French Bread Pizza

French Bread Pizza is a simple and fast way to put homemade pizza on the table. It’s cheesy, delicious, and only needs a handful of ingredients to come together. This one has an extra layer of flavor added that makes it amazing! 

If you need a simple, delicious and versatile weeknight meal, then you’ve come to the right place today. French Bread Pizza is so easy to make and is absolutely scrumptious. No pizza dough required which makes this even more convenient.

One of the best parts of making French bread pizza is that the ingredient list is short and simple. All you need is a loaf of French bread, some garlic, butter,  pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, and whatever toppings your little heart desires.  

This French Bread Pizza is far better than any other pizza bread I’ve ever made before because it has a layer of a melted garlic butter. It’s like eating garlic bread and pizza all at once and it’s fabulous!

HOW TO MAKE FRENCH BREAD PIZZA:

• To make French bread pizza, slice a loaf of French bread in half, horizontally. Arrange pieces cut side down on prepared baking sheet. Brush crust with oil.
• Combine melted butter, granulated garlic, salt, and pepper flakes in bowl. Flip bread cut side up and brush cut side evenly with melted butter mixture. Bake, cut side up, until browned around edges.
• Spread pizza sauce on top followed with mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and your favorite toppings.
• Bake the pizza until the cheese is melted. Cut it into slices and dig in. 

A COUPLE OF OUR FAVORITE PIZZA BREAD COMBINATIONS:

BBQ Chicken. Replace the pizza sauce with your favorite BBQ sauce. Then sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on. Top with shredded chicken that has been tossed in a little bit of BBQ sauce. Drizzle with more BBQ sauce on top. Add some pineapple for even more flavor and deliciousness.

Bacon and Pineapple. After adding the pizza sauce and cheeses, sprinkle the top with some crumbled, cooked bacon and canned (or fresh) pineapple pieces. Seriously so, so good!

A FEW TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST FRENCH BREAD PIZZA:

Making French bread pizza isn’t hard, in fact you really don’t even need a recipe. But there are a few tips to make it the best it can be.

• Soft bread is key. Don’t try using a crusty baguette, you want to use a soft bread. A French or Italian loaf that’s soft and squishy is what works best.
• Toast and season the bread before adding toppings. You want the bread to soak up some of the sauce, but if it soaks up too much, it becomes soggy. Toasting the bread before adding the toppings helps keep it crisp. Then adding a layer of a buttery garlic mixture takes it to a whole new level.
• Cheese. Don’t use pre shredded cheese if can help it. Bags of shredded cheese contain additives that prevent the cheese from clumping or sticking together while in the package. These additives also have an effect on the way the cheese cooks. While the cheese will melt easily, it won’t melt together quite as well as cheese you grate yourself. If all you have is bagged shredded cheese, you can use it, but I do prefer to grate my own cheese. 

Enjoy!

French Bread Pizza

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• Author: Jodi
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 12 mins
• Total Time: 22 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 loaf soft French bread
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted (I use salted)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 12 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (3 cups)
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup)
• Sliced pepperoni
• Other toppings of your choice

Sauce: (Or store bought is fine too)

• 1 ½ cups canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon basil
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

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Instructions

PIZZA:

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut bread in half horizontally to create 2 pieces. Arrange pieces cut side down on prepared sheet. Brush crust with oil.
2. Combine melted butter, granulated garlic, salt, and pepper flakes in bowl.
3. Flip bread cut side up and brush cut side evenly with melted butter mixture. Bake, cut side up, until browned around edges, about 5 minutes.

SAUCE:

1. In a small bowl, combine all the sauce in ingredients and mix well. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
2. Spread desired amount of sauce evenly over toasted bread, then top with the mozzarella and then the Parmesan (divide cheeses evenly among the two pieces of bread). Then top with pepperoni or desired toppings. Bake until cheese is melted, about 12 minutes. Let pizza cool for a few minutes. Cut into slices and enjoy.

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Notes

• If your loaf of French bread is really long, you can cut each piece in half, giving you four different pieces of bread. Then you can make four different variations or make them all the same. Whatever floats your boat.
• You can use store bought pizza sauce if you like. Still delicious!

• Category: Pizza

Recipe Source: Cooks Country Magazine June/July 2020