Pizza Dogs are quick and easy - a great project for kids to help with. Pepperoni, pizza sauce, and cheese in a hot dog bun. Yum!
Cooking with Kids
Caleb and I had a fun morning whipping up these tasty pizza dogs. They're an easy project to make with kids. You can tailor them to everyone's tastebuds. It's easy to add different kinds of your favourite pizza toppings. Caleb likes his just plain, with pizza sauce, pepperoni, and cheese. He thinks they are pretty yummy!
What You'll Need for a Pizza Dog Lunch
All it takes are a few simple ingredients:
- marinara sauce - it's a basic tomato sauce. Buy a good quality one or make your own with canned tomatoes. (Or just use a good quality bottled spaghetti sauce.)
- pepperoni - buy the sliced kind ready for pizza. If that's too spicy for you, use another type of cold cut you like (like summer sausage) or deli sliced ham.
- shredded mozzarella cheese (or another soft melting cheese, like Monterey Jack, fontina, or havarti)
- garlic powder
- dried oregano
- hot dog buns - use gluten-free ones, if necessary (the ones in the photo are gluten-free brioche hot dog buns)
- corn kernels - these are optional, but they add nice pops of sweetness. Use drained canned corn, defrosted frozen corn kernels, or fresh cooked corn.
- optional other favourite toppings - add whatever you like. Just cut it into small pieces or thin slices. Examples: fried mushrooms, sliced black or green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, onion, pineapple, juicy pear, defrosted frozen peas, etc
How to Make Easy Pizza Dogs
Kids love helping make Pizza Dogs for lunch or a snack. Caleb is five years old, and he's a real pro at it. First we fried up the pepperoni slices so they were lightly browned. He loves shredding the mozzarella cheese on the Salad Master shredder, using a cut-resistant glove for safety. (A lot of extra cheese was shredded by this enthusiastic little chef for future pizzas!)
Caleb stirs up the easy pizza sauce, then spreads it onto toasted, split hot dog buns.
There may have been a lot of taste testing going on!
Next, Caleb layers on the fried pepperoni slices (this is serious work), and sprinkles each side of the pizza dogs with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Now, the pizza dogs are ready to pop under the broiler again for a few minutes, just until the cheese is melted and getting golden brown in spots.
Oozy cheese, tangy sauce, and spicy pepperoni - what a glorious treat. Such fun to eat, too!
You can eat the pizza dogs as open-faced little pizza buns or fold them like a hot dog.
What a fun and easy way to get your pizza on!
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Guten Appetit!
Pizza Dogs
Ingredients
for the pizza sauce:
- 1 cup (240 ml) marinara sauce (good quality store-bought or homemade)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 16-24 slices pepperoni sausage (4-6 per bun), or mild sliced sausage or ham
- 4 hot dog buns, gluten-free, if necessary
- ½ cup corn kernels (drained canned or defrosted frozen) optional
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- other toppings of choice like sliced olives, mushrooms, roasted peppers, etc.
Instructions
- Move the top oven rack so it is about 4 or 5 inches from the broiling element at the top of the oven, and preheat the oven to broil.
- Stir together the marinara sauce, garlic powder, and oregano to make a pizza sauce, and set aside.
- Fry the pepperoni slices in a dry, non-stick skillet in batches, until they are lightly browned on each side, but not hardened or crispy.
- Split the hot dog buns so the halves are opened, but still attached together. Lay the buns on a baking sheet with the cut sides up, and broil them until the tops are toasted and golden. Watch them carefully so they don't burn. Remove the pan from the oven.
- Spread about 2 tablespoons of the pizza sauce on each half of the toasted hot dog buns.
- Lay 2 or 3 slices of fried pepperoni onto each side of the sauce-covered hot dog buns.
- Top each side with about 1 tablespoon of corn kernels, if using them.
- Sprinkle each hot dog bun half with about 2 tablespoons of the shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Slide the pan of buns back under the broiler and grill them just until the cheese melts and is golden in spots. This will only take about 1½ - 2½ minutes, so watch them carefully so they don't burn.
- Let the pizza buns cool for a few minutes, then eat the buns open-faced or fold them back together and eat them like a hot dog.
Bobby
I love a regular relish, mustard, dog, pizza dog is gourmet to me. delicious
Margaret
Thanks so much, Bobby! I agree with you there! Plain ol' hotdogs satisfy a craving and they're a classic. But sometimes it's fun to mess with the classics. Sending you an Alberta hug!