Ingredients
1 loaf French bread
4 tbsp. butter, melted
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. marinara or pizza sauce
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
Pepperoni slices
2 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan
Crushed red pepper flakes
Freshly chopped basil, for topping
Preparation
Step 1Preheat oven to 400°. Slice bread in half lengthwise. Mix melted butter and garlic together and brush all over cut side of bread. Bake for 10 minutes to lightly toast. Step 2Spread marinara on top and top with mozzarella, pepperoni slices, parmesan, and red pepper flakes. Bake again until cheese is melty, 10 minutes more. Step 3Top with basil to serve.
What is French bread pizza? Instead of dealing with pizza dough, we use a loaf of French bread to create our pizza! The “crust” that forms will be crispy on the outside, while staying nice and soft on the inside. While it’s delicious as is, we decided to take things a step further. We brushed our French loaf with garlic butter here to create a garlic bread-esque crust, adding one of our other favorite Italian restaurant staples into the mix. You could skip the garlic if you’re a purist (but hey, we’re making pizza on bread here, so we say anything goes!), but we still recommend toasting the bread for a few minutes before you put your toppings on to keep it nice and crisp. What toppings should I use? As for toppings, we went the classic pepperoni route, but there’s no reason you can’t keep it vegetarian with mushrooms, peppers, and onions, or add in some sausage for a meat lover’s pizza. It’s your pizza night, so go crazy! Tip: Want to take this completely to the next level? Take it outside, and turn it into grilled pizza bread. Simply wrap your French loaf pizzas in aluminum foil, and toss them onto a campfire or grill—in 10-15 minutes you’ll be eating pizza, no 500° oven required. Have you made this yet? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
