Super easy pizzas made with pie crust (shortcrust pastry) as a base! These are incredibly simple to put together and great to make with kids. The pastry crust gives these pizzas an added richness, and you can add all your favorite toppings.

These pizzas have been a big hit around here lately. It all began with some leftover shortcrust pastry from quiche making (no, my quiches are not always crustless!) and my 6 year old wondering if it might make a good pizza.

Well. Yes, actually. We tried it, and it makes a great pizza. “Crust Pizza” is now her favorite pizza ever. It’s incredibly easy to make, she can do it all by herself, it’s just a dinner time winner.

Exactly what kind of Pastry / Crust are we talking about?

So to be totally clear: this recipe uses shortcrust pastry which tends to just be called pie crust in the US. In either place you can buy sweet or plain versions and it probably goes without saying that we want the plain kind. Whatever you would use to make quiche or pot pie.

My strong recommendation would be to buy the refrigerated dough that comes rolled up. You can simply unroll the tube and you’ve got your base. It’s already the right thickness.

If you’re wondering whether Puff Pastry would work – yes, it will. Puff Pastry Pizzas are great too. They are just different. You definitely feel like you’re eating a pastry or a tart. With Shortcrust Pastry Pizza, it feels more like a normal pizza, but richer. It also makes less of a mess than flaky puff pastry!

It is a super convenient meal

This pizza can be whatever you need it to be. You are very welcome to make a batch of your own dough, your own sauce, and create something amazing. For us, it’s all about the convenience so I am buying everything pre made.

With premade ingredients, it’s as simple as unrolling the pastry, adding the sauce and cheese, and baking it. It’s perfect for busy weeknights where you don’t have much time to make dinner and are on the brink of total overwhelm, but still want to have a little chance to connect with your kids in the kitchen.

Top Tips

  • A bag of grated mozzarella also helps to cut down on the prep, though slices of fresh mozzarella will work beautifully too, if that is your preference. Fresh mozzarella is more moist so it may take a little longer to cook, but it will be fine.
  • If you prefer to make pizza sauce from scratch, try my Five Minute White Wine Pizza Sauce. Red or green pesto can also make a great pizza sauce!
  • For topping, I added some fresh cherry tomatoes and basil to this, because that’s the extent of what toppings my children will tolerate on their pizza! But obviously you can add whatever works for you. I also find that the rectangular pizza makes it very easy to section off toppings when the family does not agree on what to add!
  • Cutting the pastry into shapes with cookie cutters would be super fun for kids – it should hold its shape very well. You may want to cut down the cooking time, however, when making smaller pizzas.
  • If you have leftover pizza, the best way to reheat this would be in the oven on a low heat. The pastry won’t be quite the same reheated, but still tasty enough!
  • The recipe card is a little vague on quantities for the ingredients – because the size of your crust will vary according to what brand you buy, whether you’re rolling it out yourself, you may end up with more or less surface area than mine. But it’s fair to assume that 1 crust + 1 jar of sauce + 1 bag of cheese will cover you.
  • For the nutritional information, I input the amounts I ended up using, so it reflects the pizza pictured. (I used a 320g roll of shortcrust pastry, a little over half of the 250g jar of sauce, and most of the 200g bag of mozzarella).

Pizzas to try with a pie crust base:

These pizza recipes would be super tasty with pie crust bases! Just follow the recipes as written but stick to the oven cook time and temperature given here (180C / 360F for 15-20 minutes).

Great Side Dishes for Pizza Night

If I make this for my kids, I tend to put out bowls of fruit alongside their slices of pizza and call it a day. But any of these recipes would pair nicely if this was part of a larger family pizza night:

Pie Crust Pizza (with Shortcrust Pastry)

Super easy pizzas made with pie crust (shortcrust pastry) as a base! These are incredibly simple to put together and great to make with kids. The pastry crust gives these pizzas an added richness, and you can add all your favorite toppings.
5 from 5 ratings

Ingredients

  • 1 roll shortcrust pastry (pie crust)
  • 1 bag grated mozzarella
  • 1 portion pizza sauce
  • Toppings, as desired

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 180C / 360F.
  • Unroll the pastry onto a baking sheet. You can leave the baking paper in place, but trim off any excess overhang.
  • Spread the sauce on the pizza at your desired thickness.
  • Sprinkle cheese over the top.
  • Add toppings, if desired.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is all browned.
  • Serve immediately.
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 253kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 559mg, Potassium: 136mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 305IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 157mg, Iron: 2mg