My house loves this olive oil pizza without tomato sauce! Pizza dough is topped with a flavorful olive oil-based sauce full of garlic and herbs, topped with 3 white cheeses, and finished with a sprinkle of basil. Absolutely delish and the perfect addition to Friday night pizza!
If I could, I would eat pizza every day of the week. I’m sure a few of you (probably all of you) feel the same. I mean, is there a person out there that doesn’t love bread and cheese? Highly doubtful, if you know of one… run! Just kidding, we can still love the bread and cheese haters out there but I’ll never understand it.
What I can understand is an aversion to tomato sauce. Growing up I actually hated it. I’ve grown to love it now but I get it, the bright acidic taste is not for everyone. If you are one of the tomato sauce haters in the world or if you’re just tired of the same old boring tomato sauce pizzas then you will absolutely love this olive oil pizza!
As much as I love a traditional pizza sauce, sometimes switching it up a bit is nice. This olive oil pizza uses garlic, olive oil, and dried herbs to create a deliciously fragrant and flavorful sauce. It’s topped with 3 kinds of cheese and sprinkled with fresh basil after it comes out of the oven for a perfect finish. We can’t get enough of it at my house.
Why You’ll Love This Pizza With Olive Oil Pizza Sauce
- Light and refreshing twist on your traditional pizza for when you’re tired of tomato sauce and want to mix it up.
- Quick and easy: this olive oil pizza can be made in under 30 minutes when using store-bought dough.
- Great for a simple dinner, easy appetizer, or served alongside your favorite pasta dish.
No Tomato Pizza Sauce Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this olive oil pizza without tomato sauce
Pizza Dough – homemade or store-bought pizza dough both work great for this recipe.
Olive Oil – a good quality extra virgin olive oil is used as a base for this pizza sauce.
Fresh Garlic Cloves – freshly minced garlic adds loads of flavor to this pizza sauce
Dried Herbs – I use a mix of dried basil, oregano, and thyme to bring a little more excitement and depth of flavor to this pizza.
Cheese – I use a mix of mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and ricotta cheese for this recipe. If you’re not a fan of ricotta it can be left off.
Fresh Basil – a sprinkle of fresh basil leaves after the pizza comes out of the oven adds flavor and freshness.
How to Make Olive Oil Pizza Without Tomato Sauce
Below is a list of visual instructions. Full instructions with the exact ingredients and measurements will be on the recipe card at the end of this post. This recipe can be made using a cast iron skillet or a pizza stone, instructions are listed for both.
NOTE: This recipe is for one 10-12 inch pizza. Double or triple the recipe if you plan on making more.
Step 1 – In a small bowl add minced garlic, olive oil, and dried herbs. Stir to combine.
Step 2 – Cast Iron Skillet Directions: If using a skillet, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Cover the bottom of the skillet with a thin layer of oil to ensure the dough won’t stick. Place the dough in the middle of the pan and work the dough into a flat round disk poking and stretching the dough with your fingers.
Pizza Stone Directions: If using a pizza stone, place the stone in the cold oven and then preheat it to 500 degrees. Leave the stone in the oven for at least 30 minutes without the pizza. On a heavily floured pizza peel, roll and stretch your pizza dough ball to the desired size.
Step 3– Using the back of a spoon or a pastry brush, take the olive oil sauce mixture and spread it across the top of the dough.
Step 4 – Sprinkle grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese on the top of the pizza and add dollops of ricotta to ensure you get some on each slice.
Step 5 – Cast Iron Skillet Directions:
Place the skillet into the oven for 10-13 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. If you want the bottom of the pizza a little crispier. Place the pan on a burner over high heat for a few minutes after you take it out of the oven.
Pizza Stone Directions: Once your pizza is preheated slide your pizza right onto the hot stone in the oven. Let it bake for 10-13 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted. Use a pizza peel and tongs to remove the pizza from the stone.
Step 6 – Top your pizza with fresh basil and slice. Your pizza is ready to eat!
How To Make Homemade Pizza Dough
I like to use store-bought pizza dough for this recipe, but if you can’t find it at your local grocery store or you really want to make everything from scratch, here is a simple and easy homemade pizza dough recipe to follow.
Pizza Dough Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
- 1 Cup Warm Water (approx 105 degrees)
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 2 – 2.5 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
Step 1 – Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Let it sit for about 5 minutes until it’s very foamy.
Step 2 – In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, stir together 2 cups of flour and salt.
Step 3 – Pour the water mixture into the flour mixture and knead the dough on low using your stand mixer for 2-3 minutes until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and a ball forms. The dough should only be slightly sticky, add more flour as needed.
Step 4 – Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and shape it into a ball. Place the dough ball into a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 20 minutes.
Step 5 – Use the dough immediately or wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to two days
Expert Tips
- If you are making your pizza in a cast iron skillet and want the bottom to be a bit crispier, place it on the stove over medium-high heat for a few minutes to make the crust crispier after it comes out of the oven.
- If using a pizza stone, be careful not to let the oil from the pizza drip down onto your stone as it can cause it to smell really awful. I actually threw my last one away, I couldn’t revive it.
- If using a pizza stone, be sure to put enough flour onto your pizza peel to make it easier to slide the pizza off the peel and onto the pizza stone in the oven. The last thing you want is for your pizza to get stuck.
- If your oven doesn’t go up to 500 degrees, set it to the highest setting you can. You might just have to cook your pizza a little longer with less heat. Keep an eye on it.
Additions and Substitutions
- If you don’t keep a lot of dry herbs on hand, you can replace the dried basil, oregano, and thyme with an equal amount of Italian seasoning. This will limit the amount of herbs you need to purchase.
- Not a ricotta fan? Feel free to leave it off or replace it with a different white cheese. Other delicious cheeses you could add to this pizza are fresh mozzarella, pecorino romano, or shredded provolone.
- Growing a beautiful herb garden? Feel free to use fresh herbs in place of dried herbs in the garlic oil sauce, this will add a lot of flavor.
- If you don’t have fresh garlic available you can use jarred minced garlic, keep in mind this will alter the flavor a bit. I don’t recommend using garlic powder.
Storing and Reheating Olive Oil Pizza
Storage – Store cooled pizza in a large zip lock bag or airtight container in the fridge, it will keep for up to 3 days.
Reheating – There are a few ways you can reheat your pizza.
- Airfryer – preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees and cook for about 3-4 minutes until the cheese is melted and the pizza crust is crispy
- Toaster Oven – Place your pizza on the toaster oven tray and toast for 4-5 minutes. I don’t recommend placing the pizza on the open grates, I almost burnt down my house doing that because the grease from the pizza landed on the heating element and caught fire. You’ve been warned.
- Conventional Oven – Preheat your oven to 350, place your pizza on a baking sheet, and cook for 5 – 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and the pizza is heated through.
- Microwave – this is definitely my least favorite way to heat up my pizza as it doesn’t stay crispy at all, but if you’re like me and work in an office building sometimes it’s your only option. Heat for 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the strength of your microwave, those office microwaves can be really powerful.
The Best Pizza Toppings for This Sauceless Pizza
This olive oil pizza without tomato sauce is delicious as is but is also tasty with additional pizza toppings. The toppings that go well on this pizza are:
- Artichokes
- Mushrooms
- Balsamic Drizzle
- Italian Sausage
- Bacon
- Spinach
- Roasted Red Peppers
- Arugula
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Fresh Herbs
- ​Fresh Mozzarella
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, olive oil is delicious on pizza. Olive oil can be used in place of tomato sauce under the cheese or drizzled on top of a cooked pizza after it comes out of the oven, to add another layer of richness and flavor to your pizza.
Pizza that uses olive oil as its base instead of tomato sauce is often called pizza bianca or white pizza. It’s made using olive oil as the sauce and topped with 3 kinds of white cheese. It does not contain any red sauce or tomato sauce but is every bit as delicious as a traditional pizza.
The sky’s the limit! Get creative with your pizza sauce. Popular tomato sauce substitutions on pizza are olive oil, pesto sauce, alfredo sauce, barbeque sauce, olive tapenade, ranch dressing or even jams such as fig jam are delicious on pizza when paired with the right toppings.
If you make this olive oil pizza without tomato sauce be sure to leave a comment, give a rating, or share on Instagram. Don’t forget to tag me, I love looking through photos of the recipes you make!
Olive Oil Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
- 8oz Pizza Dough Ball
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil extra virgin
- 1/4 tsp Dried Basil
- 1/4 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1/4 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese grated
- 2 tbsp Ricotta Cheese
- 2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese grated
- Fresh Basil (for topping)
Instructions
Olive Oil Sauce
- In a small bowl add minced garlic, oil, and dried herbs. Stir to combine.
Cast Iron Skillet Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Cover the bottom of the skillet with a thin layer of oil to ensure the dough won't stick. Place the dough in the middle of the pan and work the dough into a flat round disk poking and stretching the dough with your fingers.
- Add the oil, garlic, and herb mixture to the dough and spread across the top.
- Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan across the top of the pizza and add dollops of ricotta to ensure you get some on each slice.
- Place the skillet into the oven for 10-14 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. If you want the bottom of the pizza a little crispier. Place the pan on a burner over high heat for a few minutes after you take it out of the oven.
- Add fresh basil to the top of the pizza and slice.
Pizza Stone Instructions
- Place the stone in the cold oven and then preheat to 500 degrees. Leave the stone in the oven for at least 30 minutes without the pizza.
- On a heavily floured pizza peel, roll and stretch your pizza dough to desired size.
- Add the oil, garlic, and herb mixture to the dough and spread across the top.
- Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan cheese to the top of the pizza and add dollops of ricotta to ensure you get some on each slice.
- Once your pizza is preheated slide your pizza right onto the hot stone in the oven. Let it bake for 10-14 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted.
- Use a pizza peel and tongs to remove the pizza from the stone.
- Add fresh basil to the top of the pizza and slice.