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French Bread Pizza

This fast French Bread Pizza recipe is a classic Budget Byte because it’s super fast, ridiculously easy, customizable, and inexpensive! In just 20 minutes, a loaf of French bread turns into four crispy, cheesy pizzas with golden edges, tomatoey sauce, and all your favorite toppings. But one of my favorite reasons for making these French bread pizzas is that they’re a great way to use up the leftovers in your fridge. You can top these pizzas with just about anything, so dive into your refrigerator and find some creative pizza toppings! 😊

“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.”
Julie

An Easy Way to do Pizza Night

Don’t get me wrong, I think a homemade pizza made with fresh pizza dough is absolutely worth the effort when I have the time (I did work at a pizza counter many moons ago, after all!!). But on those extra busy nights when everyone is hungry now, this French bread pizza is the shortcut I come back to all the time. The bread already gives you a sturdy, ready-to-go base, so all you have to do is add sauce, cheese, and toppings before baking. You get crispy edges, melty cheese, and all the flavors of pizza night with a fraction of the work.

I skip any extra prep and add the toppings directly to the bread before baking here. The crust still turns out crisp around the edges while the inside stays soft and chewy. This easy French bread pizza is also a great recipe for using small amounts of leftover vegetables, cooked meats, cheeses, and sauces that might otherwise get forgotten in the fridge. Sometimes the most creative pizzas start with whatever needs using up!

Choose the right bread. A soft French bread loaf works best for this recipe because it crisps around the edges while staying slightly chewy in the center. I think very crusty artisan loaves or baguettes become a little too hard once baked with toppings. Other breads I’ve tried and loved for making quickie pizzas are naan, English muffins, pitas, and even tortillas!
Don’t overload the toppings. Too many toppings can make the bread soggy and stop the cheese from browning properly. I try to keep toppings in a fairly even layer so every bite gets plenty of flavor without weighing down the bread.
Watch high-moisture ingredients. Fresh mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, and other vegetables release water as they cook. If you’re using lots of fresh vegetables, pat them dry first or use them sparingly to help keep the bread crisp.
Go for a thick pizza sauce. I LOVE using my homemade pizza sauce here. It’s thick and rich, and doesn’t make the bread soggy. A store-bought pizza sauce would also work great. I’d avoid using a pasta sauce or marinara, just because they’re more watery and can make the French bread soggy.
Use what you’ve got, or 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! I’ve shared some of my favorite pizza toppings below!

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Easy French Bread Pizza

French Bread Pizza is the perfect budget-friendly fast and easy weeknight dinner. Customize the toppings to fit your taste buds or what you have on hand!

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American

Total Cost $2.85 recipe / $0.71 serving

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings servings (¼ French loaf each)

Calories 364kcal

Author Beth Moncel

Equipment

Baking Sheet

Ingredients

1 French loaf about 12-16 inches long, $1.47
½ cup pizza sauce $0.43
4 oz. mozzarella cheese shredded, (1 cup, 100g) $0.95*
toppings of your choice variable

Instructions

Gather and prepare all ingredients.
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.

Notes

*I recommend freshly shredding your mozzarella cheese, if possible, for the best melt. Pre-shredded cheeses don’t always melt the best because they’re coated in anti-caking agents in the bag.

For an extra crispy crust: Place the sliced French bread cut-side up on the baking sheet and bake at 400ºF for 3-5 minutes before adding the toppings. This step is completely optional (I usually skip it to save time and still end up with a crisp base!), but it’s helpful if your pizza sauce is on the thinner side or you want extra insurance against a soggy crust.

Nutrition

How to Make French Bread Pizza Step-by-Step Photos

The ingredients to make French bread pizzas.

Gather all of your ingredients.

French bread quarters on a baking sheet.

Prep the bread: 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.

A hand spooning pizza sauce onto French bread quarters.

Add the sauce: Now spread about 2 Tbsp pizza sauce over top of each piece of French bread.

A hand sprinkling shredded cheese over French bread pizzas.

Sprinkle over some cheese: Add about ¼ cup shredded mozzarella to each piece of French Bread. You’ll need 4 oz. mozzarella total.

Toppings added to homemade French bread pizzas.

Add your toppings: You can bake these French bread pizzas as-is, or add some toppings! I added some shredded cheddar to one, pepperoni to the next, diced green bell pepper and red onion to the third, and pepperoni and black olives to the last. Use what you’ve got and love!

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.

Fast French bread pizzas after baking on a baking tray.

Bake: If you’re ready to enjoy these pizzas now, bake them 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. 😉

Side view of a pepperoni French bread pizza sliced in half.

Topping Ideas

The best part about French bread pizza is that you can keep it classic or turn it into a fridge clean-out dinner! Here are some easy topping combos to try:

Spinach, mushroom, Swiss (I also love swapping out the Swiss for feta)
Pepperoni, diced pepperocini, onion
Artichoke hearts, olives, roasted peppers
Pepperoni, salami, or other cold cured meats
Shredded chicken, broccoli, and shredded cheddar
Ham and canned pineapple
Pesto drizzled over top after baking
Caramelized onions, goat cheese, and spinach
Ricotta, mozzarella, garlic, and spinach
Buffalo chicken, mozzarella, and a drizzle of ranch (add the ranch after baking)
Cooked sausage, bell pepper, and onion
Taco-seasoned ground beef or beans, cheddar, and sliced jalapeños

These shortcut pizzas are delicious on their own, but they’re also easy to build into a full pizza-night dinner! One loaf of French bread makes 4 pizzas, and you can easily make more or less by buying another loaf or using only what you need from one. I like to time a batch of air fryer French fries so they cook at the same time as the pizzas, then everything hits the table hot and crispy together. For something fresh on the side, Caesar salad is always a classic pizza pairing, and my creamy cucumber salad is great for a cool, crunchy side with almost no extra effort.

French bread pizzas are also SO fun for parties, game day, or casual family nights at home. Set out the sauce, cheese, and a few toppings in small bowls, then let everyone decorate their own pizza before baking. It keeps dinner easy, customizable, and a little more fun without spending takeout money.

Storage & Reheating

Store any leftovers, once cooled, in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, place the pizzas on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF until the cheese is melted again and the edges feel crisp. The wire rack helps air circulate underneath so the bread reheats without getting too soft on the bottom.

To freeze your French bread pizzas (before baking), just top them as usual, press the toppings into the bread a bit to help them stay in place, 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 up to 3 months and you can bake them as usual, straight from the freezer, adding just a few extra minutes of baking time.

Try These Other ShortCut Pizza Recipes Next:

These Pizza Melts give you the comfort of pizza and grilled cheese in one skillet, which is exactly the shortcut dinner energy I need sometimes.
Pizza Roll Ups are a fun homemade swap for frozen pizza rolls, with tortillas, pepperoni, mozzarella sticks, and sauce for dipping!
My Pizzadillas are perfect when you want pizza flavor fast, but with the golden, crispy edges of a stovetop quesadilla.

Our French Bread Pizza recipe was originally published 11/29/10. We have updated it to be the best it can be and republished 6/10/26.

The post French Bread Pizza appeared first on Budget Bytes.

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Chimichurri Sauce

Chimichurri Sauce is bold, wildly versatile, and way more powerful than the sum of its parts, which is exactly the kind of budget-friendly cooking I’m all about. This vibrant green sauce is pure magic because it requires only a few ingredients (fresh herbs, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and seasonings) and is so incredibly easy for how much flavor it brings. Trust me, it WILL transform anything you drizzle it on…and you really can drizzle it on just about anything.

“This is fantastic! We ate it over roasted potatoes last night, and today it went on sandwiches. This was the first time I’d bought and used fresh parsley in my own cooking, because I haven’t liked it in the past, but the flavor was great with the cilantro and other ingredients. We’ll definitely be making this again.”
Nicole

A Quick Sauce with Big Flavor

Chimichurri is a fresh herb sauce from Argentina, and it’s the perfect sauce for my budget-conscious kitchen because it does a lot with very little. There’s no cooking, no expensive specialty ingredients, and no complicated technique, but the mix of fresh herbs, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, and spices creates a bright, punchy sauce that tastes out of this world good. I’ll happily spoon it over grilled meats, roasted vegetables, eggs, rice bowls, or anything else in the fridge that needs a fast flavor upgrade.

I’ve made this recipe many times since I first posted it in 2016, and I’ve come to realize that I prefer hand-chopping the herbs because it keeps the sauce loose and textured. A food processor can bruise or crush delicate herbs, making the sauce darker and more paste-like (which isn’t the texture we’re going for!) Though not strictly traditional, I do add a little cilantro and cumin because I LOVE how it tastes in this bright sauce. For a more authentic flavor, leave out the cilantro (and cumin) and use all parsley. I also use dried oregano because it’s potent and more affordable than fresh oregano. That said, fresh parsley is one ingredient I wouldn’t swap. It’s a KEY ingredient and makes this recipe taste unmistakably like chimichurri!

Choose bright fresh herbs. Since this sauce is mostly herbs, their quality really shows. I look for parsley and cilantro with perky leaves and no yellowing or slimy spots. If your herbs are just a little wilted, dip them in a bowl of ice water for 5-10 minutes, then shake off as much water as possible before chopping. The cold shock can perk them up by drawing water back into the leaves!
Chop by hand for the best texture. Chimichurri should be loose, spoonable, and flecked with herbs, not blended into a smooth green paste. A sharp knife gives you better control and keeps the herbs from getting bruised or crushed. If you do need to use a food processor, I’d pulse just a few times and stir in the oil by hand!
Let it sit before you adjust the flavor. This sauce tastes good right away, but I think it tastes better after 10-15 minutes. That short rest gives the garlic, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper time to mingle and hydrate. Taste it again before adding more salt, vinegar, garlic, or crushed red pepper to taste.

You’ll often see chimichurri served with steak, and it’s fantastic spooned over grilled beef because the vinegar, garlic, and herbs cut right through the richness. Try it with our grilled sirloin tenders for an easy (and cheap!) steak dinner that still feels fresh and bright. It’s also great on grilled chicken, fish, and a whole host of vegetarian foods.

One of my favorite ways to use it is as a dip for toasted, crusty bread, especially when the bread is warm because the garlicky oil soaks right in.

Sliced toasted French bread on a cutting board drizzled with chimichurri with a bowl of chimichurri sauce on the side.

I also suggest keeping a batch in your fridge and drizzling it on whatever you’re eating throughout the week! A spoonful can make leftovers taste fresh again, especially over warm grains or vegetables, where the herbs soften slightly, and the vinegar adds a bright little kick.

Here are a few of our recipes that use this sauce as an ingredient:

Chimichurri Grilled Chicken has the sauce in the marinade and uses it as a finishing spoonful, so the chicken gets bold flavor before AND after grilling.
Baked Chimichurri Fish Bowls turn a simple piece of fish into a bright, meal-prep friendly bowl with rice, cabbage slaw, and extra sauce drizzled over the top.
Chimichurri Chicken and Rice uses this sauce to bring big flavor to a budget-friendly pot of chicken and rice without needing a long list of extras.

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Chimichurri Sauce

Chimichurri Sauce is a tangy, fresh, and garlicky sauce that delivers big flavor to any meal. Use as a marinade, dipping sauce, or condiment.

Course Sauce

Cuisine Argentine

Total Cost $3.21 recipe / $0.54 serving

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings servings (2 Tbsp each)

Calories 169kcal

Author Beth Moncel