comfort/dinner/recipes/Vegetarian Recipes

Four Cheese Pizza: Mozzarella, Parmesan, Brie and Ricotta

Posted June 8, 2015 by Stephanie
four cheese pizza recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

four cheese pizza recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

You know, I never really got the appeal of cheese pizza. Growing up, my pizza of choice was always ham and pineapple. I’m pretty sure that was due to the fact that when I was a kid, I didn’t know what other kinds of pizzas were out there. Ham and pineapple happened to be my parents’ favorite, so it was kind of mine too, by default. Fast forward many, many years and I’ve pretty much tried as many types of pizzas as possible. Even so, amidst my extensive pizza eating of porchetta pizzas, grilled cheese pizzas, and caramelized shrimp pizzas, I’ve been slow to answer the siren song of the classic, cheese-topped pizza.

four cheese pizza recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

But now, I’ve gone to the dark and cheesy side. I’m all about cheese pizza, which is no ways plain. It all started, appropriately, at my nephew’s birthday party. Apparently kids like cheese pizza and I have the palate of a seven year old because I too like cheese pizza! Admittedly, the cheese pizza at the party wasn’t anything special, but I could taste the potential. What more do you need on a pizza than crust, sauce, and cheese? It’s the trifecta of what makes pizza a pizza. I then tried some of the best pizza in columbia sc and from that moment, I was converted!

four cheese pizza recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

After the party I set out to make my ultimate cheese pizza. Here it is friends, how to make a four cheese pizza. First off, we need to consider the base of all pizzas: the crust. My go to pizza crust is Jim Lahey’s no knead pizza dough. It comes together ridiculously easily and bakes up beautifully. Essentially, all you do is stir together flour, water, salt and yeast and wait for time to do it’s thing. The next day you have gloriously soft and silky pizza dough just waiting for sauce and cheese.

four cheese pizza recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

I shaped my dough in a cast iron pan because I like the extra heat that cast iron brings to the bottom of your crust. I’m adamantly against soggy crusts and when home baking pizzas, cast iron pans are the workhorse that will give you crispy crust every time. I sprinkled the sauce with a bit of crushed fennel for a bit of depth as well as some crushed garlic because garlic and tomatoes are best friends. On top of that deliciousness, the cheese was added in layers: mozzarella on the bottom, then parmesan, then brie, then dollops of ricotta. The melt of the mozzarella, the nuttiness of the parmesan, the creaminess of the brie and the freshness of the ricotta make this cheese pizza a winner.

four cheese pizza recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

Speaking of winners, I just came back from attending the 2015 Saveur Blog Awards in NYC! Last year the party was in Vegas, but this year they switched it up and everything was in Brooklyn. It was so much fun meeting some of my favorite bloggers in real life. I wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone I got to squeeze (Molly, Cynthia, Alana, Michelle, Nik, Sam, Kristin, Talia, Sydney, Jodi, Kristan, Summer, Jessie, Renée, Emilie, Julia, Linda, Sherrie, Phyllis, Brooke, Phi) and all the winners and nominees that couldn’t make it (and the ones that I somehow didn’t get to meet in the craziness). The food blog community is an awesome one – cheese pizzas (gluten free and vegan for those who need it) for everyone!

four cheese pizza recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

Four Cheese Pizza Recipe
makes 1 pizza

  • 1 ball no-knead pizza dough
  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup pizza sauce, depending on how saucy you like your pizza
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon toasted fennel seeds, crushed
  • 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
  • 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
  • 1/4 small wheel of brie, cut or ripped into chunks
  • 1/4 cup ricotta
  • freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • red pepper flakes, to serve

Arrange a rack in middle of oven and preheat to its hottest setting, 500°–550°.

Lightly oil a cast iron pan and dust lightly with cornmeal, if desired. Shape dough into a circle, pushing gently. Spread on the sauce almost to the edges and sprinkle on the garlic and fennel seeds. Top with the shredded mozzarella, parmesan, brie, and ricotta. Grind on a generous amount of pepper and place in the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust is puffy, crisp and slightly blistered. Enjoy immediately with red pepper flakes.

four cheese pizza recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

38 Comments

  1. Absolutely love it! I’ve never put Brie on a pizza before, but I can image it would help make the tastiest 4-cheese pizza out there. Over the years, I’ve avoided plain cheese pizzas in favor of more interesting toppings, but this makes me want to go back to the (delicious) basics :)

  2. this sounds way better than the average cafeteria/dining hall cheese pizza- i’d be down for this one, though probably not the typical cheese.

  3. This pizza has the most sass a pizza could ever hope for!! I’m in love!

  4. Gosh, Steph, your writing is BOMB. As you were describing this pizza, I could actually almost taste it in my mouth. Amazing.

    It was so lovely finally hanging out with you IRL!!! Let’s do it again soon!

  5. Abby says:

    This cheese pizza looks incredible, Stephanie! <3

  6. Synnøve says:

    Cheese pizza is the best! thank you for the recipe!

  7. My favourite pizzas when I was a kid was good ol’ cheese and ham & pineapple! Except nobody else in my family liked those, so I would get half a pizza to myself.

    Have you tried Pizza Farina, on main street? Ugggh, it’s so good and a super cool place to hang out and they have possibly the best pizza in Van. If you ever go there and see a really tall skinny guy or a shorter guy with a beard, say hi to them from me! They’re two of my friends!

  8. I loved getting to meet/squeeze you too, Steph! Also, this pizza looks awesome. And I think I was the exact opposite as a child–cheese pizza was the ONLY kind I’d eat! Needless to say, I’m a bit more adventurous now, but sometimes I still order just plain old cheese. It’s the simple things that are sometimes the best ;)

  9. This pizza is EVERYTHING. I love Jim Lahey’s dough and all of that cheese is making me weak in the knees!

  10. I love four cheese pizza and the cheeses on this sound like a dream! I love adding mascarpone so I need to find a way to somehow sneak that in too!

  11. sophie says:

    That’s a lot of cheese and I am definitely trying the no-knead pizza dough!

  12. Suri says:

    I think homemade pizzas taste better than any of those in fastfood outlets….

  13. Medeja says:

    Pizza with a lot of cheese! Who wouldn’t love that!

  14. Brie and ricotta on pizza! That sounds to die for! I’ve gotta try this!

  15. Alana says:

    YAYYYY for the fanciest cheese pizza I ever did see and real life squeeze sessions. I LOVED hanging IRL and my only regret is that we didn’t have MORE time to hang. Wish we all had a proper pizza party. Because that’s what adults do right?! LOL. But really… Anyway, this pizza is amazing and the way you described it had me wish my laptop was a giant cheese pizza. :D :D Huge hugs from LA. (This goes without saying but miss you already!!)

  16. So so so great meeting you this past week Stephanie!! <3 And O-M-G cheese. #veganproblems

  17. awww steph! every time i read something like “my favourite pizza was HAWAIIAN” i think… good sweet lord. so many similarities. MY FAVE TOO! teddy’s fave is four cheese! (obviously a kid friendly choice…!) i am going to try this pizza dough recipe! and never thought to make it in the old cast iron pan. SMART COOKIE, you are!! ps i know i was not nominated or anything but GOSH DARN IT i wish i coulda met some of my blog friends in real life! oy. one day! ^__^ sounded and looked like so much fun! xo

  18. That was an amazing time, good memories!!! Yes, I have the tastebuds of a kid too, my pizza should have a lot of cheese, just like yours with different kinds. XOXO

  19. Hawaiian pizza REPRESENT… chorizo and pancetta and things are tasty, but I love ham and pineapple the most! Except I think I might love all of the cheese on this pizza even more. It looks a teeny bit ridiculous and extremely delicious!

  20. cynthia says:

    This is the cheese pizza of my DREAMS. I LOVE that you switched up the four-cheese routine with brie!!! Just like Katrina said, SO SASSY AND AMAZING. I’m with you, cheese pizza is totally underrated (and I also have the tastebuds of a 7-year-old and adooooore regular old party pizzas omg) but I think it just got a major boost from this stunner. So crazy amazing, Steph, you never cease to floor me!!! and PS still SOOO HAPPY we got to hang last week!!!!! you are the most wonderful. xoxoxo!!!

  21. Summer says:

    so glad I got to squeeze you too! it was so much fun <3. also give me that pizza now.

  22. Kathleen says:

    This pizza looks great! brie is one of my favorites. :)

  23. THESE four cheeses! <3 <3 <3

  24. I am all about cheese pizza! This looks amazing!

  25. TBB says:

    Seriously, can you make a printable version of your recipes? I like to print and organize my recipes and I hate that yours dont give me a printable option

  26. I am salivating so intensely reading this, Stephanie! LOL. I need to make a skillet pizza immediately, with as much cheese as possible. What a dreamy combination. Plus that fennel just brings out all the creamy sophistication of the brie and ricotta ughhhhhhhhh drool. NEED IMMEDIATELY!

  27. astrid says:

    Yummy. I love cheese also.

  28. Maha alturki says:

    It’s looks delicious ,I like this kind of pizza.. I love four cheese pizza more than any kind of pizza <3
    I'll try to make one !

  29. Brie on pizza? That sounds really good, I don’t know why more people don’t do this. I also like goat cheese on pizza, it’s very tangy.

  30. Linda says:

    I just made this. Crust was great. Next time I think I will replace the ricotta with feta.

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