This Pizza Toast is an easy dinner recipe hack made with store-bought garlic bread, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and your choice of toppings! An easy meal or snack for busy weeknights!

School is back in session which means we need all the easy recipes! This Pizza Toast is a favorite here — our kids especially love it because they can all make their own and add their own toppings.

One of my favorite hacks is starting out with store bought garlic bread. It makes these pizza toasts super quick and adds lots of flavor to the base!

I also love that these little toasts have it all: carbs, grains, protein, dairy and veggies — if you can convince the kids to put them on there 😉.

They are a complete meal-in-one that’s made with just a few minutes of prep!

Ingredients Needed:

• Store bought garlic bread makes this recipe so simple! You can make your own garlic bread if you prefer, but we love this hack for an easy weeknight meal or after school snack.
• Pizza sauce: choose your favorite!
• Mozzarella and parmesan cheese: mozzarella gives us that traditional stretchy, gooey pizza cheese pull and parmesan adds a nice hit of salty flavor.
• Optional toppings: pepperoni slices are always a favorite here, but you can stick with just cheese or add tomato slices and fresh basil to make a margherita pizza.
• Oregano: this is optional but I like to a sprinkle of oregano with the parmesan for extra flavor.

How to make Pizza Toast:

This recipe is great for kids or adults since it is so simple! It’s the perfect quick meal or snack for a busy day.

1. Toast garlic bread briefly on both sides — this keeps it from getting soggy when you top it.
2. Spread with your favorite pizza sauce.

3. Top with shredded cheese
4. Add your favorite toppings and bake!

Pizza Toast FAQs

Variations on this Pizza Toast recipe:

• Switch up the sauce: try Alfredo sauce from this Chicken Alfredo Pizza, or basil pesto or a spicy Arrabiata!
• Switch up the cheese: try gouda, havarti, monterey jack, brie — get a little crazy if you like!
• Add your favorite toppings: cooked Italian sausage, shredded chicken, crispy bacon, cooked ground beef, peppers, mushrooms, spinach — the options are nearly endless!
• Add a drizzle: balsamic glaze, hot honey or — YES — ranch are always great options!

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Pizza Toast

This Pizza Toast is an easy dinner recipe hack made with store-bought garlic bread, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and your choice of toppings! An easy meal or snack for busy weeknights!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 264cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

• 8 slices store bought garlic bread
• 8 tablespoons marinara sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

Optional toppings:

• Sliced tomatoes and fresh basil for a margherita pizza
• Pepperoni slices for a pepperoni pizza toast

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place 8 slices of garlic bread in a single layer and bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping once, until lightly toasted on both sides.
• Spread one tablespoon sauce on each piece of Texas toast, then sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over all slices.
• Top with your desired toppings: pepperoni slices or thinly sliced tomatoes (leave off the basil for margherita pizza – we’ll add it later).
• Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
• Remove from the oven and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan and oregano.
• Return to the oven and broil for 1-2 minutes until edges are golden brown.
• Sprinkle margherita pizza with thinly slices fresh basil leaves. Optional: sprinkle pepperoni pizza with finely chopped fresh parsley for color.
• Let cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 264cal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 643mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 261IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 183mg | Iron: 3mg

The post Pizza Toast appeared first on The Recipe Rebel.

This Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is made with seasoned chicken breast, rotini pasta, Caesar dressing, Parmesan and garlic bread croutons. It’s a light but still hearty summer meal, perfect for picnics!

Pasta salad season is here, and this Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is the perfect light summer meal!

It’s cold and creamy but still hearty enough to get you through a long day at the beach or at the park with the family.

The best part?

Those freshly made, extra crunchy garlic bread croutons, made with store bought garlic Texas toast for a quick recipe hack that you don’t need to tell anyone about 😉

Looking for more salads to add to your summer barbecue? Try this Easy Potato Salad Recipe, this Creamy Ranch Bowtie Pasta Salad Recipe or this Tortellini Pasta Salad.

Why we love this pasta salad:

• it’s not too heavy — in the summer we are rarely craving hot and heavy foods so this pasta salad really fits the bill!
• it’s easy to prep ahead — all of the ingredients can be prepped ahead: the pasta, the chicken, the lettuce, the croutons, and then you can simply stir everything together before serving.
• it’s a one-and-done portable meal — summer means picnic season which means we are often taking food on the go. I love that we get carbs, protein, veggies and crunch all in one tasty package!

Ingredients Needed:

How to make Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad:

This recipe is easy to make and perfect for prepping ahead! See the full recipe down in the recipe card.

1. Season chicken and pan fry until cooked through. You can also use leftover Baked Chicken Breast, Shredded Chicken or Instant Pot Shredded Chicken.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Rinse under cold water to cool completely.

3. Cut garlic bread into cubes and bake until golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
4. Combine pasta, lettuce, cubed chicken, dressing, Parmesan and add croutons just before serving.

Pasta Salad FAQs

Tips and Variations:

• Cool your pasta: always cool your pasta as soon as it’s done cooking for pasta salads — this will prevent it from being mushy as it sits and clumping together. Rinsing under cold water a couple of times and draining will do the trick.
• Add some lemon: Add a squeeze of lemon or some zest to brighten the flavors if you prefer.
• Don’t stir too soon: don’t stir the salad together too soon, as the lettuce and pasta can become soggy if the dressing sits on it for too long. An hour or two before serving is fine, but try not to do it sooner than that.
• Add some bacon: it’s hard to go wrong with the smoky flavor of bacon, and it’s a great addition to this pasta salad recipe. Simply cook up a few slices in a skillet, chop and drain the fat. You can add the reserved bacon fat to the dressing for extra smoky flavor.
• Add some heat: some freshly cracked pepper or a sprinkling of red pepper flakes is a great addition for those that like a little kick.

More summer salad recipes you’ll love:

Side Dishes

Creamy Italian Potato Salad

Side Dishes

Easy Instant Pot Potato Salad

Side Dishes

German Potato Salad

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Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

This Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is made with seasoned chicken breast, rotini pasta, Caesar dressing, Parmesan and garlic bread croutons. It's a light but still hearty summer meal, perfect for picnics!

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 520cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

• 6 slices Furlani garlic Texas toast
• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon paprika
• 1 box box rotini pasta (400 grams or 6 cups)
• 1 head romaine lettuce (roughly chopped)
• 1 bottle good Caesar dressing (1 ¼ cup)
• ½ cup large shredded parmesan or flakes

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Heat oven to 425 and chop Texas toast into ½” inch cubes. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, turning once, until golden brown. Cool.
• Meanwhile, put chicken on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Pound the thick end so that it is all the same thickness.
• Combine salt, garlic powder, paprika and pepper and sprinkle evenly over chicken.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of oil. Cook chicken for 5-8 minutes per side, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove and allow to cool before cubing.
• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta just until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool immediately.
• In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta, cubed chicken, romaine, Parmesan and Caesar dressing. Add croutons on top or plate and add croutons to each serving.

Notes

Ingredients and Substitutions:

• Garlic bread: sure you can use store bought croutons, but nothing compares to these freshly baked garlic bread croutons!
• Pasta: any short variety of pasta will work, but I love rotini because the dressing adheres to it so well!
• Chicken: you can swap the chicken breasts for Shredded Chicken or boneless skinless chicken thighs. You can also omit if you prefer this to be a meatless meal or a side dish.
• Romaine lettuce: Any kind of lettuce will work here! I chose romaine because it is traditionally used in Caesar salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 520cal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 815mg | Potassium: 408mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 6916IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 151mg | Iron: 3mg

The post Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad appeared first on The Recipe Rebel.