Picture this: You wake up, you feed your kids breakfast, you start your day of homeschooling. Your kids last all of ten minutes before they start asking if it’s lunch time. You lose the will to live. You also panic because once again you have no idea what you’re going to serve for lunch.
That happens every day around here. Every single day. It’s a miracle I’ve survived this long.
One of my favorite lunches is pizza bread. Sure, I could just pop a frozen pizza in the oven and it’d be done just as quick as this pizza bread, but then I’d feel lazy. I’d feel like a bad mom. I’d also feel sick of frozen pizza, because we probably just ate it yesterday. Ah, the life of a homeschooler. So glamorous.
This pizza bread is so quick to prepare and I pretty much always have the ingredients on hand. Sweet Italian bread (Yes, I always have some in my cabinet. It’s sweet Italian bread! Why wouldn’t I always have some?), pizza sauce or the ingredients to make my own, pepperoni, and cheese. I don’t think my refrigerator has been without cheese since 1953. Nevermind that I was born in 1982 or that my refrigerator was just purchased last year. Cheese. It’s a staple.
This bakes in about 5-10 minutes. I like to pop it under the broiler for a few minutes to get the cheese good and bubbly, but you can certainly skip that step. After you pull it from the oven be sure to sprinkle on some green flecks. Basil, oregano, parsley…it doesn’t matter. Something green. Green is healthy which means that pizza bread with green flecks is healthy. Those green flecks are the only reason I don’t feel guilty about serving pizza bread twice a week, every week.
Pizza Bread
- 1 loaf sweet Italian bread
- pizza sauce (from a jar or try this recipe)
- pepperoni (or toppings of choice)
- cheese – mozzarella, cheddar, American, provolone – it’s all good
Slice the bread in half length-wise. Spread with pizza sauce (use as much as you like). Top with lots of cheese – my favorite combo of cheese is three slices of American cut in half and divided among each loaf and topped with 8 slices of provolone divided among each loaf. Layer on the pepperoni or whatever other toppings you may like. Bake for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and the bread is heated through. Pop under the broiler for just a couple of minutes to get the cheese nice and bubbly. Sprinkle with green stuff (basil, oregano, parsley) if you want to feel healthful.
*Speaking of pizza sauce and being healthful, Ragu pasta sauces make an excellent pizza sauce and I just so happen to have a review/giveaway going on with them right now. Click here to check it out and enter to win a $100 gift card!*
Gail says
We do something similar to this but with more pepperoni…and then smush it all together for a fat pizza sub. 🙂
natalie (the sweets life) says
love this! Reminds me of pepperoni bread which was a staple in our house growing up (basically stuffed pizza bread!)
Kathy @ The Sugar Queen says
Looks delicious!
Stephanie @Plain Chicken says
YUM! Looks great!! I like to microwave the pepperoni so it is nice and crispy.
Joanne says
I start thinking about lunch approximately ten minutes into my classes as well! which really stinks because my classes start at 8AM and end at 1PM. That’s a lot of time to kill.
This sounds awesome. I can’t remember the last time my fridge didn’t have cheese in it either. I mean seriously. cheese is life.
Esther @ x3baking says
Yummy! This looks even better than Costco’s! My mom recently bought a whole box of french bread pizza that looks just like this. Now I want to eat some. 🙂
Jessica says
Wonderful! I’m adding this to my dinner menu list, perfect for the nights I want spaghetti (b/c my crazy kids don’t like pasta.)
Jenna says
I recently found your blog and I’m in heaven!! I LOVE recipes and can’t wait to try several of the few I’ve seen so far. I had to laugh when I read the intro to this recipe. I just started homeschooling my oldest (kindergarten) this year and she does the exact same thing. As soon as we get into something she says she’s hungry. =) Glad to know it’s not just me!
ashley @ ashley's adventures in alaska says
Ahhh pizza bread. What a cute (and yummy) idea!
Julie says
Ah man, can I come to your house for lunch?
Erica Lea {Cooking for Seven} says
Oh man. That looks seriously good. Wish I could have a bite at this very moment.
Crazy About Cakes says
Yum! I love pizza bread! I can’t believe you homeschool and bake! You are AMAZING!
grace says
we were often served a much less appetizing version of this in the cafeteria when i was in school. yours is high quality, and hey–anything that helps keep you sane is a-okay, right? 🙂
Michelle says
Definitely a lunch I’d be happy to have!
Megan says
Oh yum. This looks so dreamy. I’d like this for dinner, please.
Rachael says
Just made this recipe last night! Was delicious! Thanks for all the wonderful recipes and yummy pictures! Love your blog!
holly. says
I always want to make something like this, but never do. I think you’ve convinced me. Next time it will be THIS instead of regular homemade pizza!
Pretty. Good. Food. says
Mmmm, looks delicious! I am definitely adding this to my “dinner in a hurry” recipes 🙂
Lauren says
My husband – who is a big kid – would absolutely love this pizza bread!
Oh, who am I kidding… so would I 🙂
Ashley says
We used to buy something like this from the grocery store when I was growing up. I loved the end pieces the best!!
vivek dominos india says
hi karly dis seems to be the best of urs????????
marilyn says
Yummy.. I would like this recipe in my recipe box!
Dana says
I feel like a moron because I’m the only person who has asked this…
What the hell is “sweet Italian bread”??
Jennifer says
At temp does this bake at???
Melissa says
My brain might be broken, but SWEET Italian bread? Can’t use just reg Italian bread? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of sweet. I think my kids broke my brain.
Karly says
@Melissa,
Oh, everyone is asking me what sweet Italian bread is. Y’all are definitely strange, but I love you anyway. 😉 It’s just a sweeter Italian bread. Maybe it’s a regional thing? It’s not quite as sweet as the King’s Hawaiian rolls. You can certainly use regular Italian or even French bread. I just like the sweetness against the spicy pepperoni and melty cheese.
Anyway, I get the sweet Italian from the bakery section in the grocery stores. It usually has a sticker on it that says “sweet.”
Melissa says
@Karly,
Hee, hee! Thanks so much! We just moved to Missouri & I’ve never seen sweet Italian bread, but reg? TONS of it!! Can’t wait to make this! I am a super for the frozen french bread pizza, in the little orange boxes. I much prefer the idea of making it myself. Just gotta make it WW friendly. Thanks so much! I signed up to get your recipes in my emails, can’t wait to see what else you have up your sleeve.
Karly says
@Melissa,
Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for subscribing. 🙂
Melissa says
@Karly,
🙂
Joan says
Now I am hungry and it looks so good. Have you ever made the recipe ahead of time and froze it?
Michelle says
My mom used to make something similar (she called it French Bread Pizza) but I totally forgot about it until I saw the mouth-watering pics on your blog. Made it tonight, it was SO good and SO easy it was ready in no time. I just used regular Italian bread, since that’s what is available here and it was delish. We had fresh veggies/Ranch dip on the side; perfect dinner!
Melissa says
Friday nights are pizza night & this is the only pizza we make. So easy & yummy.. Thanks so much for the recipe! We home school & I just happen to have a loaf, thank goodness they love pizza! I’m running out of ideas for lunches.
Kim says
What is sweet Italian bread ? Maybe if you shared a brand name in could try and locate it in my area, I have never heard the name before.
Thanks !
Karly says
Kim, it’s just a sweet version of Italian bread. It may be a regional thing. I purchase it in the bakery at Kroger, so there is no brand name.
Karly says
Whoops, hit enter too soon! Any kind of Italian or French bread would work fine here. The sweet bread is just my personal favorite and what I keep on hand. 🙂