French Bread Pizza - The Recipe Rebel (2024)

This French Bread Pizza is a classic pepperoni pizza baked on a loaf of French bread! The result is a soft, chewy, perfectly crispy crust topped with your favorite pizza sauce, gooey mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni slices!

Love pizza inspired recipes? Try my Pizza Sliders recipe or this Pizza Toast!

I love anything that’s pizza-inspired. Pizza rolls, pepperoni pizza lasagna rollups, pepperoni pizza mac and cheese, pizza smashed potatoes, pizza crackers, okay you get it at this point. 😉

This French Bread Pizza is another absolutely delicious pizza inspired recipe. It’s like a classic pepperoni pizza, but instead of being baked on pizza crust, it’s baked on a soft, chewy loaf of French bread!

Make this recipe as-is or customize it to your liking! Use other meat, cheese, veggies, you name it.

Ingredients for French Bread Pizza

• French Bread: you can find a soft loaf of French bread in the bakery section at your local grocery store.
• Garlic Butter: I use my homemade garlic butter recipe to give the pizza extra flavor, but regular butter will work as well.
• Pizza Sauce: any kind will work.
• Mozzarella Cheese: use freshly grated cheese for the best texture.
• Italian Seasoning: gives the pizza an extra boost of that classic flavor.
• Pepperoni: you can use mild, spicy, regular, or mini.

How to make French bread pizza

This French bread pizza is ready in just 25 minutes!

1. Prep the bread: Slice the loaf of French bread in half lengthwise, flatten slightly, then spread the cut side with garlic butter. Toast or broil until slightly crusty then remove from the oven.
2. Assemble the pizza: Spread each half of the bread with sauce, then top with cheese, Italian seasoning, and toppings.
3. Bake: Bake the pizza at 400ºF until the cheese is melted, then slice and serve.

FAQs

Tips and Tricks:

• Buy the bread ahead of time. I think it’s best to buy the bread ahead of time, seal it in a plastic bag, and use it in a day or two. This helps the crust soften so it doesn’t dry out in the oven.
• Place the oven rack in the top third of the oven to prevent the bottom of the bread from burning.
• Flatten the bread. I like to flatten the loaf of bread slightly to prevent the edges from curling. I borrowed my bread flattening method from Serious Eats French Bread Pizza.
• Shred your own cheese. I highly recommend using freshly grated mozzarella. It melts better. Pre-shredded cheeses contain an anti-caking agent that can result in a slightly grainy texture.
• Toast the bread first. Make sure you toast the bread before you add the sauce and toppings. This helps prevent it from becoming soggy!
• If you can’t find French bread, Italian bread or ciabatta will work as well. Just don’t overbake or they will be very hard!
• Make less. If you’re looking to make a smaller serving, you can easily make half or even a quarter of a pizza. You can freeze the leftover bread and use it another time!

Variations

The great thing about this pizza recipe is, like any other pizza recipe, it’s super customizable! Get creative. Mix and match. Here are some other topping ideas:

• Meat: Bacon, Italian sausage, diced ham, shredded chicken.
• Veggies: Bell peppers, mushrooms, olives, onions, spinach.
• Sauce: Pesto, alfredo, BBQ sauce, balsamic glaze.
• Cheese: Cheddar, romano, parmesan, feta, goat.

Serving suggestions

If you want to bulk your meal up, serve this pizza alongside a simple side salad, roasted green beans, Easy Broccoli Salad or roasted vegetables.

More pizza recipes you’ll love