french bread pizza

The other day, I made what I consider to be a brilliant discovery.

I don’t remember what I was originally looking for, but I noticed that Walmart sells, in their bakery department, fresh loaves of French and Italian bread for $1. ONE DOLLAR. When I saw the price, my mind buzzed with possibilities. Oh, the things I could make with a $1 loaf of bakery-fresh bread.

So, of course, I bought a loaf.

French bread pizza can, of course, be made using homemade bread; I make it that way often. But even those, like me, who love to bake, sometimes need a go-to meal that’s easy to throw together and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients. When that’s the case, this pizza fits the bill.

The only ingredient you really have to have is the bread. Beyond that, you can use- or not use- whatever sauce, cheese, and toppings you have around. I find that this meal is a great vehicle for leftovers. If I have chicken and vegetables in the fridge from a meal earlier in the week, I’ll chop them up and call them pizza toppings. And, unlike a traditional pizza recipe, this one easily accommodates eaters with different preferences. Just give each person their own section and let them customize the meal.

French Bread Pizza

1 loaf of French (or Italian) bread, homemade or from a bakery
toppings of choice
Oregano
olive oil
garlic salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the loaf in half lengthwise, so you can open it like a sub sandwich. Pick out some of the insides of the bread, creating a shallow bowl shape, but leaving a rim all around the edges.

Add whatever toppings you’d like, beginning with sauce, followed by cheese, followed by meat and vegetables. Sprinkle the pizza with Oregano and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the crust is beginning to turn golden.

When you’ve removed the pizza from the oven, brush the crust- the “rim” you left when you dug out the middle- with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt.

What are your supermarket secret weapons for inexpensive meals?