Fast French bread pizzas are a classic Budget Byte because they are super fast, ridiculously easy, customizable, and inexpensive! But one of my favorite reasons for making French Bread Pizza is because it’s a great way to use up the leftovers in your fridge. You can top pizzas with just about anything, so dive into your refrigerator and find some creative pizza toppings! I’ll post some of my favorite pizza toppings below. :)
French Bread Pizza Topping Ideas
Leftovers: Scour your fridge to find unique combinations of meat, vegetables, and cheese for customized toppings on your French Bread Pizza. Some of my favorites are:
- Spinach, mushroom, swiss (or feta)
- Pepperoni, pepperocini, onion
- Mixed Vegetable
- Artichoke hearts, olives, roasted peppers
- Chicken, broccoli, and cheddar
Hit The Salad Bar: One of my favorite ways to have fun with pizza toppings without spending a lot is to hit the salad bar at the grocery store. You can get a small handful of several different items to top your pizza, without having a lot of leftovers. Just remember to get less than you’d think. A little goes a long way and salad bars are priced by weight!
Use a Different Bread
This same concept can be extended to other types of bread as well! Try making your individual pizzas on small pieces of naan, English muffins, pitas, or even tortillas! It’s such a great way to use up the leftovers in your kitchen.
Freeze Your French Bread Pizzas
The only thing better than throwing together a quick French Bread Pizza is having them already pre-made in the freezer, ready to pop into the oven. To freeze your French Bread Pizzas, just top them as usual, press the toppings into the bread a bit, and freeze them on the baking sheet for an hour or so, or until solid. Once solid, transfer them into a gallon-sized freezer bag. They’ll keep for a few months and you can bake them as usual, straight from the freezer, adding just a few extra minutes of baking time.
Want to try making your own Pizza Sauce? My Thick & Rich Pizza Sauce is super quick and easy, and freezable so you can always have it on hand!
Easy French Bread Pizza
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 French loaf ($0.99)
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce ($0.42)
- 4 oz. shredded mozzarella (about 1 cup shredded) ($1.04)
- toppings of your choice (variable)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cut the French loaf in half lengthwise, then cut each half open into two pieces. Place the pieces of French Bread, cut side up, on a large baking sheet.
- Top each piece of bread with about 2 Tbsp pizza sauce and 1 oz. (or 1/4 cup shredded) mozzarella. Add any additional toppings you desire.
- Bake the pizzas in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly, and the bread is slightly brown and crispy on the edges. Serve hot.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Want to try more fun variations on pizza? Try my Pizza Melts, Pizza Roll Ups, or Pizzadillas!
How to Make Fast French Bread Pizza – Step by Step Photos
Start by preheating your oven to 400ºF. You’ll need one loaf of French bread, about 12-16 inches long. French bread is perfect for pizza because it’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. YUM!
Cut the loaf of French Bread in half lengthwise, then cut each half open. Place the pieces of French Bread on a large baking sheet, cut sides facing up. Spread about 2 Tbsp pizza sauce over top of each piece of French Bread.
Add about 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella to each piece of French Bread.
I like to try to use up any leftovers in my refrigerator for pizza toppings, but I also like to grab small amounts of several different items from the salad bar. This allows me to have a lot of variety with my pizza toppings, without having to buy a bunch of different items or having a ton of leftovers!
Once your pizzas are topped, you can either bake them right away, or freeze them. To freeze them, press the toppings down into the bread slightly to help them stick, then freeze them for an hour or so on the baking sheet, or until they’re solid. Once solid, transfer to a gallon-sized freezer bag for longer storage. Bake the frozen pizzas just as you would the fresh pizzas, with a few extra minutes of baking time added.
Bake the French Bread Pizza in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges of the bread are brown and crispy. Serve hot! Sometimes I like to add a pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes, too. ;)
Fast pizza doesn’t have to be a freezer-burned cardboard disc! Make it fresh, but make it fast!
I call this one of your magical recipes. As I make it over and over, it became different according to my taste, as you say. I use slices of sourdough and butter them first. The pizza sauce with butter is so delicious. The salad bar idea is genius. I’ve been able to buy pizza sauce in a jar, so it’s handy in the fridge. Thanks again Beth!
LOVE this recipe! I usually eat it fresh the first night, and while the few slices I need are baking, I assemble the rest and freeze them. Fantastic for the nights when even though you’ve meal planned, you get home late and are starving! I use the pizza sauce recipe from the website also – and I prefer fresh mozz.
need advise on breads for sandwiches
Kris, the recipe calls for French Bread but also take a look at the section of the blog post called “Use a Different Bread” for some other suggestions! — Marion :)
So I am sitting here, a newly enrolled PhD student, living on a very small stipend, starving, debating ordering $16 worth of Chinese food for dinner. Instead, I check your site, I throw together this recipe in two minutes, and I now have a lovely pizza browning in the oven and I couldn’t be happier. Thank you for this. So simple. So good. So cheap. It’s everything.
That makes me SO happy to hear! :)
I put butter, garlic, and herbs on the bread before adding toppings just to add some extra flavor, then I put some oregano on the cheese. Love it.
We loved these french bread pizzas and they are so much cheaper and fresher then the frozen ones. Like that the amount of sauce and toppings can be adjusted for personal taste and everyone does not have to eat the same thing on their slice. I had sausage, green pepper, and chopped tomato on mine and the hubby made his favorite sausage, mushroom, and pineapple. Kids would have fun helping chop toppings if old enough but definitely making their own. Next time we want pizza this is what we will be making. Made and reviewed for the Alphabet Tag Game.
Happy to hear it Lori!
Keep it simple guys! This is a quick meal and I love that it tastes way better than any frozen pizza you can buy.
Pizza is my husband’s number one food. I have made many different types of french bread, English muffin, tortilla and bagel pizzas. My current favorite is to go to Aldi and get the garlic naan bread as our base. I would advise to oil the pan and cook until just crisp but not too much because it gets a little dry, but the garlic flavor is excellent!