This is a simple, quick, and delicious take on pizza!

Crusty French bread is topped with garlic butter, pizza sauce, oregano, and two kinds of cheese before baking to melty perfection.

Add your favorite toppings for a new pizza that your family will love!

baked and sliced French Bread Pizza

Why You’ll Love French Bread Pizza

  • Leave the boxed pizzas in the freezer section and save money by making pizza.
  • Easy to make, this recipe is so much faster than delivery.
  • No pizza dough needed, no rolling, no rising.
  • They taste great, choose your own favorite pizza toppings!
  • Cut portions any size you like to feed a few or feed a crowd. French bread pizzas are great for sleepovers and movie nights!
  • Use the air fryer to cook or reheat smaller sections.

French Bread Pizza ingredients with labels

Ingredients

I love a good homemade pizza with homemade dough but this pizza bread is quick and easy when time is short.

FRENCH BREAD: Pick up a large loaf of French bread at the market or make homemade French bread. Top it with garlic butter for an extra layer of flavor.

SAUCE: Either buy a jar or make some homemade pizza sauce. Change it up by stirring in some bbq sauce, a couple of tablespoons of pesto. You can also use marinara sauce with a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.

Toppings:

What can’t go on a pizza? This is where the fun begins! Start with mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Meat: Pepperoni, Homemade Italian Sausage, leftover Shredded Chicken, ham.

Veggies: Toppings can be any assortment of onions, olives, red peppers, artichokes,  chopped spinach, diced zucchini, sliced mushrooms, or jalapenos. Anything goes!

process of adding ingredients together and cooking French Bread Pizza

How to Make French Bread Pizza

Here are the basics that make this a perfect French bread pizza recipe!

  1. Cut the French bread in half lengthwise and brush it with garlic butter.
  2. Place on a baking sheet cut side up and bake until browned per the recipe below.
  3. Top baked halves with pasta sauce, sprinkle with oregano, cheeses, and toppings of choice.
  4. Bake until browned and bubbly and let cool before serving.

To serve, cut into 2-inch slices and top with a little bit of parmesan cheese, chili flakes, fresh basil, or even a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

close up of baked French Bread Pizza

Tips for Perfect Pizza Bread

  • Cooking the bread with garlic butter adds a crisp topping and keeps the bread from getting soggy.
  • If you don’t have garlic butter, brush the bread with olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle with garlic powder or a few cloves minced garlic.
  • Ensure meat is cooked before adding. If your toppings have a lot of moisture, cook them first (like mushrooms) or lightly squeeze them dry (like pineapple).
  • Place finished French bread halves under the broiler to make the cheese and toppings extra crispy!
  • Leftovers? Follow this easy guide for how to reheat pizza!

Did Someone Say Pizza Party?

Did your family love this French Bread Pizza? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below! 

image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text
close up of baked French Bread Pizza
4.95 from 103 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here!

French Bread Pizza

This is the easiest way to make pizza for a crowd! French Bread Pizza is cheesy, flavorful, and so fun to make.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4

Equipment

buy hollys book

Ingredients  

  • 1 loaf French bread
  • ¼ cup salted butter softened
  • 1 clove garlic minced, or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 ½ cups pizza sauce
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • toppings as desired pepperoni, ham, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, pineapple, etc.

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 450°F.
  • Cut the loaf of bread in half lengthwise.
  • Combine butter and garlic in a small bowl. Spread over the bread. Place on a baking sheet, cut side up, and bake 5 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp on top.
  • Remove from the oven and spread pizza sauce on the top. Sprinkle with oregano.
  • Top with cheeses and toppings as desired. Bake 12-15 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Broil for 1-2 minutes if desired.
  • Cool 5 minutes before slicing.

Video

Notes

  • Cooking the bread with garlic butter adds a crisp topping and keeps the bread from getting soggy.
  • If you don't have garlic butter, brush the bread with olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle with garlic powder or a few cloves of minced garlic.
  • Ensure meat is cooked before adding. If your toppings have a lot of moisture, cook them first (like mushrooms) or lightly squeeze them dry (like pineapple).
  • Place finished French bread halves under the broiler to make the cheese and toppings extra crispy!
4.95 from 103 votes

Nutrition Information

Calories: 607 | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 1547mg | Potassium: 490mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1184IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 422mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Appetizer, Pizza
Cuisine American

sliced French Bread Pizza with writing

close up of slices of French Bread Pizza with a title
French Bread Pizza cut into slices with writing
close up of French Bread Pizza with a title

Categories:

, , ,

Recipes you'll love

About the author

Holly Nilsson is the creator of Spend With Pennies, where she creates easy, comforting recipes made for real life. With a passion for nostalgic flavors and simplified techniques, Holly helps busy home cooks create delicious meals that always work. She is also the author of “Everyday Comfort,” which promises to inspire even more hearty, home-cooked meals.
See more posts by Holly

Follow Holly on social media:

pinterest facebook twitter instagram

Free eBook!

Subscribe to receive weekly recipes and get a FREE Bonus e-book: Quick & Easy Weeknight Meals!

You can unsubscribe anytime by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of emails you receive.

4.95 from 103 votes (74 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. You have to grab the pizza sauce pepperoni and mozzarella from Trader Joe’s. Had Kroger slice the loaf and bought a small tub of garlic butter. Follow the instructions. BAM!5 stars

  2. Excellent! Made as written, with the exception of broiling the garlic butter step – couldn’t get mine to brown with just the oven. Loved, loved, loved the crispiness of the exterior of the bread. So easy and economical. Will certainly be making again!5 stars

  3. Used a loaf of french bread from our local Walmart. Cut the ends off and split the loaf in half lengthwise. Followed directions baking at 425 degrees F. instead of 450 for 5 minutes with butter garlic mixture; 12 minutes after topping with Rao’s pizza sauce, oregano, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and under broiler for 1 to 2 minutes, leaving rack in baking position. Used Rao’s pizza sauce. PERFECT!!5 stars

  4. Tried this recipe today. 450° is way too hot for this. My pizza was burnt and I had it on the middle rack. Will do this again but not at 450° and not for so long.

    1. Cooking at 450°F helps to make the french bread pizza nice and crispy. You will want to keep an eye on it closer to the end of the bake time because they crisp up quickly though.

  5. Thanks for the recipe! It was delicious and easy! Will definitely make this again. Pinterest has turned off the comments for this pin so I’m leaving one here.5 stars

  6. These came out black and burnt to a crisp on the bottom. We couldn’t event eat them. I followed the recipe to a T and baked on the middle rack for 12 minutes. I’m seeing other comments saying the same thing, maybe the recipe could be modified?1 star

    1. I’ve made this countless time and haven’t had this problem so I’m not sure what happened for you. May I ask what type of pan you used (was it a dark pan?).

  7. Delicious!!! I had not made French bread pizza’s in years. Came across your recipe and so glad I did! That garlic butter makes all the difference! I topped with sauce, sausage, green peppers and mushrooms. I sometimes do jalapenos too. I left one as a white pizza, both were really good! Thanks for the recipe!5 stars

  8. I made half the loaf with sautéed arugula, caramelized onions, dry sautéed wild mushrooms topped with Alfredo sauce and Parmesan. The other half had a red sauce with turkey pepperoni, capers, anchovies, mozzarella, Datil peppers and Parmesan.
    Perfection.5 stars