Meatball Parm French Bread Pizza
This Meatball Parm French Bread Pizza features garlic butter, melty cheese and meatballs. Pizza night just got even more delicious!
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Quick: what are the 5 most popular days of the year for ordering pizza? Sure, we all know Super Bowl Sunday. (On a side note, don’t ever order delivery for Super Bowl Sunday. Your pizza might not ever arrive. I speak from experience here.) But you might be surprised to learn that Super Bowl Sunday is actually not the most popular day to order pizza. It comes in at #2…just ahead of New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Eve and Halloween Night. So which holiday is left out here? New Year’s Eve is the most popular day of the year to order pizza, at least according to Domino’s.
Ok, so while New Year’s Eve takes the top yearly spot for pizza sales, you might be surprised to learn what led to Domino’s single-highest sales day of all time. Hint: It’s not sports related. Well, not really. I mean OJ did play football back in the day. That’s right…OJ’s hour-long police chase back in 1994 with the white Bronco was the busiest day of all time for Domino’s. (I’d assume it’s the same for other pizza chains, too.) I guess folks just didn’t want to miss the chase!
Another side effect of OJ’s infamous police chase? Ford Bronco sales jumped by 25% in the next year. (Ford discontinued the Bronco a couple of years later as it wanted to move away from the 2-door SUV model.) While the publicity wasn’t exactly the kind you want, OJ’s chase shows that bad publicity is better than no publicity at all!
Meatball Parm French Bread Pizza
This whole event just goes to show that you never know when a pizza day will just pop up. For us, we reserve Friday nights for pizza nights. I spent many months tinkering with our version of the perfect homemade pizza dough. That dough plus Cabot’s mozzarella, Parmesan, pepperoni, onions and jalapenos is our go-to pizza. Nothing will ever knock it out of our top slot! But I must admit that this Meatball Parm French Bread Pizza put in a really good showing. Aside from the taste (delicious!), the best part about this Meatball Parm French Bread Pizza is that it can be made in just minutes (assuming you’ve got the meatballs cooked already.) Who needs delivery when you’ve got a tasty pizza just minutes from being ready??
I mentioned above about having meatballs cooked and ready. Cooked meatballs are one of the ingredients that we always keep in the freezer. Along with pesto bombs and a seemingly endless supply of diced jalapenos, a supply of cooked meatballs has saved us tons of time in the kitchen. Whenever we start to run low, I typically spend some time on a Sunday afternoon just restocking the supply. That way, whenever we’re craving spaghetti and meatballs (or now this Meatball Parm French Bread Pizza), I can have dinner ready in a flash!
Next time you find yourself craving pizza (that happens quite regularly around our house), keep this Meatball Parm French Bread Pizza in mind. Add in a cold beer and some Game of Thrones reruns, and you’ve got my definition for an excellent weekend night! If you try this Meatball Parm French Bread Pizza, will you come back and share your thoughts with me? Or just snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). Cheers, friends!
Love pizza? Check out these recipes for more inspiration:
Pesto French Bread Pizza with Grilled Chicken
Meatball Parm French Bread Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French bread
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp Italian seasonings
- 1¼ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 18 fully-cooked meatballs homemade or storebought, halved
- ½ cup sliced red onion
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- {for garnish} additional grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Slice the French bread in half lengthwise. Place both halves cut-side up on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Using a small microwaveable bowl, melt butter. Add garlic, Parmesan cheese and Italian seasonings; stir until well combined. Spread this mixture evenly over the tops of both halves of bread.
- Next, sprinkle mozzarella evenly over both halves of bread.
- Using a large bowl, add marinara sauce and cooked/halved meatballs; toss until well coated. Using a slotted spoon, place meatballs on top of bread. Sprinkle sliced red onions and fresh basil on top.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cheese has fully melted.
- Garnish with additional grated Parmesan cheese before slicing and serving.
Hi David! I haven’t made French bread pizza in years, I used to make it quite often for the kids. This looks delicious and, as you said, so quick to make if you have meatballs in the freezer! Sounds like a great plan for this coming weekend! And yes to a cold beer!
I think I know what’s on your weekend agenda, Dorothy! French bread pizza. 🙂 Our weekend agenda involves a lot (!!) of snow, so I think we’ll need some comfort food like this pizza, too. And keeping the meatballs already cooked in the freezer is one of our go-to tricks for easy meals. And definitely cheers to that cold beer with this one!!
Funny you say that New Year’s eve is so popular for pizza! Hubby and I usually go out for pizza in the day for lunch and make a nice meal at home later on. This year (yes, I’m talking about it already), we make just scrap the whole ‘making a meal’ thing and order in all together. We shall see though. Though, I always love pizza. This looks like quite the treat, David, and a delicious mix up from a traditional pie. Have to get this one on the menu soon for sure! Hope you’re having a great week, my friend 🙂
That’s funny that you go out for pizza on New Year’s Eve. For us, making a homemade pizza has been a favorite NYE tradition for years. Usually it’s our go-to standard pizza, but honestly I like all types of pizza! This French Bread version is a piece of cake (err, pie?) to make, and it’s packed with flavor. I hope you have some fun plans lined up for the weekend ahead, Dawn! (For us, it’s a lot, lot, lot of snow. Oy.)
Fabulous! I’ve never heard of this. I wish I could eat pizza more. I just look at it and gain weight. But for a special occasion…
I hear ya, Mimi! If I had my way, I’d eat pizza every night. But we do save pizza for special occasions…like days that end in -y. 🙂 Seriously, though, this is a “it’s Saturday night and we just want to chill at home” kinda meal. Thanks so much, my friend!
You’ve gotta make your own – it’s so much better than delivery! Love this french bread pizza! Super easy and super delish!
I hear ya about making your own pizza, Kathy! But you know what’s funny? We had a doozy of a snow storm on Saturday, and both Laura and I were craving delivery pizza like you wouldn’t believe. Why is that!? We didn’t end up doing pizza, but we wanted it. Either way, this french bread version is so easy and so delicious, too. Thanks so much!
I’m literally laughing out loud. I remember that car chase vividly! But my mom definitely didn’t order pizza for us; she made us turn off the TV before the chase was even over, haha! I love pizza any way I can get it and your French bread pizza sounds fabulous, slow speed chase or not.
Oh, I totally remember the OJ chase, too. And then I remember watching the trial nearly every day in our high school Civics class. Truth be told, that class was taught by the football coach, and I think he liked the idea of not having to write a lesson plan. Haha! But I hear ya on pizza. I don’t care what’s on tv…pizza is always a good option! 🙂
This looks so tasty! I like the deviation from a regular “pie.” We do Friday night pizza too. Maybe we’ll try this to mix things up a little. All of the ingredients sound delicious together, and my younger son’s favorite pizza is full of meatballs. 🙂
As much as we love our classic Friday night pizza, it is still fun to mix it up from time to time. This French Bread pizza took us both back to our childhood. It was not only delicious, but super easy, too! Thanks so much, Valentina!
We’ve never ordered pizza on New Year’s Eve…as well as any of these days. I’m not a trendy guy, I guess. But technically, we haven’t ordered any pizza for ages…over 5 years probably. But I’d certainly ordered this french bread pizza immediately. Indeed, we sometimes make similar things (We just don’t call them “pizza” haha) with different bread, but I bet French bread brings lovely flavour and texture. Certainly you’ve managed to elevate a very simple idea to another level. Well done!
We don’t order pizza very often either, Ben…but sometimes you just need a delivery pizza. Maybe 1-2 times a year at most? Normally we go for the homemade version, and this French Bread Pizza is definitely popular here! Super simple and super delicious. That’s how we roll on the weekends! 🙂
I would never have thought New Years Eve would be the most popular day for pizza delivery! Though, I’d much rather chomp on homemade deliciousness like this! I love the idea of having meatballs ready to go – thought I should make some for when we move – but not sure when the refrigerator will be delivered so… guess I’m just gonna have to send my drone over to your new address to grab me some of these – so when are you making another batch? 🙂
Tell me about it! We like to chow down on comfort food on New Year’s Eve, but I would never have guessed that it’s the most popular day of the year for pizza delivery.
Oh no…refrigerator issues? We’re dealing with the same thing right now for our move. In fact, Laura and I were plotting last night how to transfer all of our cold/frozen food in the most efficient manner possible. I say we just get together and eat it all. How’s that for a plan? Haha. Thanks, Shashi, and I’m sending you good wishes for your move!
Any suggestions how to put these together and transport to feed cowboys?
Wrap each portion in parchment paper, then foil and keep warm in heated chest, perhaps ???
Thanks.
Hey there, Mort! So I don’t have any personal experience with transporting food for cowboys, but I did reach out to some rancher friends of mine for some thoughts. Here are a couple tips they shared regarding this recipe:
1) One person suggested leaving the french bread pizza in the pan and wrapping it with foil (pan and all). Then wrap that in a heavy towel and put it into an ice chest. I would probably add that a piece of parchment paper on top would be a good tip, too, just to keep the cheese from sticking to the foil.
2) Another suggestion was to wrap the sandwiches individually with wax paper and then pack the sandwiches next to each other in the cooler. If you have one of those coolers with a heating plug for the car, then plug it in about 30 minutes before you eat. Or if it’s a sunny day, you can probably just leave ’em on the dashboard of the truck.
If you don’t have a heating cooler, another rancher suggested making a heating pad using a clean sock filled with corn or rice. You can heat that up in the microwave and then place the foil-wrapped sandwiches on top in the smallest cooler possible.
3) Another idea was to snag one of those insulated bags and use that. Just wrap in foil straight out of the oven, but include a little vent in there so the moisture doesn’t make the bread soggy.
I hope these tips help, and thank you for your hard work in the fields! Without ranchers and cowboys like you, we couldn’t enjoy tasty beef recipes like this one. 🙂 Cheers, my friend!