Meatball Pizza

Crunchy French bread topped with fresh tomato sauce, homemade meatballs, and a drizzle of pesto: Meatball Pizza is a hearty, satisfying pie that evokes memories of childhood.

French Bread Pizza with Meatballs

Growing up, my family ate pizza once a week. Friday night was "pizza night" when we would go out to the local pizzeria. But I loved pizza so much that once a week was not enough. This Meatball Pizza recipe takes me back to the popular frozen French bread pizza my mom kept in the freezer. My tastes may have matured, but Jackie and I still share a love for pizza nights, and we love to make pizza at home with a crunchy, French Bread crust.

Unlike our popular Bee Sting Pizza and Pierogi Pizza which use homemade pizza dough, this pizza recipe uses store bought, fresh baked bread as its crust. That means the crust is thick: it's crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. It also means it's fast and easy! It's also a great way to use leftover Homemade Meatballs and Tomato Sauce.

Jump to:

• French Bread Pizza with Meatballs
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Top tip
• Variations
• FAQ
• Related recipes
• Meatball Pizza recipe

Ingredients

• FRESH BREAD: 1 large loaf of fresh baked bread, the bigger and flatter the better. We really like Ciabatta Bread for this recipe, or a crusty French bread.
• MEATBALLS: use our famous Easy Homemade Meatballs
• TOMATO SAUCE (PIZZA SAUCE): we use 15 minute tomato sauce  or store-bought pizza sauce in the jar
• MOZZARELLA: we mini fresh mozzarella cheese balls (mozzarella pearls) for this recipe. You can also use shredded mozzarella cheese.
• PEPPERS: we like roasted red pepper and green peppers, cut into strips
• PESTO SAUCE: fresh pesto or store bought pesto gives this pizza added flavor
• OLIVE OIL: use the best quality extra virgin olive oil you can afford
• ARUGULA: fresh arugula (sprinkled on top).

*see recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Slice Ciabatta bread: slice loaf of bread in half horizontally.
3. Add Pizza Sauce: Spread sauce on both cut sides of bread. We like to use the back of a spoon for this to spread sauce evenly.
4. Add Toppings: top with meatballs, cheese and peppers.
5. Bake: Place pizzas on sheet pan and bake in oven for 8-10 minutes (or until cheese has melted).
6. Add more Toppings: As soon as pizza is removed from oven, dollop pesto sauce and garnish with fresh arugula.
7. Serve: Drizzle olive oil over pizza and enjoy.

Top tip

We like to make small sized meatballs for this recipe (the size of a ping pong ball). Any meatballs can be cut into halves or quarters depending on the size you are using.

Variations

• Bread: we love fresh baked Ciabatta bread or French bread, or country bread for this recipe. You can also use store-bought flatbread.
• Cheese: we really like mini fresh mozzarella balls for this recipe for the perfect bite. You can also use a sliced large mozzarella ball or shredded mozzarella. An Italian cheese blend works well too.
• Vegetarian: substitute frozen vegetarian meatballs or plant based crumbles for meatballs (thaw them before putting them on pizza).
• Spice: Use Arrabbiata Sauce and hot peppers (try our Red Pepper Pizza recipe).

FAQ

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