French bread pizza brings many of us back to our childhood, making frozen versions on our own in a toaster oven. Return to those simpler days with this delicious, easy, super crunchy version. The secret to making the best French bread pizza is toasting the bread before adding your toppings—this ensures no more soggy bread.
Anyone can tackle this pizza recipe and you can use any bread you have on hand. This technique also works great with bagels.
Ingredients
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2 cloves garlic, minced
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1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
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2 tablespoons olive oil
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1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, divided
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1/2 loaf French bread, sliced in half lengthwise
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1 cup pizza sauce
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1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
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2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
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12 slices pepperoni
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients. Preheat oven to 425 F.
The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney
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Stir the garlic, melted butter, olive oil, and half of the chopped parsley together in a small bowl.
The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney -
Lay the pieces of bread out on a sheet tray. Top the French bread pieces with the butter mixture, completely coating the top of each piece.
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Bake the bread in the preheated oven on the center rack for about 3 to 5 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and crisp.
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Remove the bread from the oven, and top each one with your desired amount of sauce.
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Top with an equal amount of mozzarella and parmesan cheese and pepperoni. Return to the oven and bake for about 5 to 7 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
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Remove from the oven and top with remaining chopped parsley.
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Serve immediately with extra Parmesan cheese.
The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney
Recipe Variations
There are so many different variations for these yummy pizzas. Get creative with your favorite toppings like Italian sausage, mushrooms, peppers, and onions. Or you can try out these awesome combos.
- Barbecue chicken French bread pizza: Bake the french bread with the garlic butter and then top with a few tablespoons of barbecue sauce, Monterey jack cheese, chopped grilled chicken, and sliced red onion. Bake and top with more barbecue sauce if desired.
- Buffalo chicken French bread pizza: Bake the french bread with the garlic butter. Toss some rotisserie chicken with buffalo sauce. Top the bread with the seasoned chicken and top with shredded mozzarella and crumbles of blue cheese. Bake and serve with a drizzle of ranch and some sliced scallions.
- Caprese French bread pizza: Bake the french bread with the garlic butter. Top with fresh mozzarella and bake again. Marinate cherry tomato halves with balsamic, salt, pepper, and chopped basil. Top the pizza with the tomatoes mixture and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Use any kind of bread you like.
- Don’t skip the toasting before adding sauce and cheese. Otherwise you will end up with a soggy crust that won’t be quite heated all of the way through.
- You can shred your own mozzarella cheese if you want. Fresh mozzarella will make the pizza a little softer.
