The quickest, easiest dinner you can throw together on a night that you are short on time or energy are these fantastic French Bread Pizzas!  I love pizza night because everyone can make their own creation exactly how they want it and it’s FUN to do it together.  However, with these pizzas you don’t even have to make the dough and you get a perfect crust that is crisp and golden on the outside and soft on the inside – literally perfection with no effort!

My favorite bread to use for these are the $1 French loaves out of Walmart.  They fresh bake them every day – you can get them plain, with sesame seeds, with herbs or with everything bagel and they are only ONE DOLLAR PER LOAF!  I use these all the time to make garlic bread or serve with any meal.  You can throw them in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 350 and they will taste like you just baked them yourself!  Seriously – my best-loved, most inexpensive time saver.

My personal favorite pizza is made with a buffalo ranch sauce, bacon, pineapple, red onion and mozzarella cheese.  It is seriously the best thing ever!  I just mix bottled ranch dressing with buffalo wing sauce, (I like about 1-2 ratio of wing sauce to ranch, but add a little at a time and see what you like), then spread that on the pre-toasted bread.  Add chopped, crispy bacon, pineapple tidbits, thinly sliced red onion and a slew of mozzarella.  I will often top with fresh herbs right before serving and it’s a treat!

I know people have their own opinions about pineapple on pizza, but I love it.  If you don’t, I’ve included a whole lot of additional ideas at the bottom of this post.  The most important part of this process is brushing the bread with olive oil and toasting it BEFORE you add the toppings.  This stops it from getting soggy!  Are you ready to have the easiest, funnest dinner night ever?  Grab some bread and your favorite ingredients from the grocery store and follow the directions below.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425.
2. Cut a French loaf in half both ways so you have four pieces.  Brush both sides of all of the pieces of bread with olive oil – place on a baking sheet and bake on the middle rack for 3-4 minutes or until they start to get golden brown, cut side up.
3. Remove bread from oven, add desired sauce, cheese and toppings, (I always sprinkle a little extra bit of cheese over the toppings too to help them stick to the pizza), then bake another 5-7 minutes until nice and melty and serve immediately!

Need some ideas on what ingredients to add?  Have a look below!

Sauce ideas:  Pizza, barbecue, buffalo wing, Alfredo, pesto, ranch, marinara, jarred spaghetti sauce, garlic butter, olive oil only

Cheese ideas: Shredded mozzarella, sharp cheddar, Italian blend, pizza blend, Mexican/fiesta blend, mozzarella balls or slices, dollops of ricotta, feta, goat cheese, Parmesan,

Topping ideas:  Pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, Canadian bacon rounds, cooked bacon crumbles, cubed ham, chicken, steak, ground beef, sliced tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, peppers, white or red onions, sliced mushrooms, pineapple, spinach, chopped kale, sliced pear, nuts, basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, cilantro.

Some combination ideas to get you thinking:

• Classic combination of pizza sauce with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, mozzarella cheese
• Buffalo wing sauce mixed with ranch as the base sauce with shredded chicken, mozzarella and dollops of ricotta, (can also add finely sliced onion and/or crumbled blue cheese!)
• Barbecue sauce with chicken, bacon, finely sliced red onion, red pepper, cheddar cheese
• Ranch dressing as the sauce with chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese
• Marinara or pizza sauce with ground beef, bacon, onion, cheddar cheese
• Pesto sauce with sliced tomatoes, basil and mozzarella slices
• Pizza, ranch or barbecue sauce with Canadian bacon rounds, pineapple tidbits, bacon, mozzarella and ricotta
• Marinara sauce with crushed meatballs, ricotta and mozzarella
• Alfredo sauce with spinach, garlic and sausage
• Olive oil only with sausage, sliced onion, kale, ricotta and mozzarella
• Marinara, pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce with multiple cheeses
• Olive oil only with sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, basil, Parmesan and mozzarella
• Marinara or pizza sauce with mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, sausage, onion, mushrooms, green peppers, olives
• Barbecue sauce with chicken, pineapple, sliced onion and bacon
• Olive oil only with spinach, roasted red peppers, feta, olives and minced garlic