Quick and easy French bread pizza is an ode to the classic favorite elementary school lunch item.
For most kids, love for pizza starts in elementary school. Nearly every school cafeteria serves pizza at least once a week.
Every Friday our cafeteria would serve French bread pizza. It was cheesy, full of sauce, and I loved it (along with every other kid). Fast forward to high school and college years. Teens can opt to cook frozen French bread pizza.
Fast forward to the adult stage of your life. It’s unbelievably easy to make French bread pizza at home using store-bought French bread! Alternatively, use Italian bread, loaf bread, or whatever soft loaf your local market or bakery has on hand.
This recipe couldn’t get any easier. It takes 5 minutes to prep all the ingredients. And, less than 5 minutes of actual cooking time!
Use the oven’s boiler setting to have hot, bubbly, saucy French bread pizza ready in minutes!
Ingredients and Components
Begin with your choice of French bread or Italian bread. Or, use whatever soft loaf your local grocery store or bakery carries.
From there, you can pick and choose your choices of toppings.
Sauces: tomato sauce or marinara sauce, basil pesto, sun dried tomato pesto
Toppings:
- Cheese: fresh mozzarella, shredded mozzarella, fontina, Swiss, pepper jack
- Protein: pepperoni, ham, turkey, crumbled sausage, grilled chicken
- Vegetables: tomato, mushroom, bell pepper, olives, zucchini, onion
Herb Garnishes: fresh basil, fresh thyme, fresh oregano
How to Assemble
Follow assembly progression clockwise beginning at the toasted bread on the upper left hand corner:
- Place bread cut-side up on baking sheet and set under broiler for about 30 seconds until the bread is toasty.
- Spread pizza sauce (this one is my favorite!) all over toasted bread.
- Top sauce with shredded mozzarella and sliced tomatoes.
- Add pepperoni, more shredded mozzarella, and crumbled fresh mozzarella.
Pre-toasting the bread gives the pizza structure and crunch. You’re able to pick up the pizza without it falling apart.
Fresh mozzarella is key! That’s how to achieve pockets of that ooey-gooey cheese pull. Plus, it’s an easy way to elevate basic French bread pizza and make it more classy!
Return to the boiler for a minute or so until the cheese has melted and is starting to brown. Season with some crushed red pepper flakes and top with fresh basil. That’s it!
Doesn’t it look a 100 times more better than the frozen ones?
While I’m a fan of more sophisticated pizzas like ricotta and squash blossom pizza or fig prosciutto pizza with balsamic glaze, I’ll always have a soft spot for my first pizza love- pepperoni pizza!
More Easy Pizza Recipes
French Bread Pizza
Equipment
- oven broiler
Ingredients
- 16 oz (1 pound) soft loaf French bread or Italian bread
- ½ cup pizza sauce*
- 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 3 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
- 2 oz pepperoni slices
- crushed red pepper flakes, to top
- fresh basil, to garnish
Instructions
- Position rack in center of oven*. Set oven to broiler.
- Slice bread loaf in half crosswise and lengthwise until you have four pieces total. Arrange bread cut side up on a baking sheet. Place under broiler for 30-45 seconds until tops of bread are lightly toasted.
- Remove from oven. Spread about 2 tablespoons of pizza sauce over each piece of bread. Sprinkle about 1 oz of shredded mozzarella over sauce. Top with sliced tomatoes and pepperoni. Crumble fresh mozzarella over tomatoes. Sprinkle remaining shredded mozzarella on top.
- Return to oven and place under broiler for 45-60 seconds, rotate baking sheet, and heat for another 45-60 seconds until cheese has melted and is starting to brown. Season with crushed red pepper flakes, if desired. Garnish with fresh basil. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Position rack in center of oven about 6-inches from broiler. The broiler setting is very HOT. Keep a close eye on your pizza to make it sure it doesn’t burn.
- I used this store-bought tomato sauce
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
So, simple, so easy and so delicious! This is perfect for a snack or a quick dinner!
It looks 1000x better than the frozen ones. I wish I could smell it through my computer right now!