Spicy White Pizza with Calabrian Chili
Spicy white pizza with Calabrian chili- A delicious blend of white cheeses (no ricotta) layered on a garlic butter pizza crust and spiced up with Calabrian chili paste! Perfect for an appetizer or dressed up for dinner.
Cheesy breads are one of my weaknesses. Anytime my husband, Taylor, orders a pizza he knows not to return without a side order of cheese sticks. I honestly don’t even care about the pizza; just give me all the cheesy bread! There is something so delicious about a crispy buttery pizza dough covered in melty cheese. Is anyone else getting hungry over here?
Lately I’ve had an obsession with making homemade pizzas. We really love a white sauce pizza in our house, so I set out to make my best version of one. I’ve had white pizzas made with ricotta as the base and those are tasty, but I wanted to do something a little different.
After some taste testing, I found the most flavorful combination is goat cheese and feta. The combo of these two cheeses mixed with oregano and spicy Calabrian chili paste are a DELICIOUS ; especially with the addition of bubbly fresh mozzarella. I’m so excited to share this recipe so let’s get into it!
What is Calabrian chili paste?
Calabrian chili paste is an Italian condiment made with dried calabrian chili peppers and crushed with olive oil. The result is a vibrant red chili paste with a smokey flavor and packed with heat. I was actually shocked how hot this paste is the first time I tried it, so if you don’t tolerate heat well reduce the amount of paste used.
Let’s make spicy white pizza!
Start with your pizza dough. I’m using a homemade dough in this recipe but store bought is absolutely fine! I like to let my dough rise for at least an hour in a warm place before I stretch it out. You can also let the dough rise in the refrigerator overnight if you are more of a planner than I am. Letting the dough rise is important for not only flavor but also texture. Rising allows the dough to develop those delicious air pockets on a crust when it’s baked.
About an hour before assembly, put your goat cheese and feta into a bowl and bring the cheeses to room temperature. You want the mixture to be spreadable. Once the cheese is soft, add your calabrian chili paste, oregano, salt and pepper and mix well.
To assemble: Oil a deep 9×13 sheet pan and gently stretch the dough out to roughly the size of the pan. Stretching the dough on the pan makes it easier than having to transfer it to the pan once it’s stretched.
Make a quick garlic butter by melting salted butter and mixing in a garlic clove. Spread the butter mixture onto the raw dough and bake for about 5 mins at 400°.
When the dough comes out of the oven spread on the feta cheese mixture evenly and top with fresh mozzarella cheese. Place the pizza back into the oven to finish cooking for about 10 minutes or until bubbly and brown.
Slice the dough into strips or squares and enjoy!
Lastly, if you make this spicy white pizza with Calabrian chili comment and/or rate it down below. I’d love to know what you think!
Spicy White Pizza with Calabrian Chili
Equipment
- Air fry oven optional
Ingredients
- 1 pound pizza dough homemade or storebought
- 3 TBS salted butter
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/3 cup feta cheese
- 1/3 cup goat cheese
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese thinly sliced or store-bought shredded
- 1/2 TBS calabrian chili paste
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil for oiling sheet tray
Instructions
- Allow pizza dough to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or in the fridge overnight.
- While the dough is rising, put feta and goat cheese together in a small bowl and let come to room temperature for about 1 hour. The cheese will become easily spreadable.
- Preheat the oven (or air fry oven if using) to 400℉Once the dough has risen, melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds and mix in the minced garlic and set aside.Gently stretch the dough onto a deep 9×13 sheet tray that has been oiled. Brush the dough with the garlic butter mixture and place the tray of pizza dough into the preheated oven for 5 minutes to partially bake. Take the dough out of the oven (it will still be very blonde at this point).
- Stir the calabrian chili paste, oregano and salt and pepper into the room temperature cheese mixture.Spread the spicy cheese mixture over the partially baked pizza crust. Top the pizza with thinly sliced mozzarella cheese or shredded mozzarella if using.
- Place the pizza back into the oven and cook until golden brown and bubly on top. About 10-12 minutes. * see note
