Once you’ve tasted this roasted garlic white cheese pizza with arugula salad you’ll never go back to store bought pizza again! Homemade crust is topped with a creamy, slightly spicy roasted garlic sauce, two types of cheese, and is baked to ooey gooey perfection! It’s then topped with a fresh arugula salad!
What do you think of when I say fresh pizza dough smothered in a homemade, creamy, roasted garlicky pizza sauce, topped with fresh mozzarella (pronounced just like Giada), fontina that’s baked to gooey perfection then topped with a fresh, bright, lemony arugula salad?
Only one word comes to my mind: awesome.
This roasted garlic white cheese pizza with arugula salad is just that. Awesome.
I was asked to do a wine and pizza pairing for Mulderbosch and as I was reading the description of their Sauvignon Blanc, it said that it would pair nicely with arugula. I immediately new I wanted to do a roasted garlic white cheese pizza with arugula salad. The bright, crisp nature of the Sauvignon Blanc would cut the richness of the garlic cheese sauce while pairing beautifully with the bright arugula salad.
Let me tell you…I was NOT disappointed.
I have an incredibly embarrassing confession to make. The other day, I made these golden oreo peanut butter blondies and I told you that I liked Pizza Hut. (Where’s the see no evil monkey emoji when you need one?!) I also told you that I got really into watching the Bachelor this season and that’s why I had ordered pizza. What I didn’t tell you is that I did it not once, but twice!
There’s something about watching the Bachelor that requires copious amounts of snacks. Not just any snacks, really bad for you snacks. I figured, I’m already trashing my mind with garage, why not fill my body with a little Pizza Hut garbage, too? 😉
I, of course, ordered extra cheesy pizza, but as much as I wish my body and my budget could handle eating my not-so-secret guilty pleasure every day. I can’t. That’s why I decided to make a homemade roasted garlic white cheese pizza with arugula salad. The best part is that it tastes even more sinful than Pizza Hut, but you actually know what you’re putting into your body! 🙂
This roasted garlic white cheese pizza with arugula salad has four parts.
1. The dough. I made homemade today, but I’m sure that this would still taste wonderful with store bought for a quicker meal! If you have the time, I’d definitely recommend making your own.
2. The roasted garlic sauce. You’re going to want to eat the whole thing with a spoon, then lick the bottom of the bowl clean, but trust me, save some for the pizza.
3. The cheeeeeeeeeeese. I used fresh mozzarella and fontina. Match. Made. In. Heaven.
4. The arugula salad. Simple, delicious, and really offsets the rich roasted garlic sauce.
To keep organized in this recipe, I’d definitely recommend reading through all the directions first! This isn’t a hard recipe, it just has multiple steps, so it’s important to be as organized as possible!
First, we’re going to roast some garlic. Put 8 whole cloves into an oven safe dish and cover completely with olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and cover with tin foil. Bake in a preheated oven until roasty and golden brown. Set aside.
Now let’s make the dough. Combine warm water, dry yeast, honey, and olive oil together in a bowl. Let rest for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the mixture should be quite foamy. Place this into a bowl of your stand mixer and add in 1 cup of flour. Mix with the dough hook on low while slowly adding in the remaining flour and salt. Mix for 10 minutes. The dough will be smooth and should not be sticking to the sides of the bowl.
Roll the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead a handful of times using your hands ( I kneaded the dough 12 times). Place in a well oiled bowl – I used cooking spray – and turn to coat the dough in the oil. Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
While the dough is resting, now is the time to make the roasted garlic white sauce.
Ohhh my gosh, I’m so excited!
Warm whole milk in a sauce pan over medium low heat, keep warm until ready to use.
You’re going to start by making a roux. Melt butter over medium low heat in a medium sized pan and then add in equal parts flour. Whisk until smooth and then whisk constantly while it cooks for about 90 seconds (up to 2 minutes). Again, whisking constantly, slowly add in the warm milk. Then add in salt and cayenne pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. The sauce should be nice and thick now.
Add in the roasted garlic that we made earlier (just the cloves – not the oil) and then transfer the mixture into a high powered blender, like the vitamix
Now, your dough should be fully rested! Dump it out onto a lightly floured surface and punch down. Let it rest again for 10 minutes. Next, roll the dough out using a rolling pin. The dough should be about 1/4 in thick.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat 
Top the dough with the roasted garlic sauce. Make sure to leave 3/4 inch border for the crust. Also, I reserved about 2 tablespoons of sauce for crust dipping later on. I feel like if I used the whole amount of sauce, it would’ve been too much.
Now top the sauce with thinly sliced mozzarella and freshly grated fontina.
Bake the roasted garlic white pizza 6-10 minutes or until the cheese is melty and the crust is a golden brown.
Now. Word of advice. If you can create a raised outer crust, go for it. I’m not that talented, so I didn’t and I had a little cheese land slide. So two things.
1. Create a raised outer crust.
2. If you can’t, make sure your dough is perfectly flat! Like whip out the level to ensure the crust is flat – kidding… but seriously, make sure the dough is flat. The reason my cheese slid was because my crust was a little uneven.
That being said, the damage wasn’t bad at all, so I just scooped up the little bit of cheese and placed it back onto the pizza, and it made my crust cheesy, which is never a problem in my book 😉
While you let your pizza cool a touch, make the salad. I just made a simple lemon vinaigrette: olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Give it a whisk and pour over the arugula. Toss to combine. Use as much or as little dressing as you like. I’d recommend starting with a little and adding more dressing as you see fit.
Cut the pizza into equal pieces and top with the arugula salad and chopped cherry tomatoes!
Serve immediately.
This roasted garlic white cheese pizza with arugula salad is seriously one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had. The roasted garlic sauce alone blew me away, but taking the time to make homemade pizza dough, use fresh mozzarella, and adding a light salad topping really took this pizza from great –> fan-freaking-tastic!
Trevor and I thoroughly enjoyed one many slices while sipping on our one many glasses of Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc! 😉
– Jennifer
Do you like “white” pizzas or prefer the traditional “red” sauce? Show me the yummy!
Roasted Garlic White Cheese Pizza with Arugula Salad
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast
- ½ tablespoon honey
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
Roasted Garlic Sauce
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 10 cloves roasted garlic*
Cheese
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella sliced
- 3-4 ounces grated fontina
Arugula Salad
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2-4 ounces baby arugula
- cherry tomatoes chopped - optional for topping
Instructions
- To keep organized in this recipe, I'd definitely recommend reading through all the directions first! This isn't a hard recipe, it just has multiple steps, so it's important to be as organized as possible!
Roasted Garlic
- First, we're going to roast some garlic. Put 8 whole cloves into an oven safe dish and cover completely with olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and cover with tin foil. Bake in a preheated oven until roasty and golden brown. Set aside.
Dough
- Now let's make the dough. Combine warm water, dry yeast, honey, and olive oil together in a bowl. Let rest for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the mixture should be quite foamy.
- Place this into a bowl of your stand mixer and add in 1 cup of flour. Mix with the dough hook on low while slowly adding in the remaining flour and salt. Mix for 10 minutes. The dough will be smooth and should not be sticking to the sides of the bowl.
- Roll the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead a handful of times using your hands ( I kneaded the dough 12 times). Place in a well oiled bowl - I used cooking spray - and turn to coat the dough in the oil. Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, now is the time to make the roasted garlic white sauce.
Roasted Garlic White Sauce
- Warm whole milk in a sauce pan over medium low heat, keep warm until ready to use.
- You're going to start by making a roux.
- Melt butter over medium low heat and then add in equal parts flour.
- Whisk until smooth and then whisk constantly while it cooks for about 90 seconds (up to 2 minutes). Again, whisking constantly, slowly add in the warm milk.
- Then add in salt and cayenne pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. The sauce should be nice and thick now.
- Add in the roasted garlic that we made earlier (just the cloves - not the oil) and then transfer the mixture into a high powered blender, like the Vitamix. Blend until smooth. Taste and re-season with salt, if necessary! Set aside to let it thicken up.
Dough Continued
- Now, your dough should be fully rested! Roll it out onto a lightly floured surface and punch down. Let it rest again for 10 minutes. Next, roll the dough out using a rolling pin. The dough should be about 1/4 in thick. Make sure the dough is completely even or you may have cheese slide off while baking.
Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
- Top the dough with the roasted garlic sauce. Make sure to leave 3/4 inch border for the crust. Also, I reserved about 2 tablespoons of sauce for crust dipping later on.
- Now top the sauce with thinly sliced mozzarella and freshly grated fontina.
- Bake for 6-10 minutes or until the cheese is melty and the crust is a golden brown.
Arugula Salad
- While you let your pizza cool, make the salad.
- Combine olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Give it a whisk and pour over arugula. Toss to combine. Use as much or as little dressing as you like. I'd recommend starting with a little and adding more as you see fit.
- Cut the pizza into equal pieces and top with the arugula salad and chopped cherry tomatoes!
- Serve immediately.
- Take 5 seconds to either rate this recipe below and/or PIN it. We greatly appreciate it!
Notes
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Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
* This is not a sponsored post. I was, however, provided with the Mulderbosch wine! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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