Home > Dinner > Texas Toast Pizza Texas Toast Pizza September 8, 2021 | 1 Comment SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Texas Toast Pizza starts with garlic-infused Texas toast and is piled high with saucy ground beef, melty mozzarella, and miniature pepperoni. A family-favorite, simple meal! This speedy and simple Texas Toast Pizza is part of our Back-To-School Lifesavers — a series of recipes that are intended to have little (or no) veggie chopping, minimal prep time, around 10 ingredients or less (not including pantry staples), and use kid-friendly ingredients. Click here to see all the recipes in the series! Texas Toast Pizza My college roommate actually introduced me to Texas toast back in my sophomore year of college and I may or may not have immediately phoned my mom and drilled her on why we didn’t ever have it growing up. Of course, I was immediately hooked — and garlic flavor or bust! So today it’s a throwback to those good old college days– and we’re using Texas toast to make a family-friendly dinner of Texas Toast Pizza. It doesn’t get too much easier than this recipe! Additionally, this recipe will ensure that you don’t get an aggrieved phone call from your kids one day questioning why they weren’t introduced to it any sooner. 😉 SHORTCUTS Texas Toast Pizza Shortcuts Texas toast. This is a huge shortcut — it’s the base of our pizza and there is no preparation on your part –the pieces of toast are already seasoned and cut! Pizza sauce. Our favorite pizza sauce is made by Rao’s® (not sponsored) — either the plain or Margherita. It’s got an amazing depth of flavor and some great texture to it. This pizza sauce is a big shortcut because it eliminates the need for a lot of additional ingredients. Pre-diced onions. Most grocery stores sell diced yellow onions in the produce section of the store. Alternatively, frozen diced onions are often found by the other frozen veggies and can be used in this recipe. Or, use a food processor to quickly chop an onion. Pre-minced ginger. For the quickest option, use refrigerated minced garlic. Texas Toast Pizza Tips Make sure to purchase the freshest ground beef possible. (Check for the furthest expiration date when purchasing.) To avoid steaming (we want to brown the meat!), use a cast-iron pan, and wait for it to be HOT until you add in the meat. In order to brown (and become more flavorful), the beef has to maintain contact with the pan for a little while. Remember that as you break the meat into smaller pieces, the moisture evaporates and can cause the meat to steam instead of brown. Avoid this by giving the meat a few minutes to cook and develop a brown color before breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Enjoy immediately. These Texas Toast Pizzas are best right out of the oven; the bread will get soggy the longer these pizzas stand. Right before pulling them out, yell for your family to get around the dinner table. Serve them right off the tray! These Texas Toast Pizzas come together so quickly so we don’t want to spend a whole bunch of time on sides. But if you like, here are a few suggestions. Texas Toast Pizza Serving Suggestions Side of veggies. These veggie recipes are all fairly quick to throw together and they all roast at the same oven temperature as the Texas Toast Pizzas: Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, or Roasted Vegetables. Use the air-fryer to whip up a veggie side even quicker! Quick side salad. These salads pair nicely and whip together fairly quickly (especially if using a store-bought dressing): Olive Garden Salad, Panzanella Salad, Greek Salad, or this Quinoa Salad. A pre-made salad kit (like a Caesar salad) works great here. Side of fruit. A good watermelon, cantaloupe, and/or grapes are all great (and quick) sides for these Texas Toast Pizzas. VARIATIONS Texas Toast Pizza variations Not sure about Texas toast? We’ve made this recipe on toasted brioche buns and also loved it that way! Leave off the mini pepperoni or replace them with other pizza toppings that will pair with the beef mixture — think cooked sausage, peppers, mushrooms, olives, and/or onions Try a different cheese or a blend of different cheeses More pizza recipes Pesto Pizza with sweet corn Flatbread Pizza with chicken and veggies Margherita French Bread Pizza with tomatoes and basil Caesar Salad Pizza with Caesar salad dressed topping Blackberry Pizza with Italian sausage FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. Texas Toast Pizza 5 from 1 vote - Review this recipe Texas Toast Pizza starts with garlic-infused Texas toast and piles it high with saucy ground beef, melty mozzarella, and miniature pepperoni. A family-favorite, simple meal! SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Texas Toast Pizza 5 from 1 vote - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Texas Toast Pizza starts with garlic-infused Texas toast and piles it high with saucy ground beef, melty mozzarella, and miniature pepperoni. A family-favorite, simple meal! Course Dinner, Main Course Cuisine American Keyword Texas Toast Pizza Prep Time 15 minutes minutes Cook Time 15 minutes minutes Total Time 30 minutes minutes Servings 4 -6 servings Calories 846kcal Author Chelsea Lords Cost $9.12 Ingredients▢ 1 package (8 slices, 11.25oz.) frozen garlic Texas toast▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil▢ 1 cup diced yellow onion▢ 2 teaspoons each: minced garlic & Italian seasoning▢ 1 pound ( 16oz) lean (93/7) ground beef▢ 1 jar (13oz. ) Rao’s® pizza sauce Note 1▢ 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese▢ Optional: miniature pepperoniUS - Metric USMetric InstructionsPREP: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a large sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and place Texas Toast on the pan, giving each piece plenty of room. Bake for 5 minutes.MEAT SAUCE: While oven is preheating, prepare the meat sauce. Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in the onion and saute, stirring occasionally until becoming golden, about 5-7 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add beef and cook, breaking up and crumbling as you go until browned through. Season to taste. (I add 1/2 tsp fine sea salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.) Add in pizza sauce and Italian seasoning and cook, stirring constantly, until warmed through. Taste and adjust for seasoning adding more salt/pepper if needed. Remove from heat.BAKE: Divide meat sauce evenly among each piece of bread. Sprinkle cheese on top; about 2 tablespoons of cheese per pizza. If desired, add miniature pepperoni on top. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted on top. Remove and enjoy immediately! Video Recipe NotesNote 1: We highly recommend Rao’s® pizza sauce, which makes all the difference for this recipe! This sauce has a deep, intense flavor, tastes homemade, and is thick and hearty. By using Rao's we greatly cut down on ingredients because the pizza sauce has so many additions included (whole peeled tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, onions, carrots, oregano, garlic, fresh basil, etc.). Nutrition information does not include pepperoni or other optional toppings. Nutrition FactsServing: 1serving | Calories: 846kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 57g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 164mg | Sodium: 1239mg | Potassium: 569mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 802IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 621mg | Iron: 15mg We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed. DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? 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