This recipe was a true labor of love. Sometimes food just taste better when you know you’ve put a lot of time into it.
It’s not that this recipe was at all difficult, it just takes time. Between the fermenting dough and caramelized onions, you need to plan ahead for this one. But most of the time is spent letting the ingredients do their own thing while you go paint your toe nails, do your laundry, or watch Law & Order. So, don’t be scared off by the length of it.
This pizza is truly awesome with it’s garlicky cream sauce, sweet caramelized onions, and earthy sauteed mushrooms. Everything just goes together. And after calculating the cost, I have to say I was quite surprised. I expected the total to be twice as much and to have to explain that I was simply trying to use up a bag of onions that have been sitting on my counter for a couple weeks and a half pound of mushrooms that were starting to get wrinkly in my fridge. I guess I don’t have to make excuses after all! It’s an all around winner!
So, plan ahead to have a pizza night this Friday and mix up your dough the night before… you WON’T be disappointed!
Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Pizza
Caramelized Onion & Mushroom White Pizza
Servings 4Ingredients
DOUGH
- 2 cups all purpose flour ($0.30)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp instant yeast ($0.02)
- 3/4 cup water (approximately) ($0.00)
TOPPINGS
- 3 small yellow onions $0.84 ($0.84)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil $0.24 ($0.24)
- a pinch salt and pepper $0.05 ($0.05)
- 8 oz button mushrooms $1.75 ($1.75)
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme $0.02 ($0.02)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella $0.93 ($0.93)
- handful fresh parsley (optional) ($0.10)
SAUCE
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.12)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 4 oz cream cheese ($0.93)
- 1/2 cup milk ($0.13)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Instructions
- The night before, combine the flour, salt, and yeast in a bowl. Stir to combine. Add just enough water to make the mixture form a ball of dough with no dry flour left on the bottom of the bowl. This will be around 3/4 cup of water. Loosely cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 12-18 hours.
- The next day, about an hour and a half before you plan to eat, thinly slice three small (or 2 medium/large) yellow onions. Saute the onions in a skillet over medium-low heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil for about 45 minutes, stirring the mixture every 2-3 minutes. The end result should be deep golden brown, soft, sweet onions. For a more detailed, step by step photo tutorial on how to caramelize onions, check here.
- While the onions are cooking, slice the mushrooms. Take the caramelized onions out of the skillet and add the mushrooms, along with a pinch of salt and pepper and the dried thyme. There should be some residual oil in the skillet to cook the mushrooms, if not add a tad more. Cook the mushrooms until all of the moisture has evaporated away (about 10 minutes over medium heat).
- While the mushrooms are cooking, prepare the cream sauce. Mince a clove of garlic and add it to a pot with 1 tablespoon of butter. Saute over medium heat until softened (about 2 minutes). Next, add the cream cheese, milk, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Heat and whisk this mixture until a smooth sauce forms (about 5 minutes).
- Adjust the rack in your oven to its highest position and begin to preheat to 500 degrees. The dough at this point should be at least double in volume and very bubbly (see photos below). Sprinkle it generously with flour and then scrape it out of the bowl and onto a floured surface. Pat the dough down into a circle about ten inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to a large (16-inch) pizza pan that has been coated with non-stick spray and stretch/press it the rest of the way out to the edges of the pan.
- Spread the sauce over the surface of the dough with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms over top. Finally, add the shredded mozzarella. Bake the pizza in the fully preheated 500 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley after baking, if desired.
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Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
The night before, stir together the flour, salt, and yeast. Stir in just enough water until it forms a ball of dough like this. For me it was about 3/4 cup of water, but it will be different every time depending on the humidity and other factors. Loosely cover the dough and let it sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours. This will develop the gluten to give you a nice crisp/chewy crust and also provide flavor.
The next day, about an hour and a half before you want to eat, get the onions started. You can use three small or two medium or large onions. You could even caramelize a double batch and then freeze half so that you don’t have to do it all over again next time!
Slice the onions and pop them into a skillet along with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Start cooking them over medium/low heat, stirring every few minutes.
This is a long, slow process and must be done that way. After about 45 minutes of slow cooking, the onions will be like this. I could have even cooked them longer, but I was all like “I WANT PIZZA NOW!” so I stopped here. For a more detailed photo instruction of how to caramelize onions, look here.
To avoid dirtying another pan, I just took the onions out and added my sliced mushrooms. There was enough oil left over in the skillet that I didn’t need to add more, but do so if you need to. Also add a pinch of salt, pepper, and a 1/4 tsp of dried thyme.
Cook those mushrooms down until they have released all of their moisture and then that moisture has evaporated off (about 10 minutes).
While the mushrooms are cooking, you can begin making the sauce. Mince a clove of garlic and saute it for about 2 minutes in a tablespoon of butter.
Then add 4 ounces of cream cheese, a half cup of milk, and a 1/4 teaspoon of salt…
Whisk and heat the ingredients together until they form a smooth sauce (about 5 minutes over medium heat)
Now back to that dough… This is what it looks like after about 16 hours. Big, fluffy, bubbly, and most importantly, STICKY. Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough and then use your hands to scrape it off the sides of the bowl and onto a floured counter top. Oh yeah, and begin to preheat your oven to 500 degrees now too, because that may take a while. And make sure your oven rack is on it’s highest level.
Once you have the dough out on your counter top, press it down into a circle that is about half the size that you want it. You need to be able to transfer it to the pizza pan and then you can stretch and press it the rest of the way out once it’s on there. I used a large 16 inch pizza pan.
Transfer the partially stretched dough onto a pizza pan coated with non-stick spray. Stretch it the rest of the way out. Pour the cream sauce on top and use the back of a spoon to spread it around.
Sprinkle the mushrooms and onions over top…
And then sprinkle just a little mozzarella over top (1 cup). Since there’s already a rich cream sauce, I didn’t want to add a ton of cheese. Plus, I didn’t want it to over power the onion and mushroom flavor.
Bake that puppy for about 12-15 minutes or until the crust is nice and golden brown. Add fresh parsley on top after cooking, if desired (it just makes it look nice).
Why, hello gorgeous… *wink, wink*
OMG it was awesome! I used the 1/2 cup of milk and Boursin cheese untill melted.
I have an annual Pizza party and this pizza was the star of the show. I did make 1 small addition. I added freshly grated nutmeg and added more salt.
Totally satisfied my craving and I will definitely save this recipe. Me being me, I did not follow to a T. I used a cauliflower premade crust, roasted garlic olive oil cubes to cook the onions in, porcini and chanterelle mushrooms, fresh thyme and Rosemary and added bacon when mushrooms were cooking. Also, I did not have enough cream cheese so I made a rue with the butter and garlic. OMG!! Definitely a pie cause I used way more onions and mushrooms. AbsotDELISH!! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Husband was looking for a mushroom pizza recipe and found this. We decided it sounded delicious and gave it a shot. Used 2 pkgs of HyVee pizza crust mix instead of making it from scratch, spread out on a 9×13 pan for a thinner crust. Wanted a bit more sauce but was out of cream cheese so added about 1/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup sour cream to recipe amounts. Also added a handful of mozzarella, salt, pepper, and crushed red peppers. Wow! This sauce can be used for a lot, definitely a keeper. Also added sausage to our pizza, seasoned with greek seasoning and crushed red peppers,l. This was soooo good! Thank you for posting your recipe!! Looking forward to trying this with morels!
I made this with a ready made pizza base from the store that was already in my pantry. Turned out amazing and super tasty, especially with those caramelised onions. My question is, can I store the sauce? Is it okay to freeze?
Dairy-based sauces like this usually don’t freeze so well and you probably only want to keep it in your fridge for about 4-5 days. :)
Delicious!! Another amazing recipe, thanks Beth! I only had 2oz of cream cheese so I subbed 2oz of ricotta. It was so good!
I added some arugula to this and oh my! It was phenomenal!! Adding this to my recepie boom
EXCELLENT! I used twice as many mushrooms (because I love mushrooms) and an extra onion. it worked perfectly for my slightly larger and thinner pizza that I made on my largest sheet pan. I forgot to put the thyme in, but it was still amazing. I have a double batch of dough going right now so I can make it again, and see how well the dough fares in the freezer.
Omg! I didn’t have mushrooms on hand but I had everything else and it was AMAZING!! Now I’m just dying to try it with mushrooms!! Yummy yummy!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!! I did use my own pizza dough recipe using sourdough starter and it was DELISH!
Probably the best pizza I have ever eaten! My fiancé and I absolutely loved it!
Tried it, it came out amazing.
I made this and it was wonderful! It was my first time ever attempting to make the dough myself, but my family raved over it! I’m making it again tonight.
Did the recipe per written ; except– added some rare, deli sliced- top round.
Oh, I also, used a stone on a propane grill with a portable little smoker using apple wood- And, I have passed these instructions added to your amazing tutorial to several people . Same result every time. Amazing
Cream cheese as pizza sauce! I’ve been doing this for years but never saw it much in recipes! Right on. Can’t wait to try this but sub spinach and prosciutto for the mushrooms maybe.
Hi Beth! This looks amazing! I don’t have a pizza pan, could I get away with using a sheet pan or cookie sheet?
Yes, but I suggest adding a liberal dose of cornmeal to the sheet pan to slightly elevate the dough off the pan and allow steam to escape. That will help make it crispier on bottom instead of soggy.
I’m really curious about the dough, and not so much the toppings. The dough I make takes about 20 mins in total (10 mins to proof the yeast; 5 mins to let it stand after kneading it), using pizza dough yeast (the stuff that comes in a three-pack). Flour, salt, sugar, oil, water, yeast. From the moment I put the yeast in the water+ sugar to the time I pull the finished product out of the oven is pretty much 45-50 minutes. It turns out pretty amazing.
My question to you is, what is this crust like that you’ve got going on? Could you describe its properties post-oven?
This type of long fermentation produces a dough that is crispy on the outside and a little more chewy on the inside. :)
I had some caramelized onions, mushrooms, sauteed ramps and pizza dough lying around, so this was perfect. I used your recipe for the garlic white sauce as a base and added truffle oil and fresh mozzarella – it turned out amazingly. Thank you!
I made this, added bacon, was delicious! Next time I will add just a tad more garlic to the sauce and roll the crust out thinner.
Hi Beth,
I’m really looking forward to making this on sunday for myself and two friends. I know you listed that it serves 4, I’m just curious how many pieces you consider to equal 1 serving. Only asking because we are big eaters lol and I’m trying to decide if I should include a side with the meal or not. Thanks a lot! p.s. do you have any suggestions for a good side to go with a pizza?? other than a salad that I’m making already!
Ah, yes, definitely make some more sides! This only made one pizza, so two slices per serving. Or, you could make two pizzas and just do that and the salad. :)
So freaking good. I used goat cheese and parm instead of cream cheese, since I didn’t have any. Also, I had no mozza in the fridge, so I didn’t top it with any cheese.
I made this gluten free with Cup4Cup flour blend and dairy free with a df cream cheese, df butter, almond milk, and vegan cheese. My favorite part was the crust. I realized my dough wasn’t rising much so I read the yeast packaging, which said it needs warm/hot water when used without dissolving. Then, I added a little bit of warm water, waited a few hours, and used it. My white sauce was super runny, but I can’t blame the recipe because of how many substitutions I had to make. Still a really yummy pizza!
I love all your recipes that I’ve tried and this was no exception, it was awesome! I did some changes like store bought crust and I included some of my morel mushrooms that my husband gathered last Spring and it was fantastic!
Had “pizza week” last week and made this and your Greek pizza (it called for caramelized onions too, so made a little extra). Wow. Was a little worried about cream cheese in pizza sauce but yum! This was insanely good – as was a vegetarian version of the Greek (olives instead of pepperoni). Your recipes rock!
Forgot to add *’s. Have now made this twice :) and it keeps getting better.
I made this with the boyfriend so that we didn’t have to order out. Yum. So much yum.
Hey Beth, first of all I’m a huge fan of your blog. I had trouble with this recipe though in regards to making the dough. I seem to have the same problem as another person below. I made sure to use instant yeast, but it says quick rise on the package and that it needs less rising time. I don’t know if that has something to do with it, but it seemed to be the only kind my grocery store had. My dough looked nothing like yours, I checked it 12 hours later but waited the full 18 in hopes that it would get better. It wasn’t bubbly at all or very sticky and didn’t even seem to really expand. It was like a dry ball that was ripping apart when I tried to stretch it. Any ideas? I still made the pizza and it tasted good with those delicious toppings it’s just the crust was weird and small. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)
Hmm, yeah, I think that the “quick rise” yeast is not the same as “instant”. It sounds like that’s the type that needs to be proofed in water to activate before adding to the recipe. I would suggest using a regular pizza dough recipe, like this one, next time and that should work better. :)
Thank you so much! It’s just confusing because it says instant on it. I will try that recipe next time for the dough. Love this pizza though, the topping combination is really great.
This was a delicious addition to our pizza night repertoire. I cook a lot and try to DIY lots of the things other folks might buy packaged. Unfortunately, looking to blogs for recipes usually frustrates me more than helps. Unskilled narcissists who spend their time posing basil for photos instead of writing concise cooking method. Your blog really changed all that! The recipes are great and it’s really all about great food on a budget. Thank you!
Beth,
I have a jar of active dry yeast and I really don’t want to buy another type of yeast and let this one go to waste. Can I still use just 1/4 tsp of yeast and just proof it before adding flour?
Yes, I think that will work. You can just add it into the water that you’ll be adding. :)
Hi Beth. I made this last night. The addition of thyme to the mushrooms is a great touch – one I’ll add to my book of tricks. The sauce was impossibly watery and I had to thicken it with corn starch. After cooking it more than 5 minutes, I realized it was never going to thicken up without help. Had I poured it on my pizza, it would have just ran everywhere. I would make this again, but would use a garlicky béchamel sauce.
Hmm, that’s really strange. Did you double check the quantities for the sauce ingredients? Also, I’ve noticed that it does thicken quite a bit as it cools down.
Argh! You are right! I put in a cup of milk! LOL, my daughter says I am a terrible cook even after 35 years in the kitchen. She could be right. LOL! Sue
We all do it, no matter how long we’ve been cooking! :)
Made this last night. I used Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese. Turned out delicious!!
I am all for all things caramelized. I linked to this recipe in my December meal plan.
I made caramelized balsamic onions and mushrooms yesterday and made this today with the leftovers and it was Amazing!! I didn’t have any cream cheese in the house so I used a few wedges of laughing cow cheese.
I have been wanting to make this since you posted it back in November, and I finally got a chance to do so this weekend. Oh My Gosh! This was one of the best pizzas I have ever had. It was totally worth the extra time it took to make.
Lizz – Absolutely. I’ve even heard of people who caramelize large batches of onions and then freeze them for later! :D
Beth…do you think you could caramelize the onions the night before while you’re making the dough and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to bake the pizza the next day?
Made this with my boyfriend – it was to die for! We’re officially having pizza night once a month thanks to this recipe! I’ve used your site quite a bit and just want to thank you for the delicious recipes (we’ve made your honey spice chicken thighs and black bean quesadillas and loved those too!). Anyways, keep them coming, this is truly a great place to find new recipes that don’t hurt my bank account!
I’m thinking this would be totally yummy on a gluten-free cauliflower crust instead of a yeast crust as well … definitely going to have to try that very soon!
Thanks so much for your answer. We can’t wait for a cookbook from you. I want to be first in line!
Asia – For regular pizza dough recipes (that rise one or two hours) you add a little sugar to kick start the yeast and make it act a little faster. Those recipes also require more yeast than this one. For long rise recipes (like this one) you only need a very small amount of yeast and no extra sugar because the yeast has plenty of time to feed off of the flour and multiply many times over. So, that’s the basic difference :) I also find the long rise recipes to have a better texture (less bread-like). But hey, I’ll take either one as long as it’s turned into a pizza!!
Hi Beth :) my husband and I are big fans and have been making your recipes for years. He is the pizza maker between us and has recently started making your pizza dough recipe once per week after the bread machine pizza dough that he was making started coming out funny. We really like the pizza dough recipe you have, but what is the difference between that one and the one contained in this recipe? I noticed that this one doesn’t contain sugar where the other one does, and I also noticed that this one rises for much longer (the other one for just an hour.) thanks!
Lauren – White onions will work just fine. There shouldn’t be much of a noticeable flavor difference :) I just wouldn’t suggest using red or purple onions.
This looks so good! I had a question though, do you think white onions will be okay for caramelizing, or does it absolutely have to be yellow? Will the taste be any different?
Made this last night, it was great, no red sauce. I was going to take some to work this morning, but it never made it past brekfast. It is on my list to make into the future.
Anon – Great questions! Active dry and instant yeast are actually quite different. Instant yeast does not need to be mixed with water before adding to the dough, where as active dry does. With active dry you have to dissolve it in warm water and wait for it to “wake up” before adding it to the recipe, which is why your dough didn’t ferment properly. Also, because of the long ferment time in this recipe, you only need 1/4 teaspoon because the yeast has plenty of time to multiply. With traditional bread recipes, the dough only rises for a couple of hours so you have to start off with more yeast.
Bread making is a little bit of a science, but once you get it down you’ll be able to do it with your eyes closed! :D
This made a very yummy pizza……however, two questions for you. Did you really mean 1/4 tsp yeast and not 1/4 oz? And is active dry yeast the same as instant yeast….and finally, after sitting 16 hours my dough was not wet, sticky, and bubbling. It was actually dry. However, once I kneaded it, it seemed to turn out okay…made a smaller pizza tho. I used 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast and actually added more than 3/4 water. Why wasn’t it bubbly and wet? What did I do wrong? Love your site!
Absolutely delicious. I did add some ricotta to the sauce along with some parsley flakes. I just reheated a slice and crumbled some leftover bacon over the top and that made it even better. I can’t stop reading and cooking the recipes on this site! delish!
Oh dear: “looks deliciously”. The pizza has eyes!
Oh this looks deliciously! I’m popping it onto next week’s menu for sure. I’ve done slow fermentation pizza dough before (thanks Jim Lahey!) and it’s the bomb. Never done it “bianco” though. Yummy!
I used an extra clove and it was great!
Ricotta cheese is good substitute for the cream cheese
If you don’t want to take so long on caramelizing your onions you can add a little butter and brown sugar to the pan. I personally think it makes it taste way better.
Julie – I say go for it! :D
I’m a big lover of garlic, and I’m contemplating adding another clove to the sauce. Would that be way too garlicy and overpowering? Thanks!
Delicious recipe! Made it last night to rave reviews! (How did I never think to use non-stick spray on my pizza pan!?! Thanks for that!)
this pizza looks so delicious! although it takes little longer for the onion to caramelize but i am sure every bite is so worth it. I go through phase between red and white sauce- this one looks so delicious- will be making it soon. thanks for sharing!
It’s in the oven right now, can’t wait for it to be done:D
2 small tips I learned that are awesome for pizza: 1) fold over the dough at the border. Makes it more crusty:) 2) paint the crust with olive oil after folding it. Makes it more crusty.
Of course that’s only if you do not want an American style pizza which I hate;)
The way this pizza looks reminds me of the Smokin’ Chicken Pizza from Reginelli’s Pizzeria in New Orleans. It’s definitely my favorite pizza. Wish I had a recipe for it.
Amber – Yikes! I guess I’ve never had a problem with drippiness because I don’t use anything that is drippy :) I used non-stick spray (rather than olive oil) on the pan before the dough went down and kept the sauce about an inch within the border of the dough. I’ve done an olive oil “sauce” before, but I guess it wasn’t on thick enough to pool or run off. Most of my toppings were on the dry side. Keep an extinguisher handy ;D
I’m so not a mushroom fan, but everything else looks awesome! I love the sauce idea and have never even thought to make it with cream cheese!
Ok, so I love trying new pizzas. The last time I made one I almost burned my apartment down. My pizza pan has holes in it (like yours) and I did not flash bake my crust quick before I put toppings on it so olive oil dripped on the bottom…little flames in the electric oven…generally bad. I noticed you also did not “flash bake” with this recipe. Did you have any problems with toppings dripping down into the bottom of the oven? Any ideas how I could avoid catastrophe if I try this? Thanks Beth you’re awesome!
OH MY! What a delicious sounding pizza! For me, this is the perfect flavour combination. Thanks for sharing!
-Shannon
Edward, you might try subbing plain Greek yogurt for the cream cheese. I make my own fat-free Greek yogurt and it’s a good substitute for cream cheese, sour cream, and ricotta in recipes.
there is no way in a million years my husband would come near this pizza. he despises onions & mushrooms (fortunately he will eat them IN things, just not when they’re featured). but i would so love this pizza myself!
This sounds soooo tasty!
This has nothing to do with this post. I love your site, etc, have tried many recipes, but I saw this article and totally thought of you!
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/2012/11/introducing_sriracha_lip_balm.php
I’m making this pizza Friday! Thanks for the idea!
Edward – I’m sure that you could make a white sauce without cream cheese, although it wouldn’t be a simple switch out type substitute. I don’t have a recipe on hand, but try doing a google search for “white pizza sauce” and I’m sure there will be quite a few to choose from :)
Is there a replacement ingredient for cream cheese, or am I stuck using it? Is it used just the same as any white pizza?
ShellyR – Wheat flour tends to make breads much more heavy and dense, but I find that it usually works okay if I substitute up to half of the flour for whole wheat.
Do you think wheat flour would work ok??
You had me at caramelized onions.
My fave pizza in the world is caramelized onions, fig, and proscuitto….MMMM!
Keep up the great work and keep the recipes coming. I can’t wait for your cookbook to come out.