Have you ever wished that pizza could be tasty but also healthy at the same time? Well, this homemade french bread pizza fits the bill. It tastes delicious and is healthy. But best of all…. you can make it at home whenever you’d like!
Homemade French Bread Pizzas
Contents
Is Pizza Healthy?
The short answer is no- you probably shouldn’t eat regular, pizza parlor pizza every day.
A typical plain, cheese pizza has very few ingredients. The first ingredient is white flour which makes up the majority of the dough used to form the pizza crust. White flour has very little nutritional value and is high in carbs.
The next ingredient is the cheese. Many pizzas are smothered in an excess of cheese that is high in saturated fats. The pizza sauce on a pizza may be the healthiest part. It contains vitamins like A and C thanks to the tomatoes used to make it. However, many pizza shops will add sugar to their sauce to sweeten it up and make it taste even better- definitely not healthy!
So a regular pizza is not very healthy. But don’t worry! You can make pizza healthy if you take matters into you own hands! All the pizza needs are a few simple switches and you will be able to see the health benefits right away.
How to Make Homemade French Bread Pizza
In order to make this french bread pizza recipe, let’s start at the bottom- the crust. Since white flour has little to add in the way of nutrition, say goodbye to that basic white flour.
Also, say goodbye to the lengthy process of making a pizza crust from scratch. All that kneading and rolling, waiting for dough to rise….no one needs that! Say hello to French Bread.
Look for a whole wheat or whole grain loaf of french bread in the store, then you will have your pizza base ready. To begin, we’re using bread as a pizza base. Using a whole wheat or whole grain bread will also add some nutritional benefits.
Another step you can take to make your pizza healthy is by moderating the level of cheese. When you make your own pizza at home, you are completely in control of how much cheese you add to your pizza. We recommend 2-3 cups of shredded mozzarella with this recipe but you can use less.
Even if you just add a little less than our recommended amount or use a low-fat mozzarella, you will be cutting back on fat and calories in your homemade french bread pizza.
Healthy Pizza Sauce
Pizza sauce is one of the healthiest parts of the pizza so there isn’t much you have to change when revamping your pizza at home to be healthier. If you are buying the sauce for your pizza, make sure it has no added sugar or corn syrup- that’s right corn syrup. That sneaky, unhealthy ingredient gets into everything!
Of course, you can always opt to make your own pizza sauce and have complete control over the ingredients. Nothing is healthier or tastier than homemade sauce.
However, if you just don’t have time to cook up that sauce, there are plenty of delicious, no-sugar-added sauces that you can find in the stores to make your pizza healthy and yummy.
French Bread Pizza
Pizza Toppings
Now to the good part- the toppings! This is the best part about making pizza from home rather than ordering it. You can have any toppings you want without the hefty added price tag. This is also the part when you can opt to make one of the healthiest pizzas around by choosing your toppings wisely. For this homemade pizza recipe, I used basil and sliced red onions.
You can add almost anything to the top of a pizza but some of my favorite healthy toppings are:
- Basil
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Mushrooms
- Fresh Tomatoes
- Roasted garlic
- Grilled Chicken
- Sliced red onions
- Artichoke hearts
- Cauliflower
- Grilled Eggplant
- Sliced peppers
- Grilled Zucchini
That list could go on forever! When you pick a healthy pizza topping, not only are you adding nutritional value to your pizza but you are also adding sooooo much flavor.
So once you’ve added the toppings, the only thing left to do is put it in the oven on a baking sheet or pizza stone at 400 degrees(F) and it’s done in ten minutes! Then you can slice up the pizza bread however you like. The best way to do it evenly and smoothly without all the toppings coming off is with a pizza slicer.
The best part…. you can refrigerate any leftovers and take them to work in your meal prep bag for lunch the next day. Just reheat the slices in the microwave with a cover so they doesn’t get dried out.
Homemade Pizza
As you can see, making pizza at home is healthy and fun. You can completely control the taste and nutritional value of your pizza. So go to the store and grab a loaf of French bread, some pizza sauce and cheese then load up your cart with all the healthy toppings you can find. Head home and try out our healthy homemade pizza on French bread. You will never need to order pizza again!
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*This homemade pizza recipe was previously published on Simple Green Moms. We’ve updated and expanded the post on 10/09/19 to make this recipe even better for our readers!
French Bread Homemade Pizza
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
This homemade pizza recipe is healthy and easy to make. All you need to try out this delicious pizza at home is: bread, sauce, cheese and your choice of toppings.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French Bread (whole wheat or multi-grain)
- 2 cups marinara sauce (look for sugar-free sauce)
- 2–3 cups shredded mozzarella (or low fat mozzarella)
- Toppings: Basil and sliced red onions
- You can choose other toppings such as: pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400(F) degrees. Slice loaf of bread in half and place on a large cookie sheet or pizza stone. Evenly spread the pizza sauce on each half then add cheese and toppings of choice.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown and cheese is melted. Carefully remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before slicing.
Notes
Drizzle the bread with a small amount of olive oil before adding the pizza sauce to get another layer of flavor
Fresh chopped basil is perfect to add to any pizza and will really brighten up the flavor profile
This pizza is best when consumed immediately after it is prepared so only make it when you are ready to eat!
If your bread is a day old, spread the sauce across the top and then let it sit for about 10 minutes. Add a little more sauce and then bake. This will help “freshen” up the bread.
This homemade pizza looks so tasty and good for health. I would appreciate your efforts for the content you share 🙂
Thank you so much, Adele! We appreciate you, our reader as well!