Pizza Bagels
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Nostalgic Pizza Bagels! A classic childhood favorite made with store-bought fresh bagels and pizza sauce, lots of shredded mozzarella, and any of your favorite toppings. They are unbelievably easy to make and surprisingly delicious!
An Easy Pizza Bagel Recipe!
If you grew up in the 90’s like I did you can likely relate to this recipe. Lots of memories of this classic that I’ve forgotten for too long.
But the pizza bagels I remember were pretty bland and boring. Here we’ve upgraded them with bakery fresh bagels, some herbs, and garlic powder seasoning. And we use the best cooking method.
That is to toast them in the oven BEFORE you add the sauce so they don’t get soggy. Then finish them under the broiler for a nice toasty flavor and quick finish.
Though these make a delicious after school snack they aren’t just for kids. Even adults loves these!
And just like traditional pizza there are so many ways to make them (see ideas below).
Save this recipe for a quick Monday meal or a simple lunch. It may just become a new back pocket recipe that will take you back to fun childhood memories (but they’ll taste way better than you remember).
Pizza Bagel Ingredients
- 3 bakery fresh plain bagels, evenly halved
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp (heaping) garlic powder
- 2/3 cup pizza sauce, store bought (I like Rao’s or Kroger’s Simple Truth) or homemade
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup mini pepperoni, or other toppings of choice
- Chopped fresh basil, grated parmesan, red pepper flakes (optional ingredients to finish)
How to Make Bagel Pizzas
- Move oven rack to upper 1/3 of the oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place bagel halves on baking sheet and brush both sides evenly with olive oil.
- Season non-cut sides of bagels evenly with Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
- Bake in oven 2 1/2 minutes. Turn bagels and bake 2 1/2 minutes longer or until lightly toasty.
- Remove from oven and spread pizza sauce evenly on cut sides of bagels. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and then pepperoni.
- Preheat broiler for a minute or two. Return pizzas to oven and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly and 1 – 2 minutes. Don’t walk away and keep a very close eye on them, they may even toast in less than 1 minute.
Possible Substitutions and Variations
- Sub the cheese: Use provolone in place of mozzarella.
- Sub for bagels: Try ciabatta bread, pita bread or individual naan bread for the bagels.
- Top with any pizza toppings you like: Pepperoni, olives, Canadian bacon, ham, cooked bacon, cooked sausage, tomatoes, or sautéed veggies (bell peppers, mushrooms, onions).
- Make a white pizza bagel: Skip the red pizza sauce and use a blend of ricotta and mozzarella cheese.
- Swap the sauce: Try with a thick alfredo sauce or basil pesto sauce in place of red pizza sauce.
- Alternate baking method: Cook them on the grill or bake them in a stovetop toaster oven.
More Pizza Classics to Try
Follow Cooking Classy
Pizza Bagels
Ingredients
- 3 bakery fresh plain bagels, evenly halved
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp (heaping) garlic powder
- 2/3 cup pizza sauce, store bought or homemade
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup mini pepperoni, or other toppings of choice
- Chopped fresh basil, grated parmesan, red pepper flakes (optional ingredients to finish)
Instructions
- Move oven rack to upper 1/3 of the oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.Place bagel halves on baking sheet and brush both sides with olive oil.
- Season non-cut sides of bagels evenly with Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
- Bake in oven 2 1/2 minutes. Turn bagels and bake 2 1/2 minutes longer or until lightly toasty.
- Remove from oven and spread pizza sauce evenly on cut sides of bagels. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and then pepperoni (or other toppings of choice).
- Preheat broiler for a minute or two. Return pizzas to oven and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly and 1 - 2 minutes. Don't walk away and keep a very close eye on them, they may even toast in less than 1 minute.