French Bread Pizza Recipe

French Bread Pizza is a delicious, satisfying, and easy to make meal that I make several times a month. With a crispy bread base, savory pizza sauce, melted cheese, and your preferred toppings, this homemade pizza will no doubt become a favorite for you as well.

It is perfect the perfect meal to make any day of the week, especially on pizza night. Because you can customize each slice with a variety of toppings everyone is happy!

Not to mention that with the a loaf of French bread as the crust, this recipe comes together in no time! In fact, you can have this made and ready to put in the oven in only 5 minutes!

All that you have to do is slice the bread in half and toast it until it turns light golden brown in color. Then top it with pizza sauce, cheese and your favorite toppings. Put it in the oven so that the cheese can melt and within minutes dinner is ready!

But don’t think of this recipe as a replacement for your favorite pizza restaurant. Instead, consider making this for lunch, as a snack, or even as an appetizer to share with family and friends.

It comes together quickly and the possibilities on what toppings to choose are plentiful!

Preparing Your Ingredients Ahead Of Time

In fact, with a little planning you can have your French Bread pizza in the oven in less than 5 minutes! That is of course if you prepare your toppings in advance.

Commonly known as “ingredient prep”, this simple task is a huge time saver. And all that is required is that instead of preparing your ingredients every time you make a meal, you do so for the entire week.

For example, on Sunday afternoon I will peel and dice a large onion. Then whenever I need diced onion for a recipe throughout the week, all I have to do is pull out the storage container in the refrigerator.

That means that the cutting board and knife only come out once. But more importantly for me, that also means the dishes only have to be done one time, and not several.

So if you know you are going to have a busy week ahead, or you simply want to save time throughout the week do yourself a favor and prepare your ingredients ahead of time. This make ahead method will also help prevent you from being tempted to head to a drive thru for dinner because dinner is already half made!

Prepare the Bread

Before preparing your French bread pizza, preheat your oven to 450° Fahrenheit. Then line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Lining the baking sheet is also a huge time saver because clean up will be a breeze. Simply throw the parchment paper away or wipe down the silicone baking mat and the dishes are done!

Once you have the baking sheet prepared, carefully slice your French bread loaf in half, cutting it lengthwise. Be sure to use a serrated bread knife so that the scalloped blades cuts your bread smoothly.

To cut the bread use a back and forth, saw-like motion. This will help keep the bread’s shape and prevent it from becoming flat or smushed.

Once you have two equal halves of your loaf, set aside and begin to prepare your garlic butter. 

Garlic Butter

Adding a little homemade garlic butter on top of the bread will give the bread a great base of flavor. Do this by simply mixing together the softened butter and garlic powder or minced garlic in a small bowl. 

Then spread the garlic butter evenly over the cut side of each loaf using a butter knife, rubber spatula or the back of the spoon. However, before adding the pizza toppings, you must first lightly toast the French bread.

Toast The French Bread

Pace your buttered bread on the baking sheet, butter side up and place in the preheated oven for approximately 5 minutes. The bread is ready to come out of the oven when the top turns a light golden brown in color on the top surface.  

Remove the warm bread from the oven, however, keep the oven on as you will need to return the pizza to the oven once your toppings have been added. Toasting the bread prior to adding the toppings is a crucial step as it will prevent the pizza sauce from making the bread soggy.

Time for Toppings 

Now for the fun part!  Start by spreading your favorite pizza sauce over the cut side of the bread. Use a little or as much as you would like.

Then it is time to add even more flavor with some classic Italian spices. Dried oregano or dried Italian seasoning will add a lot of flavor to the sauce.

Next add shredded Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese to achieve that creamy, gooey goodness. Make sure your shredded cheeses are in a nice even layer, covering the entire top surface of the bread.

However, make sure the cheese layer is nice and flat and not mounded in the center. This will ensure your meat and vegetable toppings can easily stay on top of your pizza as it cooks.

Meat Toppings: Pepperoni slices or cooked and crumbled sausage are classic additions for your French bread pizza. And if you want to spice things up use a Hot Italian sausage. However you can also use other types of meat such as chicken, ham or prosciutto.

Vegetable Toppings: Some of the most common vegetables to add to a pizza include sliced mushrooms, as well as diced onions and bell peppers. However feel free to add whatever vegetables that you prefer.

Bake The French Bread Pizza

Now all that is left to do is to put it in the oven! Within a few minutes you will be enjoying your custom made French Bread Pizza, just how you like it.

It is such a quick and hassle-free way to enjoy a homemade pizza without the need for traditional pizza dough. I am sure that when you take your first bite you will love this recipe as much as I do!

French Bread Pizza Recipe

*A printable recipe card is located at the bottom of this article which contains the specific measurements, temperatures and cook times. However, continue reading below to learn about more helpful tips about this specific recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/2 loaf French bread
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 cup pizza sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, shredded

Suggested Toppings

• Pepperoni slices
• Sausage
• Mushrooms
• Diced peppers
• Diced onions

Instructions – Making French Bread Pizza

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Get a large rimmed baking sheet and set aside. *I use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat for easy clean up, but this step is optional.

2. Using a serrated knife cut the loaf of bread in half lengthwise, giving you two similar size loaves. Set aside.

3. Combine the softened butter and garlic in a small bowl. Then spread this mixture over the inside, cut edge of each piece of bread. Then place each piece of bread, cut side up on a baking sheet.

4. Place the baking sheet with the bread in the preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes or until it is light brown in color and slightly toasted on top.

5. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and divide the pizza sauce between the two loaves. Spread the sauce evenly on top. Sprinkle the top with the dried oregano flakes.

6. Top with shredded Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Then add toppings as desired.

7. Place the baking sheet back into the preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese turns brown and bubbly.

Optional Step: To get the top crispy and golden brown, place the baking sheet under the broiler for 1-2 minutes.

8. Remove the French Bread Pizza from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before serving.

If you have an Air Fryer, you can also make Air Fryer French Bread Pizza recipe. It is a great recipe when you want dinner on the table without heating up the oven.

For other pizza night recipes check out these delicious recipes:

• Biscuit Dough Pizza
• Air Fryer Pizza Bagels
• Pizza Rolls
• Skillet Pizza
• Grilled PIzza
• Pizza Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Enjoy! Mary

Follow My Facebook Page For Great Recipes For Two! I Cook For Two Facebook Page

To receive FREE recipes delivered directly to your email, be sure to sign up for the iCookfortwo newsletter. A sign up form is located in the middle of this article. If you have any questions, comments, or want to submit an idea for a recipe for two, feel free to email at mary@icookfortwo.com