Easy + Economical Homemade Pizza Buns
These homemade pizza buns were a childhood staple at our house. Now that I’m a mom I can doubly appreciate them–so easy to make, inexpensive ingredients, and everyone loves them! (Not an easy feat for our family of 6!)
It’s easy to add a lot of variety to this recipe by changing up the toppings or the base.
Looking to up the health factor on these homemade pizza buns?
- Use whole wheat or low carb hamburger buns.
- Top with more veggies
- Use lean ground turkey (this is cheaper than lean ground beef too!)
- Use turkey pepperoni
Looking to spend a little more and up the “fancy factor”?
- Use Asiago bagels as the base or homemade or bakery buns.
- Use a variety of cheeses, like adding fresh parmesan or feta.
- Top with bacon or prosciutto.
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Looking to save more money when making these pizza buns?
- Skip the pepperoni! Depending on the type of pepperoni you get this could save $3 easily!
- Use off brand hamburger buns.
- Use off brand mozzarella (We generally use store brand buns and cheese!)
Looking to save time when making this pizza bun recipe?
- Make up the ground beef and tomato sauce mixture ahead of time so you only need to top the buns and bake them off.
- Chop any vegetable toppings ahead of time.
- Use a toaster oven to heat the pizza buns–this isn’t too much faster than the oven, but may save you a few minutes. I don’t recommend microwaving them. The bun will turn out soggy, not crispy.
- Make them ahead of time and then pack them cold. (I like them cold, but I also adore cold pizza/leftovers so check with your people first!)
- Take them on the go to practice or game nights with paper plates or containers in the car.
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Easy Homemade Pizza Buns Recipe
Easy Homemade Pizza Buns
Yield:
16 buns
This easy and economical dinner recipe is the perfect weeknight take on homemade pizza.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground turkey or beef
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 package of pepperoni
- 1 package of 8 hamburger buns
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Brown ground beef or turkey in medium saucepan over medium heat until cooked thoroughly. Drain grease off beef if using a fattier type. You don't need to drain if using lean ground turkey.
- Add tomato sauce and tomato paste to ground beef and stir until well combined.
- Add salt, garlic, basil, and oregano.
- Place split hamburger buns and place halves on a cookie sheet or pizza stone.
- Top hamburger buns evenly with sauce mixture, carefully spreading it to the edges of each bun.
- Top with pepperoni and cheese (and other toppings if desired).
- Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and is slightly golden brown.
- Serve warm.
To make this easy pizza buns recipe you may need…
Serve warm with a side salad and your favorite fruit for a balanced dinner. My kids favorite fruit is applesauce. 😅
Add this easy weeknight dinner recipe into your family meal plan rotation–you won’t regret it! Pizza buns for the win!
