Pizza Crust Bread Pudding

If your family is anything like mine, a pizza dinner always ends in a big ol' pile of pizza crusts. Unless the crust is stuffed with cheese or incredibly yummy a few pieces might get eaten with dipping sauce, but that's about it. So I did something about it. Save the pizza crust!

Salvage those pizza crusts and make this fabulous Pizza Crust Bread Pudding!

I turned those sad and lonely, unwanted pizza crusts into a pizza crust bread pudding. It turned out fabulous! I went with a pizza flavor profile. It is pizza crust, after all.




Tear about 4 or 5 cups of crust into pieces and load into a buttered 3 quart dish. If you don't have enough leftover crust, you can pack them up and keep them in the freezer until you acquire enough to make this recipe. A couple of pizzas usually produces enough crust for us.




Sprinkle on some cheese. I used mozzarella and parmesan.




Then add the fixn's of your choice. I used 1/2 pound of cooked Italian sausage, a handful of pepperoni, and some browned onions and green bell pepper. If you're using fresh veggies, it's best to cook them down a bit first so they don't make your pud watery.

Pour on the savory custard mix and bake for 45 minutes.

Get a second dinner out of leftover pizza crusts with this Pizza Crust Bread Pudding.

I like to serve this pudding with a side of warm marinara or pizza sauce.

You can change up the cheeses, toppings, and side sauce to suit your taste. But whatever you do, save the pizza crust!

Pizza Crust Bread Pudding

INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1/2 a large bell pepper, chopped
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
4 - 5 cups leftover pizza crusts, torn into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/3 cup shredded parmesan
a hand full of mini pepperoni
4 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/8 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp garlic powder
warm pizza sauce or marinara sauce for serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. Spray a medium skillet with oil spray and heat over medium high heat. Dump in the sausage and brown. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and dump out all but a Tbsp of the grease. Add the chopped veggies and cook until beginning to brown. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 3 quart casserole dish.
3. Place the torn pizza crusts in the dish and cover with the cheeses. Then layer on the cooked sausage, pepperoni, and browned veggies.
4. In a large bowl lightly beat the eggs. Then whisk in the milk and seasonings.
5. Pour custard over casserole, push the goodies down into the mixture, and bake for 45 minutes or until the center is set.