Alternative ways to make fast lazy pizza
Pizza always goes down well here. It’s fast. It’s easy to make. And it’s easily personalisable to your own tastes. My OH used to make pizza base from scratch when we were first going out – obviously trying to impress. Whereas I usually opt for a faster option – either a simple quick cheat’s base, or just buying decent pizzas and altering the topping to work for us.
Fridays are a quick meal day for us when school and tennis is on. Tea time is 5pm on the farm, but tennis is from 5.30 to 7. So it’s either N and myself eating early leaving the OH his tea to be warmed up when he’s in. Or prepping something and hoping the OH is in before we’re back so he can put it in the oven so it’s ready on our return.
I tend to rotate around a few Friday meals. Macaroni cheese or a bacon, pepper and tomato pasta bake, chicken fajitas or pizza are favourites.
Like many homes, we’re also divided on our pizza toppings. The OH would choose a 4 seasons if eating out, N has to have pepperoni (but for a takeaway would drool over a meat feast). I’m a ham and pineapple fan, but if buying a supermarket pizza I’ll often just have a mozzarella and pesto, or fairly plain one and just add some parma ham and peppers at home.
The great thing about pizza is that you can pass over the toppings to each person and let them choose what they’re putting on top. N has done pizza parties at Pizza Express before, and a friend’s mum has done make your own pizzas with them too. It means he’s tried more toppings than he might with us just buying the norm, and goats cheese and chicken was a favourite.
If you’re looking for a quick lunch or a lighter dinner, then some of these options for making pizzas are great. No dough making needed, although I’ve included the Jamie’s cheat option if you want something a bit more realistic. Just grab a base add the toppings and you get the flavour of pizza without the stress of making a base.
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Ok, so they’re not authentic, and the italians would turn in their graves, but it doesn’t matter if you enjoy eating them, and they feed the family.
Quick and easy ways to make lazy pizza (the alternative versions)
The basic recipe is simple
1, Grab a base.
2, Top with a smear of some kind of tomato sauce. I use chilled tomato and basil pasta sauce as I always have a tub in the fridge.
3. Add cheese and whatever other toppings you want. Mozzarella chunks or grated cheddar both work brilliantly.
4, Cook in a preheated oven on a baking tray or pizza stone* until the cheese is melted.
If you want to cook a pizza from scratch then use Jamie Oliver’s cheat’s pizza base.
1 ½ mugs of self raising flour
½ mug of lukewarm water
Glug of olive oil
You just mix the flour and water, and add a bit of olive oil to make the dough. The recipe says to roll and spread the dough out in an oiled frying pan, cook on the hob til the bottom is a bit cooked but not charred, add your toppings then put the pan (make sure it’s oven safe) under the grill. I’m lazy and just whack it on a pizza stone or pizza baking tray, add your sauce and toppings then cook in the oven til the cheese is melted and the base is cooked.
You can use whatever size mug you want. A small size will cater for 2, larger mugs or doubl up, makes more pizzas.
The even lazier pizzas
Naan bread pizzas – I used to make these all the time when N was weaning. They’re quick and cut nicely into fingers if you use the mini naans. Great for toddler lunches. Just add your toppings then pop in the pre-heated oven til ready.
Tortilla wrap pizzas – just add toppings to a tortilla wrap on a baking sheet, then bake in the oven til the cheese melts. Watch out for the tortilla burning though.
Leftover baguettes – we have part-baked baguettes quite a lot but you have to bake both when you open the pack so we quite often have the second one left. It’s not so fresh the next day for eating as a sandwich. So I use it for pizzas. Just slice a baguette lengthways, top with sauce then toppings and bake.
Muffin pizzas – slide in half, top with sauce and toppings then bake.
Croissant dough pizzas – use a pack of croissant dough. Open the dough out onto a tray, placing it so it’s a rectangle shape. Top with sauce and toppings then bake in a preheated oven for about 25 mins until the dough is cooked through and cheese is melted.
There’s so many alternative ways to make a lazy pizza, so just experiment.
Try these other pizza style recipes:
What type of pizza do you make?
