Give Classic Texas Toast A Pizza Twist For An Easy Dinner Everyone Will Love

Though Texas toast may have been invented by accident, our taste buds are certainly grateful for the mistake. Made from thick-cut slices of golden, griddled bread slathered with plenty of creamy butter, it allows you to enjoy the crisp deliciousness of toast with the warm, soft decadence of fresh-baked bread. Its hefty structure also makes it a popular base for other comfort food favorites, including garlic bread, and even pizza.

It's pretty easy to upgrade canned biscuits into mini pizzas or use leftover hot dog buns as pizza crust, but using Texas toast as your pizza base takes advantage of the toast's structural integrity and the fact that many frozen Texas toast options come pre-seasoned with butter, garlic, and sometimes herbs, promising a more flavorful bite. The process of making them is also so simple that you can get kids involved in pizza night by having them help you bake the toast in the oven and top it with whatever pizza toppings suit your fancy. If you're using frozen Texas toast, thaw it first. A quick second round in the oven then melts the cheese and warms the sauce, and your dinner is ready to go.

You can also increase the real estate for toppings on your toast by using the back of a spoon to press in the top slightly, creating a little concave bowl with a ridge around the edge, more like actual pizza crust. It will not only help keep your toppings in place, but also allow you to add a thicker layer of sauce or extra cheese.

As mentioned, there's not as much real estate on the top of a piece of Texas toast as there is on standard pizza crust. Even with the clever depression in the middle, you'll only need a small volume of toppings to build your mini pizzas — think just a tablespoon or two of sauce and a sprinkle of cheese with no more than three or four standard-size pepperoni slices. More than this could cause your toast to become soggy and make it difficult (and messy) to eat. 

As for other toppings, you might pair Italian sausage with a little minced ham as a mini meatlover's style pizza, or add a dollop of spinach and artichoke dip topped with parmesan cheese. There are also plenty of underrated pizza toppings you can turn to if you prefer to experiment, such as carnitas, Italian meats other than pepperoni (soppressata is delicious), or keep it light with a bit of minced kale and broccoli. The best part is that you can experiment with several of these ideas at once, as the average adult will need more than one of these mini pizzas to make up a full meal. Just be sure to saute any veggies you want to use before placing them on your pizza, as that will help reduce excess moisture that may make the Texas toast soggy.