What do you get when you cross Pizza with Garlic Bread? A winning combo! My Garlicky French Bread Pizza recipe represents the marriage between everyone’s favourite Pepperoni Pizza and buttery Garlic Bread. How irresistible!
This dish takes the guesswork out of making your own pizza at home by subbing in French Bread or a baguette for pizza dough. The baguette does all the heavy lifting with minimal effort required. A garlic infused butter is spread over the bread and baked for a few minutes to create the most flavourful and crispy canvas for our pizza. It’s then layered with a mild or spicy tomato sauce (dealers choice here!), creamy Fior di latte cheese, basil leaves and savoury pepperoni before being popped right back into the oven to finish cooking. You know your pizza is done when the kitchen smells just like your favourite pizzeria, the pepperoni is perfectly crisp and the cheese has melted and is oh so bubbly.
My Garlicky French Bread Pizza makes for the perfect weeknight dinner, weekday lunch, snack or back to school meal! All you need is a handful of ingredients (most of which you’d have in your pantry) and a few minutes of your time and you’ll have yourself a delicious meal waiting to be devoured. So, let me show you how it’s done. Grab a spoon and come and cook with me!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 17 - 20 minutes
Total Time: 22 - 25 minutes
Serves: 4 - 8
Ingredients:
1 French bread or baguette
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Pinch of ground pepper, to taste
1 cup jarred tomato sauce (See Notes below)
250g Fior di latte, cut into 1/4 inch slices (approx. 8 - 10 slices) (See Notes below)
14 pepperoni slices
10 basil leaves plus more for garnish
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450F and set aside a 11” x 17” baking sheet.
Cut the baguette in half lengthwise and transfer it to the baking sheet, cut side up.
To a small bowl, add the butter, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and whisk until fully incorporated. Using a pastry brush, brush the garlic butter onto both halves of the baguette.
Transfer the baguette to the oven and bake for 5 - 8 minutes or until golden and slightly crispy.
Remove the baguette from the oven and carefully spoon the sauce over each half. Then, top each with 4 - 5 slices of Fior di latte cheese, 5 basil leaves and 7 slices of pepperoni.
Reduce the oven temperature to 425F and transfer the pizza baguette back into the oven. Bake it for an additional 12 minutes or until the pepperoni is crispy and the cheese has melted and is bubbly.
Remove the pizza baguette from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. Slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes:
What kind of Tomato Sauce Should I Use?: For this recipe, feel free to use your favourite can or jar of tomato sauce. Anything goes! If you have homemade sauce in your pantry, go ahead and use that! If you’re feeling a little spicy, try a jarred Arrabiata tomato sauce for a subtle kick and heat.
Substituting the Cheese: If you don't have Fior di Latte on hand, can’t find it at your local grocer or just have a surplus of mozzarella at home, you can simply substitute it with sliced or grated mozzarella cheese on a 1:1 basis.
