They’re pizza bagels. Do I really need you sell you on them?
inspiration
To put it mildly, the last few months have been chaos. Some of it was bad (ant infestation in my car, jury duty summons, various things in my apartment falling apart) and some of it was good (promotion, new roommate replacing a bad one). I’ve been incredibly busy and without much bandwidth for everyday chores like cooking. (Plus, our kitchen faucet broke and it wasn’t fixed for three weeks. You cannot cook without running water in the kitchen). I ended up eating a lot of takeout, often in the car. Don’t get me wrong—I love some takeout. But I missed taking some time to be mindful and prepare a meal, so I started trying to incorporate just a tiny bit of simple cooking into the week. Ten minutes of self-care is better than none, after all.
Pizza bagels have been a staple of mine for the last year or so. I usually make them with pepperoni and honey, but too much restaurant food left me craving freshly chopped veggies in any form I could get them, so I’ve been using those instead.
Veggie pizza bagels checked all the boxes: easy, fast, low-effort, included vegetables, and made by me. They’re a busy summer lifesaver.
why i love this recipe
Here are just a few of the reasons veggie pizza bagels have made it into my regular rotation:
- tasty: Bright tomato sauce, salty cheese, and fresh veggies piled onto a chewy bagel!
- easy: There are only four steps—chop veg, toast bagels, assemble, bake, and broil.
- fast: Veggie pizzz bagels come together in 20 minutes and 15 of those are hands-off.
- adaptable: You can use whatever veggies you like best, or add meat or fresh herbs or whatever you can think of.
- inexpensive: You probably already have some of the ingredients, like salt, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.
- keep well: I like to make them fresh every night—which is even quicker if you chop all the veg the first time—but if you want to make them all in one go and microwave later, that works well too. They’re a great option for packed lunches as long as you have access to a microwave.
- nostalgic: But also better and healthier than the ones from the frozen section. (But no shade—those are convenient and all food is good food.)
details
The first step is to salt the chopped veggies—always salt toppings that don’t already contain salt! Salt makes food taste more like itself. I buy bagels that are already sort of split in half, but if yours aren’t, do that now, and toast them. They don’t need to be very brown, so use a lower setting. This step is important because it prevents the bagels from becoming soggy once the sauce is added. Always be careful when removing things from a toaster—they’ll be very hot and so will the metal.
Next is assembly, and it goes fast. Top the bagels with a few spoonfuls of sauce each. Try to spread the sauce evenly, and then sprinkle it with Italian seasoning and garlic powder, to taste. Then comes the cheese, which you’ll want to pack down a just a little to fill in any gaps. Use more veggies than you think you’ll need; otherwise you’ll end up with too few.
The bagels bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. You don’t have to broil them after, but I highly recommend it—the cheese gets nice and browned and toasty, and it really adds to the overall experience. And, as always, don’t walk away from the broiler. This step only takes a minute or two and heat that high can take food from perfect to scorched in a matter of seconds.
cook’s notes
Here are a few notes to help you make veggie pizza bagels successfully:
bagels: I use Dave’s Killer bagels because they have a little extra fiber, but use what you like. Plain is good, and any savory flavor would be good—cheese, jalapeno, onion, etc.
pizza sauce: I always use Rao’s when using jarred sauce. It’s so much brighter and fresher than others. It’s also more expensive, though, so feel free to use whatever you like.
shredded mozzarella: I use the mozzarella creamy one (LINK) because it melts well without me having to grate it myself. You can add some parmesan too, if you want!
vegetables: I like these best with green pepper, tomato, and red onion, but you can really use whatever you like. Mushroom, olives, spinach, and kale are good options.
I hope you love veggie pizza bagels as much as I do! If you’re looking for other quick and easy dinners, try simple chicken quesadillas with with chipotle cream, weeknight arroz con pollo, and vegetable night.
veggie pizza bagels
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 450F. Salt the veggies and set aside. Split the bagels and toast them in toaster until lightly browned. Be careful when removing bagels from toaster—they will be hot.
- Set bagels on an ungreased baking sheet. Top the bagels with a few spoonfuls of sauce each. Try to spread the sauce evenly. Sprinkle sauced bagels with Italian seasoning and garlic powder, to taste. Top each bagel with a handful of cheese and sort of pack it down just a little to fill in any gaps. Sprinkle a generous amount of veggies over the cheese. Use more than you think you need.
- Bake bagels for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Then turn off the oven, turn on the broil, and broil for a minute or two until the cheese is nicely browned in spots.
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