Hello friends!

I hope you are enjoying this fine summer Wednesday. It’s another hot one here in Pittsburgh, which means we’re continuing to utilize our grill almost daily to keep the temperatures down in the house. For some time now, I’ve been craving grilled pizza. When I was a teenager, my parents really got into making homemade pizza dough, and grilling the pizzas. They were super tasty, but I don’t think I’ve had one since! Sure, I’ve had a ton of wood-fired pizza since then (pre-paleo, especially while living in Italy) but an actual grilled pizza has been absent from my life for over a decade. Today, I decided to change that and make one.

I knew we had a Cappello’s Naked Crust in our freezer, so I figured I would streamline this recipe and use an already-prepared crust. You could definitely make your own dough, but I’m not capable of planning when I want pizza that far in advance. I don’t care how, I want it now. (Let me know if you get that movie reference!) The Cappellos’ crust is a nice starting point for any type of paleo-friendly pizza. We’ve made many delicious pizzas using their crust (Lobster Pizza) (BBQ Chicken Pizza) (Mediterranean-Style) … they are all so tasty! So today, I wanted to make a White Pizza, and I wanted to make it dairy-free too. Okay, that is actually a lie. Hayley suggested I make it dairy-free, and I agreed that it would be nice to do this for our dairy-free followers. She’s very thoughtful!

Part of the challenge for this recipe was making a traditionally cream-based white sauce dairy-free. I’ve tinkered with this type of white sauce before, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. Sauteed onions and garlic, plus some coconut cream, plus our popular Garlic & Herb Seasoning. You can also add nutritional yeast to the mix for a bit of a cheesier flavor (which I did), and a pinch of pink Himalayan salt doesn’t hurt either. The sauce simmers for about 10-15 minutes, then goes on the pizza.

The circle motif in this post is pretty cool. I didn’t intend to shoot all the photos this way, but I suppose with pizza, it is easy for it to happen. Anyway, while the white sauce was cooling, I fired up our grill. Like I said, I have been wanting to have a grilled pizza for a long time now. I did all burners on high heat, because pizza ovens are usually like 700 degrees (or hotter!) However, that temperature range isn’t attainable on most home grills, nor is it desirable for the Cappello’s crust. I did ours at 500F and that was honestly pushing it, based on the crust.

The second secret ingredient in making this taste authentic while being dairy-free is the Kite Hill dairy-free Ricotta, made with almond milk. I have to be honest, I was skeptical before using this ‘cheese’ but was pleasantly surprised with the result. I’m not surprised this product won a Nexty award. The pizza tasted awesome, just like “real” ricotta.

I added some of our organic Oregano to the top of the pizza before cooking, along with the Kite Hill dairy-free Ricotta. You don’t have to add oregano, but I love this classic Italian flavor, and it just adds a little something to this pizza. If you have it, I’d use it. I did 10 minutes on the grill at around 500F, and I feel like that was borderline too hot. I would scale this back to 425-450 degrees for about 8 minutes. Then I would shut most or all of the burners off and allow it to rest on the grill another 5 minutes (with the lid closed). This will help the top of the pizza cook more fully. After that, just slide it off using a big spatula, cut it, and serve it.

I think one of the best parts of grilling the pizza is how the underside of the crust gets nice and crisp. Many grain-free pizzas are a little (how do I put this delicately?) … soft. When I eat pizza, I want the slice to hold up on its own, without folding. This thin crust pizza certainly accomplishes that, especially with this cooking method.

I hope you all love this dairy-free pizza recipe. It was an absolute delight to eat! Let us know if you want more dairy-free recipes, and we’ll do our best to make some!

Happy Eating
Bill

White Pizza (Dairy-free and Gluten-free)

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White pizza reminds me of beach weekends in southern New Jersey as a kid. There was a pizzeria in Cape May Courthouse called Alfredos (25 years later, it's still there!) Their white pizza was a once a year treat that my family enjoyed. I was excited to try to recreate this unique pizza using better ingredients like a Cappello's grain-free crust, and some dairy-free techniques for other key ingredients like the Ricotta and white sauce. Give this one a shot, and definitely grill it if you have one!

Serves: 2

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, Extra Virgin
• 1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup Onion, minced
• 2 cloves 2 cloves 2 cloves Garlic, minced or pressed
• 1/3 cup 1/3 cup 1/3 cup Coconut Cream, (the thick cream in a can of coconut milk)
• 1.5 tsp 1.5 tsp 1.5 tsp Primal Palate Garlic & Herb Seasoning
• 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp Nutritional Yeast, optional
• 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
• 1 whole 1 whole 1 whole Naked Pizza Crust (Cappello's)
• 4 oz 4 oz 4 oz Dairy-free Ricotta (Kite Hill)
• 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp Oregano, dried, optional

Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

1. Start by bringing the sauce together in a medium sauce pan on the stove. Add the olive oil to the pan over medium heat and saute the minced onions until translucent (about 8-10 minutes). Add the minced or pressed garlic, and saute for another minute or two.
2. Scoop the thick cream off the top of a can of coconut milk. You'll need about 1/3 of a cup. Add it to the sauce and stir to combine.
3. Add the Primal Palate Garlic & Herb seasoning to the sauce, along with the nutritional yeast (optional, but gives a more cheesy flavor), and a pinch of salt. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring, then remove from heat.
4. Heat grill to high heat. Ideally grill will be 400F - 500F for cooking. If you don't have access to a grill, heat your oven to 425F.
5. Top the pizza crust with the sauce, avoiding the oil that has separated from the sauce itself. A little oil is okay, but the sauce will get oily, so just avoid excess.
6. Add crumbled dairy-free ricotta to the top of the pizza. You can sprinkle a little extra oregano on the top, which I think improves the flavor.
7. Place the pizza directly on the hot grill (or on the oven rack). After about 8-10 minutes, turn off the burners under the pizza and allow it to cook for a few more minutes to get it extra crispy. The edges of the crust will get golden brown. If you like it cooked less, you can adjust the times down a bit.
8. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board or pizza stone, slice, and serve.