This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure here.
I don’t know about you, but it just feels wrong to have anything other than pizza on Friday nights.
In our house Fridays are typically reserved for pizza in some way shape or form.
When you’re feeling bored of your go-to pizza on a Friday night, give this quick and easy bagel pizzas recipe a whirl for something different.
Table of Contents
Bagel Dinner Ideas
Bagels are a versatile carbohydrate-rich bread product that’s often associated with breakfast and cream cheese. However, there’s so much more opportunity for bagels than this.
In fact, bagels work great for anytime of the day, even dinner like with this bagel pizzas recipe.
Here are some other bagel dinner ideas you can work into your meal rotation:
- Bagel breakfast sandwiches
- Bagel BLT
- Bagel breakfast pizzas
- Bagel burgers
- PB & J bagel sandwich
- Hot ham and cheese bagel sandwich
Basically anywhere you have a bun, you can substitute a bagel.
Ingredients for Homemade Bagel Pizzas Recipe
Bagels
My first preference is to use mini bagels, but my local grocery store didn’t have them stocked when I made this bagel pizzas recipe.
You can find mini bagels in your bread aisle or in the fresh bakery section of your grocery store.
Heck you can even make them yourself, but I haven’t tried that yet – I hear it’s pretty simple.
Pizza Sauce
You can use whatever pizza sauce you’d like for this homemade bagel pizzas recipe.
Sometimes I will use leftover marinara if we used it for something earlier in the week.
Mozzarella Cheese
Go a head and make life easier by purchasing the shredded mozzarella, but lately I’ve been shredding my own. It certainly take a little extra time and effort, but it’s a fun thing for my kids to help with and there’s just something about freshly grated cheese.
I like to use mozzarella cheese for pizza, but you’re welcome to use a pizza mix or a combination of cheddar and mozzarella if you’d like.
Pizza Toppings
I know some pizza toppings are highly controversial and many refuse to believe that pineapple should ever go on pizza, but the pizza toppings are really up to you.
Keep it simple with cheese or maybe even pepperoni. I like to use the mini turkey pepperonis, because mini provides novelty and novelty adds some fun to the meal, even if it’s just a little bit.
You can even step it up a notch and add veggies if that’s what your family enjoys or has leftover in the fridge.
Letting your child help pick out, prep, and add pizza toppings is a great way for picky eaters to engage with new or disliked foods – even if they don’t eat it!
Seasoning
I’m a huge fan of the Garlic and Herb seasoning from Dash, but you can use Italian seasoning and a little garlic powder if you’d like.
Equipment for Homemade Bagel Pizza
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper – optional, but makes clean up way easier!
- Spoon for spreading sauce
- Cheese grater (optional)
How to Make Pizza Bagels
Prep Your Toppings
If you’re opting for plain ole cheese pizza, then this step is pretty easy. If you’ve selected a colorful array of veggies, you’ll need to wash and prep them first.
I recommend cutting any fruits or veggies into small pieces so they fit better on the homemade pizza bagels.
Try letting your kids give the veggies a “bath,” letting them chop the ingredients with kid-safe knives, or making cute pictures on the bagels with the toppings.
Assemble Your Pizza Bagels
To assemble your pizza bagels, you’ll first want to line a baking sheet with parchment paper, followed by one half of your bagels, inside of the bagel facing up.
The order that you will top your pizza bagels is as follows: pizza sauce, cheese, seasoning, toppings. Pretty self explanatory, but just in case you were wondering.
Bake Your Pizza Bagels
Once all of your pizza bagels are assembled, you’ll pop them into the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for roughly five to ten minutes. Unless you’re using raw ingredients like ground pork, all you’re doing is trying to warm the pizza bagels to an appropriate temperature and melt the cheese. It shouldn’t take long.
Variations of Bagel Pizzas Recipe
This bagel pizzas recipe is not exclusive to traditional pizza. You can use bagels are your pizza crust for any style of pizza.
- BBQ chicken pizza bagels with ranch as the sauce, rotisserie chicken, Monterey jack cheese, red onion and BBQ sauce
- Chicken alfredo pizza bagels with alfredo sauce, diced chicken, broccoli, and mozzarella cheese
- Breakfast pizza bagels with a slice of cheese as the “sauce,” scrambled eggs, avocado and salsa
- Mini bagel pizzas of any style using mini bagels instead of a traditional style
If you just want to make a few pizza bagels, you can make airfryer pizza bagels. Simply add as many pizza bagels that fit into your airfryer, cook for five to seven minutes at 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
Can You Freeze Homemade Pizza Bagels?
I grew up eating the premade frozen pizza bagels – cooked of course, but I’d say these homemade pizza bagels are much better.
So naturally you might ask – “Can you freeze homemade pizza bagels?”
You certainly can make a bunch ahead of time and freeze them, but they likely won’t taste as good as the fresh version.
Anything you make homemade that you can freeze, typically lasts anywhere from three to six months in the freezer before it starts to decrease in quality. So go for it! Give it a try!
How to Store and Reheat Homemade Bagel Pizza
When we made this bagel pizzas recipe, we did have leftovers and my daughter used it in her lunch for school the next day.
My daughter enjoyed them cold, which is completely safe, however you can pop them in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds or until 165 degrees Fahrenheit (food safety rules).
If you find yourself with leftovers, simply put them in a Ziploc bag or airtight container and store in the fridge for three to five days.
What to Serve With Pizza Bagels
We have pizzas on Fridays because it’s easy so your sides should be easy too! Typically we like to use up whatever fresh produce we have – and hopefully my kids will get in a few more fruits and veggies – or we mix up a salad kit.
- Caesar salad
- Salad kit
- Fresh fruit
- Fresh veggies
Other Recipes You’ll Love
The Best English Muffin Pizza Recipe
Bagel Pizzas Recipe
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper optional
- Spoon
- Cheese grater optional
- Cutting board
- Knife
Ingredients
- 6 Bagels, plain
- 1 cup Pizza sauce
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 tbsp Garlic and herb seasoning or 1 tbsp Italian seasoning and garlic powder each
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Split bagels in half and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet with the inside of the bagels facing up.
- Top the halved bagels with 1-2 tbsp pizza sauce, cover with mozzarella cheese, sprinkle with seasoning, and add preferred toppings.
- Bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to turn golden brown.
