French Bread Pizza With Ground Beef

French Bread Pizza is a quick, easy and versatile family favorite! This unique twist on homemade pizza will be gobbled up in no time!

I have been obsessed with making homemade bread lately. There's something about kneading the dough by hand to get just the right consistency, forming it into a loaf/buns/rolls, etc., waiting for it to rise and then baking it to perfection. Oh and eating it!

It's all just so rewarding.

The only problem is, we are just a family of 2.5! So we don't eat THAT much bread. So this recipe for French Bread Pizza has come in clutch.

You can of course use store-bought French bread, but I use Longbourn Farm's recipe and make it homemade. It makes two loaves and I always use one fresh (for sandwiches, French toast, garlic bread, etc.) and then freeze the other loaf. Then at a later time, I use the frozen one (thawed first of course) to make this French Bread Pizza.

{Both the below picture and recipe for French Bread from Longbourn Farm}

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One tool that you have to have for this recipe is a basting brush. Part of what makes this recipe for French Bread Pizza SO delicious and different than regular pizza, is the brushed-on garlic butter that is baked on before you add your sauce and toppings. So you need a basting brush to make that happen.

This picture shows how you cut out the innards of the bread, leaving a border around the edges for the crust.

We served our French Bread Pizza with a side of red sauce for dipping and a side salad. YUMM-Y!

This recipe uses Ground Beef. Ground Beef is one of my favorite cuts of meat because not only is it very affordable but it's also so versatile. It can be shaped into meatballs , patties for salisbury steak , hamburgers  or browned and crumbled in soups , taco / burrito  meat or like this recipe, French Bread Pizza. Ground Beef can be from any cut of beef, but is typically from the Chuck, Round or Sirloin.

For more Ground Beef recipes, click HERE.

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This unique twist on homemade pizza is a quick and easy family favorite!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 loaf French bread
• 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup marinara sauce/pizza sauce, plus more for dipping
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Toppings (adjust to your family's liking)

• onion (about half of one onion, diced)
• green pepper (about half of one pepper, diced)
• pepperoni

1. Preheat the oven to 425°.

2. In a skillet, brown the ground beef until cooked through. Drain if needed.

3. Add the Italian seasoning and salt to the cooked ground beef. Stir to combine. Set aside.

4. While the beef is cooking, cut the bread in half lengthwise and place each half cut side up on a large baking sheet.

5. Take a knife and cut a large oval border within each half of bread, leaving about 1/2 inch border for the crust/edge.

6. Using your hands, gently remove the innards of the bread, but leaving the border in tact on the edges and bottoms to act as the crust. You want to make shallow "boats" for all the toppings to sit in (see example picture above in blog post).

7. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and the garlic powder.

8. Using a basting brush, evenly coat each half of bread with the garlic/butter mixture. It will be crumbly and that's ok. Bake for 5 minutes.

9. While the bread is baking, cut up your veggies and prepare any other toppings.

10. Remove the bread from the oven. Top each half with marinara sauce (1/2 cup of sauce per half of bread), then half the cheese, the seasoned ground beef, the rest of the cheese and then your other toppings (peppers, onion, pepperoni).

11. Put back in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and toasted and the cheese is melted.

12. Remove from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes before slicing into pieces. Serve with extra marinara sauce for dipping.

• Don't throw out the innards of the bread! Use them in a breakfast casserole (let me know if you need a recipe!), meatloaf or homemade bread crumbs.
• This recipe, and any other pizza, is always a good way to use up whatever is in the fridge. Extra veggies, meat and cheese – throw it on! You can't go wrong.

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Source: https://www.ourbeefkitchen.com/french-bread-pizza/