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French bread pizza is a quick and tasty: like a cross between garlic bread and pizza! It’s hearty and satisfying: no need for pizza dough.
Craving pizza but don’t want to wrangle pizza dough? Make French bread pizza! This fun shortcut swaps French bread for pizza dough and tastes like a combination between garlic bread and pizza. The crust is perfectly crisp on the outside and fluffy when you take a bite. It’s like that frozen French bread pizza from the store, but infinitely better when you make it homemade! Top with this 5-minute pizza sauce and the toppings of your choice, and you’ve got dinner.
Ingredients for French bread pizza
French bread pizza uses French bread to make the crust of a personal pizza, similar to a tortilla pizza, pita pizza, or English muffin pizza. Because French bread is larger, it makes an even more filling personal pizza that works as a quick dinner. It’s like the frozen French bread pizza you might find in the frozen section, but tastes much more fresh and delicious! Here’s what you’ll need:
- French bread: Don’t use a baguette here. Look for a large, thick French bread loaf: it’s also labeled as Italian bread at some grocery stores.
- Pizza sauce: You can use purchased pizza sauce, but you’ll get the best flavor with this Homemade Pizza Sauce.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese: Use whole milk shredded mozzarella for the best stretchy, melty cheese. Part skim cheese hardens more quickly and doesn’t have as rich of a flavor.
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil and salt
- Toppings of your choice (see below)
How to make it: basic method
French bread pizza makes a crisp on the outside, tender on the inside texture. The bread itself is doughy and fluffy, so loading it down with lots of liquid toppings has the risk of making it soggy. The solution? Bake it with a bit of cheese first to provide a liquid barrier! Here’s the outline of this method:
- Brush French bread with olive oil, top with a thin layer of cheese, and bake 5 minutes. This cheesy layer provides a barrier for the toppings so the bread doesn’t become soggy.
- Remove from the oven and top the pizzas. Be careful because the baking sheet is hot at this point!
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil (since basil browns in the oven). Enjoy!
Homemade sauce adds great flavor
Sure, you can buy jarred pizza sauce. But the flavor of this Homemade Pizza Sauce is so, so delicious and takes only 5 minutes to whip up in a blender. (Or, you can simply grate the garlic and mix all the other ingredients with a spoon: a shortcut we just discovered). The key to the flavors? Canned fire roasted tomatoes, which bring a developed, sweet and lightly smoky flavor. Try it once and you’ll never go back!
French bread pizza toppings
Just like any pizza: this French bread pizza tastes great with just about any topping combination! We made them with thin sliced cherry tomatoes sprinkled with smoked paprika, which gives them a bit of a pepperoni vibe. Add a little basil and to us, it’s the perfect pizza! Of course, you may want to go with classic pepperoni. Here are a few topping ideas:
- Smoky cherry tomatoes & basil: Thinly slice cherry tomatoes, then sprinkle them with salt, garlic powder and smoked paprika. It has a smoky vibe that’s similar to pepperoni! Top with fresh chopped basil.
- Mixed veggie: Top with minced green pepper, red peppers, red onion, and black olive
- Mini pepperoni: Mini pepperoni fit better on the size of the French bread than standard, though you can use either.
- Prosciutto
- Feta cheese, goat cheese, smoked mozzarella or smoked gouda
- Jarred artichoke hearts, chopped
- Jarred roasted red peppers, sliced
- Spinach
- Sautéed mushrooms
- Pesto
Storage info
If you happen to have leftovers of this French bread pizza, it saves well! Store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator. To reheat, simply place on a baking sheet and reheat at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until the cheese is melted again, about 5 to 10 minutes.
And that’s it! Let us know what you think of this French bread pizza in the comments below.
More alternative pizza recipes
There are so many ways to make a pizza without dough. Here are our favorites:
- Try a simple Tortilla Pizza or Pita Pizza
- Make a simple snack with English Muffin Pizza
- Go for Pizza Bagels!
- Try a Naan Pizza or Flatbread Pizza
- Go gluten-free with Eggplant Pizza or Portobello Pizza
This French bread pizza recipe is…
Vegetarian.
French Bread Pizza
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 personal pizzas 1x
Description
French bread pizza is a quick and tasty: like a cross between garlic bread and pizza! It’s hearty and satisfying: no need for pizza dough.
Ingredients
- 1 large loaf French bread (sometimes labeled Italian bread*)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ cup Homemade Pizza Sauce (or purchased sauce)
- 1 ¾ cups shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Chopped fresh basil, for topping
- Pizza toppings: cherry tomatoes*, mini pepperoni, sliced black olives, green peppers, red onion, etc
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Make the Pizza Sauce.
- Slice the bread in half, then in half lengthwise. Place it on a baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, and dried oregano (mix well so the garlic becomes fully distributed). Brush the oil mixture onto the bread. Top with ½ cup mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, split between the four pieces. Bake for 5 minutes.
- While the pizzas bake, prepare the toppings.
- Remove the tray from the oven. Carefully top each with the pizza sauce and the remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Add the toppings and add a sprinkle of salt to the top of each pizza.
- Bake again for 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. Garnish with the chopped basil. Serve immediately. Leftovers save refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Notes
*Avoid using a baguette! Use a large loaf French bread, which is often labeled Italian bread.
**We used thinly sliced cherry tomatoes sprinkled with a bit of salt, garlic powder and paprika.
- Category: Main dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Let us know if you have any questions!