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Spinach, Ricotta and Sausage Pizza

Aug 16, 2022 | 0 comments

Spinach and ricotta are a match made in heaven, but paired with crispy sausage, crunchy broccolini and sweet chilli on pizza? You’re in for a treat. This gorgeous white pizza delivers every time and has so many layers of punchy flavours. Add it to your pizza night rotation and thank me later.

Whipped ricotta, sausage, broccolini and chilli pizza sliced.

Pizza is a fab way to make use of leftovers. That’s how this recipe started out! I had a couple of pieces of broccolini in the fridge, a little leftover ricotta, half a bag of spinach, a rogue sausage and some cheese. And combined, it created this delicious pizza that I found myself returning to. Spinach and ricotta is a classic combination for a reason and it’s really celebrated here.

My trick for using sausages on pizza is to squeeze the sausage meat out of its skin. It means you can dollop little bits of sausage all over the pizza and looks so much nicer than slices. Plus, it’s a weirdly satisfying job!

I’m using my super quick and easy 5 minute, 2 ingredient homemade pizza base recipe here – definitely give it a go if you’re ready to try making your own bases. I promise it’s genuinely easy and it tastes great. I’ve included the instructions in the recipe below too.

Ingredients

You don’t need many ingredients for this pizza, and they’re all easy to find or can be switched out for alternatives.

  • Ricotta. This forms the creamy, cheesy white base for the pizza. Mixing plain ricotta with garlic and salt really lifts it and makes it a perfect canvas for the delicious flavours we’re going to add on top. You can find ricotta pretty easily in supermarkets.
  • Sausages. Go for a good quality, free-range sausage here. You could also use chorizo or salami.
  • Broccolini. I love the crunchy freshness broccolini brings here. The key is to slice it thinly so it cooks through and chars nicely on the pizza. Use asparagus, normal broccoli or more spinach if you can’t find it.
  • Spinach. A little chopped spinach adds even more green nutrients to the pizza and its subtle flavour works perfectly with the other ingredients. If you use frozen spinach, make sure you defrost it and squeeze out as much water as possible before putting it on the pizza.
  • Cheese. Along with the ricotta, we’re using mozzarella and cheddar (or gruyère) here to really up the cheesy factor.
  • Chilli jam. This just adds the most delicious sweet and spicy finish to the pizza so I love it – I use my easy chilli jam. But you could use any sweet chilli sauce, honey or hot honey sauce.

How to make it

About 45 minutes before you want to cook your pizzas, turn your oven to its highest setting (250C/480F for me) and pop in whatever you’re going to cook the pizzas on. That could be a pizza stone, cast iron pan or oven trays. For ease, when I’m using my oven to cook pizza I ALWAYS top the bases on a piece of baking paper. It makes it so much easier to move the topped pizza to the oven, without the risk of it falling apart or out of your hands while you move it.

Start by spreading on the whipped ricotta and garlic mix, leaving a little space around the edges for the crust. Scatter over chopped spinach leaves, sliced broccolini and the cheese. Follow with the red chilli and dollop over the sausage meat.

Transfer the pizza – still on the baking paper – to your pizza stone/cast iron pan/oven trays in the oven and cook for 10 – 15 minutes on the top shelf. You’re looking for the base to be golden, the cheese to be oozy, the broccolini to be looking a little charred and the sausage meat to be crispy. Remove from the oven, then drizzle over the chilli jam. Slice and serve while the toppings are hot and delicious!

Got a question?

I can’t find ricotta, can I use anything else?

You could use crème fraîche in place of the ricotta here – just mix it with the garlic and salt and continue with the recipe. You could also leave the ricotta off if you like. The pizza will still be delicious, it just won’t be quite as cheesy and creamy.

What can I use instead of broccolini?

You could just use more spinach, or use kale or asparagus. You could also add some rocket leaves to the pizza after it’s cooked for that pop of fresh green.

Is the pizza spicy?

It definitely has a hit of heat with the red chilli so if you’re worried, you could just leave it off.

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Whipped ricotta, sausage, broccolini and chilli pizza sliced.

Spinach, Ricotta and Sausage Pizza


Description

Spinach and ricotta are a match made in heaven, but paired with crispy sausage, crunchy broccolini and sweet chilli on pizza? You’re in for a treat. This gorgeous white pizza delivers every time and has so many layers of punchy flavours. Add it to your pizza night rotation and thank me later.

I’ve included my 5-minute pizza dough recipe below if you’d like to give it a go – otherwise, just use a store-bought base, or even try using a wrap or naan.

At least 45 minutes before you want to cook the pizzas, make sure you get your oven on its highest setting (that’s 250C/480F for me) and put whatever you’re cooking the pizzas on in the oven too (whether that’s a pizza stone, cast iron pan or oven trays.


Ingredients

Scale

For 2 pizzas – 

  • 1/2 cup ricotta
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped spinach leaves
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella, grated
  • 4 pieces of broccolini, thinly sliced lengthways
  • 1/4 cup cheddar or gruyere, cut into cubes
  • 2 large sausages
  • 1 red chilli, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons sweet chilli jam

For the 5-minute dough –

  • 300g self-raising flour (or use all-purpose flour and add 1 teaspoon of baking powder)
  • 280g thick Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

For 2 pizzas – 

  1. Make the whipped ricotta. Add the 1/2 cup of ricotta into a large bowl along with the 2 crushed garlic cloves and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Using a fork, vigorously mix the ricotta for 30 seconds. Set aside.
  2. Top the pizzas. Lay each pizza base out onto a piece of baking paper, so they’re easy to move into the oven. Divide the whipped ricotta between each pizza, smoothing it out with the back of a spoon to coat the bases, leaving about 1.5cm at the ends for the crust. Slice through the skin of your sausage and squeeze out the meat (extremely satisfying!) Scatter the mozzarella and cheddar or gruyere on top of the ricotta, followed by the broccolini, spinach and dollops of sausage meat. Spoon over the sliced red chilli. 
  3. Cook the pizzas. Transfer the pizzas (on the baking paper) to your preheated pizza stone/cast iron pan/oven trays and cook on the top shelf of your oven for 10 – 15 minutes (check it after 10 – this will depend on the heat of your oven). You want the crust to be looking golden, the broccolini to be nice and charred and the sausage meat to be crispy. Remove from the oven, then drizzle over the chilli jam. Slice and serve while the pizzas are still hot and oozy.

If you’re making the 5-minute pizza dough – 

  1. Mix the dough. Add the 300g self-raising flour, 280g Greek yogurt and 1 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until it comes together into a rough, floury dough. Turn it out onto a clean, flat surface. Scatter a little flour (about 1 tablespoon) onto the surface if you like, to help with any stickiness. Knead the dough for three minutes, until it’s soft and smooth. To do this, press down on the dough with the heel of your hand and push the dough out away from you. Fold the dough back over itself, give the dough a quarter turn and repeat this process. You can give the dough a couple of slaps on the bench too. Set it back inside the mixing bowl and cover it with a clean tea towel while you prepare your toppings.
  2. Roll out the pizza bases. When you’re ready to cook the pizzas, cut the dough into two equal pieces and form them into balls. With a rolling pin, roll out each ball into 25cm circles. 

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES: If you’re making the 5-minute pizza dough, it’s important you use a thick, Greek yogurt and not regular plain yogurt. Plain yogurt tends to be too runny and you’ll end up having to add a lot more flour. This can make you dough quite dense.

SUBSTITUTIONS: Leave out the sausages if you want a vegetarian pizza, or use your favourite plant-based sausages. Switch out the broccolini for asparagus or regular broccoli, and leave the chilli off if you’re worried about the heat. You could use crème fraîche in place of the ricotta – just mix it with the garlic and salt and continue with the recipe. You could also leave the ricotta off if you like. The pizza will still be delicious, it just won’t be quite as cheesy and creamy.

  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Category: fakeaways
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: italian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/2 pizza
  • Calories: 576
  • Sugar: 9.1g
  • Sodium: 1350mg
  • Fat: 19.5g
  • Saturated Fat: 8.6g
  • Carbohydrates: 71.1g
  • Fiber: 2.5g
  • Protein: 27.7g
  • Cholesterol: 46mg

Keywords: sausage pizza, chilli pizza, ricotta pizza, white pizza

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I’m Kate, the creator behind Dished. I love creating flavour packed, simple (ish) recipes for you, designed for every day and special occasions.

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