I improvised with what we had in the fridge: on the left, chicken, mushrooms, bell peppers with cheddar. On the right: black olives, mushrooms, pineapple, chicken.

Looking for a quick, easy dinner that won’t break your budget and is healthier than fast food? Try a French bread pizza.

The concept of a French bread pizza (or English muffin, or bagel, or sourdough pizza, etc. Use your imagination) is simply to replace the traditional pizza crust with French bread. You can use any crusty bread (and a little stale is just fine). French bread (baguettes) is long, crusty and relatively cheap (even in British Columbia, Canada, home of high food prices, I could find one at the market or bakery for under $1.50). Just one can make pizza for 2-4 people (maybe 6 with a really long baguette), especially if rounded out with salad and/or a simple dessert. The bread crust is puffier than most regular pizza crusts, which fills you up more. And you end up using fewer ingredients than traditional pizza, because the surface area isn’t as large.

Basic ingredients:
-1 baguette (French bread) – this can be homemade or from the bakery.
-pizza sauce (I often use one of those 8 ounce cans of plain sauce, adding a pinch of sugar, a bit of basil, oregano, and garlic. One can is enough for this recipe.)
-grated cheese – you can use ANY cheese for pizza, Parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella, etc. Just choose something you like and that is inexpensive. DON’T buy pre-shredded cheese. It’s usually more expensive, and it has chemicals added to make it not clump and mold.
- (optional) Peppers, onions, pineapple, mushrooms, olives (green or black), zucchini, etc to your taste
- (optional) Pepperoni, bacon, ham, chicken, sausage, smoked tofu, etc. to your taste (any leftovers go great on pizza – I used leftover roast chicken for these).

1. Cut the baguette in half (maybe in thirds if it is long). Then split in half lengthwise to give you four (or 6) flat pieces. You may want to slice a tiny bit off the crusty side to make it lay flat.
2. If you wish, you may toast the baguettes before topping. If you want to do this, pop the bare bread under the broiler or in the toaster oven until just turning brown (don’t use a microwave as your bread won’t get toasted). You may want to drizzle the bread with some olive oil.
3. Top with sauce, toppings, and cheese as desired. Don’t overload your bread, or it will just fall off.
4. Put under the broiler or in the toaster oven until the cheese is melted. Enjoy hot with a salad or fresh fruit.

Pizza topping ideas for French bread or other crust pizzas:

-Traditional veggie: peppers, mushrooms, onions and black olives
-Hawaiian: ham and pineapple, with a few bits of bacon
-Greek: spinach and feta cheese (you may omit the pizza sauce) add some ham or bacon if you want
-Summer Garden pizza: summer squash or zucchini with cheddar. You can use peppers and green onions as well.
-Bruschetta: omit the pizza sauce. Drizzle with olive oil and garlic. Top with thinly sliced tomatoes and Parmesan cheese.
-Philly Cheesesteak: omit the pizza sauce. Spread with butter and brown. Add pre-cooked steak, cheese, and sauteed onions and peppers.
-Tex-Mex: omit the pizza sauce. spoon on some salsa. Add cheese and green onions. If desired, top with olives, lettuce and a dab of sour cream after baking
-Seafood: cooked or canned tuna, salmon, clams, crab, crawdad, or shrimp. Or use a mixture.
-BBQ chicken: use BBQ sauce instead of pizza sauce. Top with cooked chicken and cheddar cheese.
-Vegan: Omit cheese of any kind. Top with plenty of veggies of your choice.