What is the name of the white Roman pizza without tomato sauce?

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The white Roman pizza without tomato sauce is called pizza bianca. The name means "white pizza" in Italian and refers to a Roman flatbread traditionally made without the red tomato topping associated with many other pizza styles.

Roman pizza bianca is generally a plain, yeasted dough brushed or finished with olive oil and salt. It is closer in texture and use to focaccia than to a heavily topped, cheese-covered pizza. In Rome, it may be served hot as a snack or split open and filled with ingredients such as prosciutto, Parmesan, or rocket, known in English as arugula.

The term can cause confusion because "white pizza" is also used in the United States for pizza made without tomato sauce, often topped with cheese, garlic, spinach, or béchamel. That broader American category overlaps with the idea of pizza bianca but is not identical to the traditional Roman flatbread.

Pizza bianca also has a long Italian history. Historical references describe versions of it alongside pizza rossa, or red pizza, and Rome's modern form is commonly associated with a crisp, olive-oil-brushed crust. The Roman regional clue makes Pizza Bianca the single best answer.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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