Four Cheese White Pizza with Goat Cheese

With a garlic and shallot-infused olive oil sauce and four different types of cheese, this ultra cheesy white pizza with goat cheese crumbles has a ton of flavor! It bakes up in less than 10 minutes on a scorching hot baking steel giving it a thin, crispy crust.

Using a combination of mozzarella, white cheddar, goat cheese crumbles, and parmesan cheese creates just the right amount of stretchy, melty, cheesy goodness with a ton of flavor too.

The pops of tangy flavor from the goat cheese crumbles make this white pizza great plain, but you can also add your own favorite white pizza toppings!

The primary defining factor of a white pizza is that it's made without a tomato sauce base. But I don't think it's fair to define anyone — or any pizza — by what they lack. A white pizza has so much to celebrate!

So when I began to hone in on my ideal white pizza recipe, I focused on what I wanted it to have. Namely, a blend of four different cheeses, each bringing its own special skill to the table. There's gooey meltability from the mozzarella and the sharpness of the white cheddar that blends so well with tangy gems of creamy goat cheese, and the salty dusting of parmesan cheese on top to finish.

I used my favorite quick and easy white pizza sauce, and then any other toppings (meat or veg) are really up to you! There's so much flavor in the four cheese blend that you don't really need toppings. This is a fantastic pizza bianca (that's Italian for "white pizza") without them. But you can definitely add what you like!

I think broccoli and thinly sliced tomatoes are some of the most underrated white pizza toppings so that's what you'll see in these photos, but I've included some other suggestions below as well!

(In case you're wondering why the tomatoes and broccoli aren't evenly dispersed across the pizza in these photos it's because my husband doesn't like tomatoes. I never want the food I photograph to go to waste, so I arranged the toppings so I could cut slices of broccoli white pizza for him and slices with both broccoli and thinly sliced tomatoes for me.)

Ingredient Notes

Here are the ingredients that you'll need to make this four cheese white pizza recipe! See recipe card for quantities.

I use my overnight thin crust pizza dough recipe to make this pizza. While you can use any pizza dough you like, you will get better results with a homemade pizza dough with a longer rise time because the gluten has more time to relax and can be stretched thinner, which will bake up crispier.

Infused Olive Oil White Pizza Sauce: My olive oil sauce for white pizza is made with olive oil, shallots, garlic, salt, and fresh rosemary.

Okay, you know The Practical Kitchen is a diet talk-free zone. So when I tell you that the best toppings (optional) for my white pizza recipe are low in fat, please know that I'm coming from a science-of-pizza-toppings place and not a fat-is-inherently-bad place.

In the heat of the oven, the fat in high-fat toppings like pepperoni, bacon, soppressata, sausage, prosciutto, etc. will melt out and combine with the fats in the cheeses to make this white pizza soupy and greasy. There's nothing wrong with a good, greasy pizza, and there's nothing wrong with fat, but no one likes a soggy pizza! Keep that in mind when selecting your toppings.

Remember: Pizza toppings should always be ready-to-eat (or pre-cooked) before adding to your pizza!

White Pizza is So Easy to Assemble

Start by making a simple infused olive oil sauce while the baking steel preheats and the dough comes to room temperature.

The garlic works best as a paste, which you can make by smashing and smearing it with knife on your cutting board, using a pinch of salt to break the garlic down further. You can also grate it on a zester or use a garlic press to paste it.

The shallot and rosemary should also be minced super finely. You don't want chunks of shallot to tear the delicate pizza dough when you spread it!

Why do you spread pizza sauce with the back of a spoon? The curved back of the spoon glides gently over the delicate pizza dough. Because the edges of the spoon are curved away from the dough, they won't catch or tear it the way a knife or spatula would!

Get some of the parmesan cheese on the edges of the crust too. A cheesy crust is a good crust!

Give the pizza a little shimmy back and forth on the pizza peel to make sure it isn't stuck. If any parts seem to be sticking, carefully lift them up and dust additional semolina flour underneath.

When the pizza is done, remote it from the oven with the peel (sometimes it helps to use a pair of tongs to gently grip the edge of the crust and tug it onto the peel). Top with thinly sliced fresh basil, then slice and serve immediately!

Note: Broilers are VERY hot and their power can vary widely from oven to oven. Once you switch to broiling, check on your pizza every 30 seconds to make sure it doesn't burn!

Every oven is different, but pizza does cook quickly. After the first 5 minutes on the steel, the pizza dough will be cooked through. What you're really looking at to determine if it's "done" is the browning on the crust and cheese. Some of that comes down to personal preference!

BONUS TIP: How to Hand Stretch Pizza Dough

To get the signature bubbly crust and crispy, thin crust bottom of this four cheese white pizza, you'll want to hand stretch your pizza dough.

Pre-shaping before you stretch is key to getting a perfectly round pizza dough. I've written all about how to do this in my guide to hand stretching pizza dough so head there for more detail.

As always, make sure you use plenty of flour, let gravity do most of the work, and always stretch on the backs of your hands so that you don't poke through the dough!

If at any time the dough seems like it's going to tear or it's fighting you and doesn't want to stretch, let it rest for a few minutes (even just 60 seconds!) on the counter.

Practical Tips and Recipe Notes

• Be Careful if Using Goat Cheese Logs or Homemade Goat Cheese: Less is more! Their higher moisture content means they melt and spread out a lot. Too much will make your pizza soupy. Use no more than half an ounce. You'll still get that great tangy goat cheese flavor, but you definitely don't want soupy pizza.
• Freeze the Mozzarella: If the mozzarella cheese is too soft to grate, pop it in the freezer for about 10 minutes then try again.
• Using Store Bought Pizza Dough: Store bought pizza dough has LOTS of yeast in it to help it stay active longer. I really don't recommend using store bought dough as it's almost impossible to get a truly thin and crispy crust with it. If you DO use store bought pizza dough, you'll want to divide it in half or in thirds when you get home, pre-shape it into balls, and let it rise in the fridge (if not using immediately) or at room temperature if using within an hour or so.
• Don't Get Stuck: Once you add the sauce to the pizza, work quickly to add the cheese and toppings and get the pizza into the oven. The longer the pizza sits on the peel with the moisture from the sauce and the weight of the toppings, the more likely it is to stick to the peel!
• Why semolina flour on the pizza peel? Semolina flour is coarser and rounder than all purpose flour and will help your pizza slide off the peel and onto the baking steel easily. This is another tip I picked up from Andris, the founder of the Baking Steel company. He uses a 50/50 blend of all purpose and semolina flours, but I find I prefer just the semolina.
• A wooden pizza peel is the best tool for getting your pizza in and out of the oven. If you don't have a pizza peel, an upside down sheet pan will work for sliding it on to the steel. To remove it from the oven without a peel, use tongs (gently) or two spatulas to slide it off of the stone and onto a sheet pan.
• I use the Original Baking Steel to make all of my pizzas (note: I bought my Baking Steel with my own money but love it so much I became part of their affiliate program; use code TPK10 for 10% off!). A pizza stone will also work if that's all you've got, but it may take slightly longer to cook. Read my baking steel review to know why I recommend a steel over a stone!
• Let the pizza dough warm up: Hand stretching refrigerated pizza dough takes a bit of practice. You'll have a much easier time if you let it sit at room temperature for 60-90 minutes before stretching it.

📖 Recipe