Pepperoni Lover’s French Bread Pizza

By Dawn Perry

Updated Aug. 12, 2024

Pepperoni Lover’s French Bread Pizza
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
20 minutes, plus 5 minutes’ cooling
Rating
4(512)
Comments
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An easy no-cook sauce works as a tangy base for pizzas of all kinds. Draining the tomatoes before seasoning ensures the sauce won’t create any soggy bottoms, no matter what type of crust you build your pizza on. Use an equal amount of crushed or whole peeled tomatoes instead of diced if that’s what you have on hand. Just use your hands to break whole tomatoes up a bit (and drain off any additional liquid). The sauce will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for about 5 days. But feel free to use your favorite jarred marinara in its place. Leftover pizza reheats beautifully in a 350-degree oven until warmed through.

Featured in: The Secret to Easy Homemade Pizza

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

    For the Sauce

    • 1(14-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
    • 1garlic clove, grated
    • ½teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
    • ½teaspoon dried oregano
    • 1tablespoon olive oil
    • A few grinds of black pepper

    For the Pizza

    • ¼cup olive oil
    • 2garlic cloves, grated
    • 1loaf soft French bread, split lengthwise, insides mostly dug out
    • 4ounces mozzarella, low-moisture and part-skim, or fresh (drained and patted dry, if necessary), grated or torn (about 1 cup)
    • 2tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
    • 2ounces sliced pepperoni, quartered (about ½ cup)
    • Red-pepper flakes or dried oregano, or both, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

624 calories; 39 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 21 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 1204 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the sauce: Heat the oven to 450 degrees with a rack in the middle position. Combine tomatoes, garlic, salt, oregano, olive oil and black pepper in a medium bowl, and stir to combine. Set aside until ready to use.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the pizza: Combine the ¼ cup olive oil and garlic in a small pot over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the garlic starts to sizzle, but doesn’t brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

  3. Step 3

    Place the French bread cut side up on a baking sheet. Brush cut sides with garlic oil. Bake until edges are golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Toss together the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni in a medium bowl. Divide tomato sauce between the two bread halves all the way to the edges and top with pepperoni and cheese.

  5. Step 5

    Return to the oven and bake until melted, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to broil and broil (watch carefully!) until the cheese is bubbly and browned in spots, 1 to 2 minutes more. Let cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve topped with more Parmesan, red-pepper flakes and oregano, if you like.

Ratings

4 out of 5
512 user ratings
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Comments

Marcolius

This works well with ciabatta, too. (Not surprising.) Very thinly sliced tomatoes, salted and drained, are a good substitute for sauce.

Dave from Brooklyn

Fun recipe. My wife loved it. I messed up the instructions about mixing the cheese and pepperoni before adding to the toasted bread. Still turned out well but next time I’ll mix them together. It allows the cheese to be more exposed to the broiler and melt more thoroughly.

Mark

Interesting subject. When I was in college there was a pizzeria nearby (Milwaukee) to where I lived. They made what amounted to a french bread pizza, but they called it Garlic Bread Pizza because they built the pizzas on top of their garlic bread (made on french bread). They were great. I have been making them this way to this day, 42 years later.

Terri

Super easy to cone together. Used a can of whole tomatoes hand crushed. Used Italian Seasoning instead of oregano. Added sliced black olives to the pepperoni mixture. Second iteration was ham and pineapple. Sprinkled pineapple pieces rather than mixing them in. Grandkids enjoyed!

Tony

Is there an Air-Fryer version of the recipe? Thanks.

Susan from Parker

Question: so the sauce is not cooked before assembling the loaves? I made this a few weeks ago and didn't cook the sauce. It was good, but I wanted to be sure I was clear about the sauce. Making this for the Super Bowl on Sunday. Go Chiefs!

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