Can I freeze this sauce?

I wouldn't freeze it. Cream sauces thickened with flour can curdle or otherwise separate when thawed.

How should I reheat it?

Warm the sauce gently on the stove at a low temperature. Add 1 tbsp/15ml of milk to the sauce to regain shine. Periodically stir the sauce while reheating until it regains its shine.

Is jarred garlic okay?

I recommend using cloves of garlic in this recipe. Jarred minced garlic is typically processed with a liquid and may not have the same flavor profile as the other ingredients in the recipe. Fresh garlic should not overpower other flavors on pizza when cooked in butter and olive oil.

Can I use heavy cream?

You can use whole milk in place of heavy cream. Using heavy cream will make the sauce thicker when it's heated. To thin the sauce, you can add some water or whole milk. The finished sauce should spread easily across the dough.

How do I prevent soggy white pizza?

Adding a thin sauce to unbaked pie dough causes the pie to be mushy in the center. Precook a flour-thickened sauce until it is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon. Allow the sauce to cool for 10 minutes before adding it to unbaked pie dough. Bake the pie at 500°F (260°C). The high temperature helps ensure that the bottom crust is fully baked. Use a generous amount of sauce, but don't spoon it into the pie like spaghetti sauce.

Why did my sauce turn grainy?

Pre-grated Parmesan is usually the problem. Additional ingredients mixed with it can cause a gritty sauce. You can grate fresh Parmesan and add it to your sauce after cooking. To avoid curdling the milk proteins in your sauce, heat the milk more slowly.

White Garlic Pizza Sauce with Parmesan and Black Pepper

By Emma CollinsOct 19, 2026

Prep

10 min

Cook

15 min

Total

25 min

Servings

Level

Easy

Jump to recipe

Prepare this white garlic pizza sauce ahead of time for pizza night. Allow it to cool a bit before topping the pizza with cheese and other raw ingredients to avoid making the sauce too wet from contact with the cheese. Makes 8 servings. Each serving includes garlic and coarse pepper (see photo).

White Garlic Pizza Sauce with Parmesan and Black Pepper

I use a heavy saucepan and a wire whisk to test the sauce with a wooden spoon at thickness and gloss (visible bits of pepper). Milk should be heated to a gentle simmer, not boiled. I take the saucepan off the heat before adding Parmesan cheese and whisk the flour for a minute before adding milk gradually and whisking vigorously.

Caramelize the garlic, but don't burn it. I use black pepper because of the little black flecks in the white sauce. I like to shred the Parmesan cheese just before I start. The pizza crust will cook quickly at 500°F (260°C). The mozzarella should begin to brown in places after 10 to 12 minutes.

I cover the sauce with a sauce lid and sprinkle parsley over the hot pizza before serving. I serve a tart salad with slices of pizza as a side dish for dinner (it complements the cheese).

Why this recipe works

Eight servings are more than one meal. Sauce is made before the final dish.
The hot sauce can be cooled while other ingredients are being prepared for baking.
Another portion is served with fettuccine for garlic butter steak pasta with the same garlic cream sauce.
One saucepan has butter, flour, milk, and garlic in it while the sauce thickens. The sauce is made in one saucepan.
High oven temperatures lead to blistering of the pizza crust and browning of the mozzarella cheese.
Parsley remains intact when cooked, and chopped parsley leaf pieces retain their green color in a dish with white sauce.

Instructions

Heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until soft and fragrant but not brown.

Sprinkle in the flour and whisk continuously for exactly 1 minute.

Slowly pour in the whole milk while whisking vigorously.

Increase the heat to medium and simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes, until the sauce heavily coats a wooden spoon.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, salt, and black pepper until the cheese melts.

Cool the sauce for 10 minutes.

Spread the cooled sauce over the stretched pizza dough.

Top the pizza heavily with shredded mozzarella.

Bake in a preheated 500°F (260°C) oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust is blistered and golden-brown and the mozzarella begins to spot brown.

Garnish the hot pizza with chopped parsley before slicing.

FAQ

Refrigerate leftover sauce in a covered container for up to 4 days. Use plastic wrap to cover the top layer of leftover sauce to keep a film from forming on the surface.

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Dinner Sauces & Dips Italian Meal Prep Stovetop

White Garlic Pizza Sauce with Parmesan and Black Pepper

Name: White Garlic Pizza Sauce with Parmesan and Black Pepper
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 2 tbsp unsalted butter (30 g); 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (15 ml); 4 cloves fresh garlic (12 g, finely minced); 3 tbsp all-purpose flour (24 g); 1 1/2 cups whole milk (360 ml, slightly warmed); 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (45 g, freshly grated); 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper (2 g); 1/2 tsp kosher salt (3 g, to taste); 2 tbsp fresh parsley (8 g, finely chopped); pizza dough (stretched); mozzarella cheese (freshly shredded)

By Emma CollinsOct 19, 2026

Prep

10 min

Cook

15 min

Total

25 min

Servings

Level

Easy

Jump to recipe

I cover the sauce with a sauce lid and sprinkle parsley over the hot pizza before serving. I serve a tart salad with slices of pizza as a side dish for dinner (it complements the cheese).

Why this recipe works

Eight servings are more than one meal. Sauce is made before the final dish.
The hot sauce can be cooled while other ingredients are being prepared for baking.
Another portion is served with fettuccine for garlic butter steak pasta with the same garlic cream sauce.
One saucepan has butter, flour, milk, and garlic in it while the sauce thickens. The sauce is made in one saucepan.
High oven temperatures lead to blistering of the pizza crust and browning of the mozzarella cheese.
Parsley remains intact when cooked, and chopped parsley leaf pieces retain their green color in a dish with white sauce.

Ingredients

Servings8

•2 tbsp unsalted butter (30 g)
•1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (15 ml)
•4 cloves fresh garlic (12 g, finely minced)
•3 tbsp all-purpose flour (24 g)
•1 ½ cups whole milk (360 ml, slightly warmed)
•½ cup Parmesan cheese (45 g, freshly grated)
•1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper (2 g)
•½ tsp kosher salt (3 g, to taste)
•2 tbsp fresh parsley (8 g, finely chopped)
•pizza dough (stretched)
•mozzarella cheese (freshly shredded)

Instructions

1
Heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
2
Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until soft and fragrant but not brown.
3
Sprinkle in the flour and whisk continuously for exactly 1 minute.
4
Slowly pour in the whole milk while whisking vigorously.
5
Increase the heat to medium and simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes, until the sauce heavily coats a wooden spoon.
6
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, salt, and black pepper until the cheese melts.
7
Cool the sauce for 10 minutes.
8
Spread the cooled sauce over the stretched pizza dough.
9
Top the pizza heavily with shredded mozzarella.
10
Bake in a preheated 500°F (260°C) oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust is blistered and golden-brown and the mozzarella begins to spot brown.
11
Garnish the hot pizza with chopped parsley before slicing.

FAQ

Refrigerate leftover sauce in a covered container for up to 4 days. Use plastic wrap to cover the top layer of leftover sauce to keep a film from forming on the surface.