The best summery Pizza Bianca with ricotta, spinach and marinated artichoke hearts on thin and crispy crust quickly grilled on my cast iron griddle skillet.
Pizza Bianca meaning White pizza originally from Naples, basically a pizza without any tomato sauce, but you can add fresh tomatoes as a topping if you prefer.
In this recipe I used the marinated artichoke hearts from the other day because they are truly to die for and perfect for summer meals.
Instead of cranking up the grill I actually heated up my cast iron skillet / griddle as hot as possible, stretched the pizza dough as thin a Is could and grilled it on both sides until nice grill marks form. This way it gets really nice and crisp, just like If I cooked it on a pizza stone but without cracking up the oven when its already hot outside.
Of course the magic here starts with the Italian Pizza Dough Recipe, which you can make the day of or prepare in advance and keep it in the fridge for 3 days. Otherwise I suggest making a double batch and learn how to freeze pizza dough for easy future living 🙂
What makes this grilled pizza Bianca exquisite is that it doesn’t need a sauce at all!
You’ll give it a lot of garlic flavor by rubbing the crispy crust with a garlic clove, then brush it with olive oil just like making bruschetta. Then we add a layer of fresh super creamy ricotta cheese, and in the same pan I actually grilled the pizza I add the baby spinach to wilt for just a minute. Trust me this is perfection!
If you insist on some kind of sauce I would go for a thin layer of basil or this sun dried tomato pesto.
Light, crispy, summery and healthy, these individual spinach artichoke pizzas are absolutely divine! Tough this is a vegetarian recipe you can easily add slices of this grilled chicken on top of the artichokes If you like.
No need to whip the ricotta neither if you get a good kind, this is really meant for lazy breezy summer days and nights as a light dinner that is loaded with flavor. And since they are individual pizzas you could even fold them in half and enjoy them as a sandwich!
Spinach Artichoke Pizza Bianca Recipe (Grilled)
The best summery Pizza Bianca with ricotta spinach and marinated artichoke hearts on thin and crispy crust quickly grilled in a cast iron griddle skillet.
Servings 8 people
Calories 487kcal
Ingredients
For the Grilled Pizza Dough
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 1.5 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 1/4 cups COLD water
- 1 lug extra virgin olive oil
the Toppings:
- 1.5 cups fresh ricotta cheese
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 12 marinated artichoke hearts
- 1.5 cups baby spinach
- 1 pinch coarse sea salt flakes
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the Pizza Crust:
- Add the flour, yeast and salt to the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer and combine. Switch to the dough hook attachment and start pouring in the water until all is combined. Knead on medium speed for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and barely sticky to the bottom of the bowl.
- If the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl add a little more flour.
- Dump the dough onto a cutting board and cut it into 8 pieces. Shape each one into a round ball and at this point you can individually wrap them in plastic wrapped lightly coated in some olive oil. Make sure they are loosely wrapped.
- If you plan to make all 8 pizzas at once then you can place them all on a lightly oiled cookie sheet about 4 inches apart, lightly drizzle with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature in a draft free area for 2 to 3 hours.
- If you aren’t going to make them all at once then wrap them loosely individually and nighter freeze or refrigerate. If refrigerated then use within 3 days for best results. Just place them on the kitchen counter for 2 hours before cooking to give them time to rise.
Make the Pizza:
- Preheat your cast iron grill skillet or griddle on high flame until very hot. Do not add any oil nor butter at all. Just a dry hot skillet.
- Sprinkle a little flour on your kitchen counter or pastry board and place one of the pizza dough balls on top. Sprinkle with a little flour and use the palm of your hands to press it in and stretch gently until very thing but the perfect size to fit your skillet.
- Add the stretched dough to the hot griddle skillet and grill for about 3 minutes each side until nice grill marks form and the crust is crispy.
- Use a pair of kitchen tongues to transfer it to a cutting board.
- Take one of the garlic cloves and slice the end. With the cut side make sure to rub one side of the grilled pizza crust just like you would bruschetta. Brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a tiny pinch of coarse sea salt.
- Spoon some of the ricotta cheese on top in a thin layer and top with the marinated artichoke hearts.
- Add the baby spinach to the same skillet you cooked the pizza in and toss it around for about 20 seconds or so until it starts to wilt. Transfer on top of the Pizza Bianca and serve with the red pepper flakes on top.
- Repeat with the remaining pizzas or refrigerate for later use.
Nutrition
Calories: 487kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 726mg | Potassium: 170mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1380IU | Vitamin C: 15.3mg | Calcium: 127mg | Iron: 4.4mg
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