This Easy White Spinach Pizza is made with creamy ricotta, spinach, Italian herbs, and a mixture of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses to capture the classic Florentine flavor in pizza form.

If you like pizza, you will also want to check out Taco Pizza, Tomato Pizza, Buffalo Chicken Pizza, Chicken Pesto Pizza, Pizza Rolls, and Easy Pull Apart Pizza Bread.

Close up of spinach pizza sliced into 8 wedges.

What is Pizza Florentine?

Florentine style of cooking simply refers to a recipe that is prepared in the style of the Italian region of Florence. Florentine dishes, like my recipe for Chicken Florentine and this Pizza Florentine recipe most commonly feature spinach and a rich creamy sauce.

And in the case of Pizza Florentine, or Spinach Pizza, it is so unbelievably delicious!

why you will love this spinach pizza

Incredibly Delicious. From the tender crust that is infused with garlic to the creamy, spiced spinach ricotta mixture, to the gooey cheese, this Spinach Pizza is downright dreamy.
Unique Spin on Pizza. Instead of being made with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese, Pizza Florentine is made with a creamy ricotta base and then smothered in cheese to create a cheesy, garlicky pizza that is irresistibly delicious.
Kid-Friendly. While I absolutely love spinach in any way shape or form, most kids may be a bit more skeptical to give recipes featuring spinach a try. But serve it up on pizza, and you may be shocked to watch your kids devour this green veggie!

Notes On Ingredients

Ingredients for spinach pizza labeled on the counter.

Pizza Dough: While I like to start with my homemade pizza dough, you can certainly use your favorite store-bought pizza dough.
Ricotta Cheese: Use either whole milk or reduced-fat ricotta can be used for the base of this white pizza.
Spinach: Use defrosted, frozen chopped spinach for best results.
Mozzarella & Parmesan Cheese: It is best to grate the cheese yourself, rather than using bagged grated cheese, as they are often coated in anti-caking agents and will not melt as smoothly.
Red Pepper Flakes: Feel free to cut out the red pepper flakes for less heat in this pizza or add more if your family likes spice.
Garlic Oil: Extra virgin olive oil and minced garlic are combined and brushed over the crust to add flavor to this spinach pizza. If you don't care for a strong undertone of garlic, you can season the oil with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, which is less overwhelming than minced garlic.

Tips for the Best Spinach Pizza

While this recipe is super easy to prepare, and you can find the step-by-step directions in the recipe card, I want to share a few tips that will help ensure you have the absolute best results.

Season the Crust

Because this pizza is made without pizza sauce, we want to take the opportunity to infuse flavor into the crust and the best way to do that is by brushing the crust with olive oil that has been mixed with minced garlic. This will add a nice flavor to the pizza and help prevent the crust from becoming soggy.

Pizza dough on pizza pan brushed with garlic oil.

Squeeze the Spinach Dry

Before adding the spinach to the ricotta it is absolutely crucial that you remove all the excess moisture from the spinach to prevent a soggy pizza and watered-down Florentine topping. I recommend, placing the defrosted spinach in a clean kitchen towel or piece of cheesecloth and squeezing out all the excess moisture.

Spinach in cheesecloth being wrung dry over clear bowl.

Combine Ricotta with Spinach

To form the white base of this pizza, mix together the drained spinach with ricotta, parmesan, and seasonings. This will give the pizza a creamy, flavorful base.

Top Pizza Dough

Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the pizza dough and then top generously with mozzarella cheese. This will create a ooey, gooey, cheesy pizza that is just so good!

Pizza Crust with spinach, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese.

Bake Until Browned

Because this pizza crust is brushed with olive oil and baked at a high temperature, the crust will brown and become crispy. If you would like a softer crust, brush the dough with olive oil, leaving a 1 to 2-inch border along the edges, and bake at 400 degrees F, until the cheese is melted.

Let Cool Before Slicing

After removing the pizza from the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing it into wedges, as this allows the cheese to set and prevents the spinach topping from sliding off.

Slice of spinach pizza being pulled out from pizza tray.

Substitutions

Using Fresh Spinach: First sauté the spinach and then squeeze out any excess liquid, to prevent a soggy crust.
No Ricotta Cheese? If you don't have ricotta, you can drain cottage cheese over a fine mesh strainer overnight and use that in place of ricotta. I recommend, pulsing the strained cottage cheese in a food processor briefly before mixing together the pizza topping. This will give the cottage cheese a better texture for the pizza.
Fresh Mozzarella: Feel free to replace the shredded mozzarella with thinly sliced fresh mozzarella.

More Easy Italian-American Favorites

These Italian recipes are a bit Americanized, just like this Pizza Florentine recipe, but all are still absolutely delicious.

If you tried this recipe for Spinach Pizza, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.

Comments

4.98 from 35 votes (21 ratings without comment)

Spinach Pizza

What is Pizza Florentine?

why you will love this spinach pizza

Notes On Ingredients