-5 minutes or until the top is bubbly and the bottom is golden brown.
Other Pizza Recipes
- Hot Honey-Drizzled Salami Pizza
- Peach BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Spring Pizza
- Pear and Prosciutto Pizza
- Sun-Dried Tomato Prosciutto Pesto Pizza
Four Cheese White Broccoli Pizza
Ingredients
No-Knead Pizza Dough
- 250 grams all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
- 3/4 cup warm water
Four Cheese White Broccoli Pizza
- 5 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella, diced into 1" cubes
- 3 oz goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups broccoli
- salt + black pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- sprinkle of cornmeal
Instructions
No-Knead Pizza Dough
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt and yeast. Add the water and mix with a wooden spoon or your hands. It should be sticky, but not lumpy.
- Cover with saran wrap and a towel in a warm place, allowing it to rise for 24 hours. Transfer to a floured surface and shape into ball. Use when ready.
Four Cheese White Broccoli Pizza
- Place pizza stone in oven 8" from the broiler element and preheat to 500°F. You want stone to be in oven for at least 30 minutes at 500°F.
- Heat large skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add broccoli along with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes or until broccoli is bright green. Add crushed red pepper flakes and 1 clove garlic, chopped and cook for an addition 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
- In a small bowl combine two tbsp of olive oil with the remaining chopped garlic. (3 cloves)
- Sprinkle pizza peel with cornmeal or flour. Use your hands to gently tug, pull and push the dough to the shape you want and place on pizza peel.
- Add the garlic/olive oil mixture evenly over the dough, leaving the edges untouched. Sprinkle the cubed mozzarella and crumbled goat cheese. Add dollops of ricotta cheese throughout the pizza and finish with the Parmesan. Finish topping with the broccoli.
- Once stone is preheated, turn broiler to high. Transfer pizza to pizza stone and bake for 4-5 minutes or until top is bubbly and bottom is golden brown.
- Remove from oven. Top pizza with fresh basil and serve immediately.
Big fan of four cheese pizza!