French Bread Pizzas

These french bread pizzas are one of my husband's favorite meals that his mom makes. The first time I tried them... I didn't like them. I like my pizza crust soft and chewy, so the crispy french bread wasn't my thing. I experimented with cutting the bread differently so it wasn't as crispy, and now I love them! Major bonuses for being easy and inexpensive.

French Bread Pizzas
makes 8-10 mini pizzas

1 loaf french bread
1 pound ground beef*, cooked and seasoned to taste (we brown ours with some onion and then freeze it, so all we have to do is thaw the meat for dinner)
1 small jar pizza sauce (or make your own using the recipe below)
1/2 cup each grated cheddar cheese and grated mozzarella cheese, combined

*or ground turkey, ground sausage, pepperoni, or whatever you like on your pizza

1. Preheat oven (or toaster oven if you're blessed to have one) to 350*F.
2. Slice the french bread, either into regular slices (like my bakery cuts mine, by request) or B) into fourths that are then sliced in half (so that the outside crust of the french bread becomes the crust of the pizza). --see images below for notes about cutting french bread if you don't understand what in the world I am talking about :)--
3. Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce on the french bread. Thinner sauce = crispier pizza
4. Add your toppings! We put a layer of cheese, then meat, then more cheese.
5. Bake at 350*F for 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melted. Let pizzas cool for a couple minutes before eating.

original french bread image source

Cutting option A: Regular slices. This makes the center of the pizza softer, just like I like it.

Cutting option B: First cut the loaf into four pieces (green lines) and then cut each of those pieces in half through the center of the loaf (orange line). This is makes the whole crust crispier.

Super Easy Pizza Sauce
makes enough sauce for 2 regular size pizzas or 2 full loaves of french bread pizzas

1 can tomato sauce
1 Tbsp italian seasoning
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp olive oil

Combine all ingredients. Spread on your crust, bake, and enjoy!