Pizza Bagels – A Beautiful Mess

Pizza Bagels are the perfect easy dinner idea when you want something quick, simple and delicious. They make a great lunch, dinner or after-school snack for kids and adults alike. Choose your favorite toppings and sauces and there are endless ways to mix up this 15-minute, affordable meal idea.

Related: English Muffin Pizza, Detroit-Style Pizza, Pizza Sauce, Pizza Dough, Deep Dish Pizza, Cookie Pizza.

Ingredients in Homemade Pizza Bagels

• Bagels – We like to use basic, original (or plain) bagels for this recipe. You certainly can use a flavored variety or an option like gluten-free for this recipe.
• Butter – I like to use a swipe of butter before toasting my bagel. This is optional, but it creates a delicious toasty bagel pizza.
• Pizza Sauce – We love a basic, OG pizza sauce. Try our homemade pizza sauce or choose a store-bought pizza sauce to save a little time.
• Mozzarella Cheese – We’ve found that shredded mozzarella is an easy go-to choice because it melts well and is consistent. We also love to use mozzarella pearls and provel cheese.
• Toppings – I love to use mini pepperonis or turkey pepperoni as our topping. We are also big fans of cheese pizza, veggie pizza and chicken pizza (though we usually serve that with BBQ sauce instead of marinara sauce).
• Garnish – With parmesan cheese, fresh basil or oregano and red pepper flakes.

How to make Pizza Bagels

Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees.

Toast the bagel halves, buttered, for about 3-5 minutes. You’ll know they are ready when you can see a little toasted color appear on the edges. This pre-toasting step is optional, but will give you the crispiest pizza bagel.

Next, add sauce, cheese and toppings to your bagels.

Place in the oven and bake for around 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and beginning to bubble, and the edges are golden brown.

Remove from oven and garnish with parmesan cheese, fresh herbs or chili flakes. Serve warm.

We love bagel pizzas on days when we are craving pizza, but don’t have enough time to make pizza from scratch.

How to Store and Reheat

We typically make this recipe from scratch because it’s easy and only takes about 15 minutes to prepare. If you have leftovers, we recommend storing them in an airtight container for up to three days. When you reheat, we recommend using the oven (or air fryer) at 350 degrees until the cheese begins to melt. It only takes a few minutes to reheat fully cooked bagel pizzas in the oven or air fryer.

You may also use the microwave, but the outcome will not be as crispy, so I do not recommend it as my first choice.

Tips for Making

• Pizza Sauce Ideas – In addition to pizza sauce we also love to make pizzas using pesto, Alfredo sauce or BBQ sauce.
• Pizza Topping Ideas – We love a classic pepperoni pizza, but there are so many other creative options out there. With classic pizza sauce, try a veggie pizza, mushroom pizza or a Hawaiian pizza (using ham, pineapple and onion). With pesto, try an Italian sausage pizza. With Alfredo sauce or BBQ sauce, try a chicken pizza. These are all popular pizza choices in our home. Choose your favorite pizza toppings!
• Easy Clean Up – Use some parchment paper on your baking sheet for super easy clean up.

More Recipes

• Kid-Friendly Ideas – Chicken Tenders, Pinwheel Sandwiches, Spaghetti Bolognese.
• Pasta – Creamy Pasta Salad, Carbonara Sauce, Manicotti, Baked Ziti.
• Salad – 7 Layer Salad, Broccoli Salad, Fruit Salad, Cucumber Salad.
• Cocktails – Margarita, Mojito, Cosmo, Aperol Spritz, Green Tea Shot.
• Non-alcohol Drinks – Arnold Palmer, Pink Lemonade, Butterbeer.