You guys! My oldest “baby“ is off to elementary school in just a few short weeks. How the heck is this possible?!? I feel like I just gave birth to him yesterday, and now my husband and I are about to enter a whole new stage of life. Whether I’m ready or not I have to put my big girl panties on and face the facts. I’ve started thinking about endless school lunches that I will be making for the next 13 years (okay maybe I won’t be making them once he enters high school, but you get my point). I’m also thinking about how our spontaneous travel is about to be not so spontaneous anymore and well, much more calculated than it ever has been.

I have to remind myself to not show my five-year-old how sad I am that he is entering the next stage of life. I remind myself to be grateful that I get to experience this next stage of life and embrace it as much as I can because I know just like everything in life; it’s going to go by in a blink. I’m sure I’ll be writing here in 13 years about how I am in shock that my “once baby” is graduating high school. ((enter all the tears!)) So, while I’m trying to wrap my head around this new stage of life I’m also brainstorming after school snacks. I’m trying to prepare myself mentally for an arsenal of calculated meals and snacks to get us through the school year. One after school snack, that I’m pretty sure will be on rotation on the weekly will be this pepperoni pizza toast.

Growing up I fondly remember making English muffin pizzas with my mom as a kid. Within the past year I’ve started making pepperoni pizza toast with my son. This recipe unexpectedly came together when he requested pizza for lunch. I did not have any flatbreads on hand nor English muffins. I decided why not try it on a piece of toast. My children love eating toast with cinnamon sugar or jam so why wouldn’t they love to eat it like it was a pizza? Since the first time I made pizza toast it was an instant hit! I’ve now learned that my son can eat 2 to 3 slices of pizza toast in one sitting! It’s also one lunch I can guarantee that my picky toddler will gobble up.

What ingredients do you need to make pepperoni pizza toast?

In order to make pepperoni pizza toast you will want the following ingredients.

Bread: any style of sandwich bread that you have on hand will work!

Marinara Sauce: When I don’t have marinara sauce on hand– I’ve opened up a can of plain tomato sauce.  It’s worked just fine.

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese: There’s really no going around this ingredient it really is a staple to the recipe. Of course you can get fancy and also add in a little Pecorrino Romano or grated Parmesan cheese. The sky is the limit as long as it’s in the Italian cheese family.

Pepperoni: I normally have two different sizes of pepperoni in my refrigerator crisper. I keep the large traditional size pepperoni on hand for snacking as well as the mini snack size pepperoni. I’ll make a few slices of toast and alternate the size of pepperoni if I happen to have it on hand.

What kitchen tools do you need to make pizza toast?

Making pizza toast is very easy and requires very few kitchen accessories.

Toaster oven: I happen to own a toaster oven. It sits on my countertop and it’s one of my essential countertop appliances that I use on a daily basis. However, if you don’t own a toaster oven no worries. All you need is a traditional oven. Just know you will want to watch your bread as it toast in the oven for the first portion of this recipe. Make sure it doesn’t over toast.

Small baking sheet: You will want a small baking sheet for the second step of the cooking process.

Aluminum foil: I like to use aluminum foil on my baking sheet for easy cleanup!

Pot holders: Once your pizza toast is done baking you will need potholders to pull out the scorching hot baking sheet.

Measuring Spoons:  If you like to be precise measuring ingredients grab a tablespoon to measure out the sauce and cheese. I always recommend you measure exactly to the recipe on the first try and then after you’ve tried the recipe you can feel free to eyeball it!

First, you want to lightly toast your bread. While your bread is slightly toasting gather all of your ingredients to make assembly a breeze.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Place the lightly toasted bread on the baking sheet. Then, top with marinara sauce. Next, add the shredded mozzarella cheese and finally the pepperoni. Bake in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 to 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pepperoni has cooked.

As soon as the toast is done, remove from the oven, slice and serve immediately!

If your looking for a new lunch time idea or maybe even an afternoon snack. It’s how I’ll be fueling my little boy after a busy day at school. I hope you’ll give my recipe for pepperoni pizza toast a try!