Pizza Toastie
A pizza toastie stays crisp when you swap runny pizza sauce for a thick paste of tomato purée and oregano, and keep that sauce sandwiched between two layers of mozzarella so it never touches the bread directly. With pepperoni on top, a standard sealed toastie maker turns it into a sealed pizza pocket in about 4 minutes.
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Recipe: Pizza toastie
Ingredients
- 2 slices medium white bread
- 1 tbsp (about 15g) tomato purée
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp dried oregano and a pinch of garlic granules
- 50g low-moisture mozzarella, grated (the block or pre-grated kind, not fresh balls)
- 10g parmesan or grana padano, finely grated
- 6–8 slices pepperoni (about 15g)
- 10g softened butter for the outside
Method
- Preheat the toastie maker with the lid closed.
- Stir the tomato purée, olive oil, oregano and garlic together in a small bowl to make a thick paste.
- Lay the pepperoni on a sheet of kitchen paper, cover with another and microwave for 20–30 seconds to render off some fat. Blot dry.
- Butter one side of each slice. Place one slice butter-side down on the bottom plate and scatter on half the mozzarella, leaving a 1cm border.
- Dot the tomato paste over the cheese and gently spread it out, keeping it 2cm from the edges. Add the pepperoni and parmesan, then the rest of the mozzarella.
- Top with the second slice, butter-side up, and close the lid gently.
- Cook for 3½–4 minutes until golden. Rest for 1 minute; the tomato centre is very hot.
Why tomato purée beats pizza sauce
Jarred pizza sauce and passata are mostly water. In an open oven that water evaporates off a pizza; in a sealed toastie maker it turns to steam inside the bread and soaks the crumb. Tomato purée is double or triple concentrated, so a tablespoon gives you the same flavour with a fraction of the liquid. Thinning it with a little oil rather than water makes it spreadable without adding moisture.
Putting the sauce between the cheese layers is the second half of the trick. Mozzarella melts into a barrier that keeps the tomato off the bread, so the bread toasts rather than steams. Low-moisture mozzarella matters too: fresh mozzarella balls are packed in whey and weep, which is fine for a caprese toastie with careful prep but too wet for this. Read more in our best cheese for toasties guide.
Microwaving the pepperoni removes much of the orange fat that would otherwise pool at the seal and fry the edges unevenly. It also crisps the slices slightly.
Other machines and methods
In a deep fill toastie maker, go up to 75g mozzarella, 1½ tbsp purée and 25g pepperoni; cook for 5 minutes. On a panini press, the result is closer to a pressed calzone; cook 4–5 minutes and expect a little cheese to escape. In the air fryer, 180°C for 8 minutes, turning once. A microwave toastie maker also works well with this filling; the microwave toastie recipes page has timings.
Variations
- Margherita: skip the pepperoni and add 3–4 torn basil leaves inside after cooking. Kids tend to love this one; see more kids' toastie ideas.
- Ham and pineapple: 1 slice ham and 2 tbsp pineapple chunks, patted very dry and chopped small.
- Veggie supreme: 2 tbsp finely chopped peppers, red onion and mushrooms, softened in a pan for 3 minutes first.
- Nduja: 1 tsp nduja mixed into the tomato paste for a spicy, smoky version.
- Garlic bread outside: mix a crushed garlic clove and chopped parsley into the outside butter. Check at 3 minutes, as garlic can scorch.
- Tortilla pizza: fold a small tortilla around the filling for a thinner, crisper pocket; cook 2½–3 minutes. See what else you can make in a toastie maker.
Mistakes to avoid
- Too much sauce: even purée will leak if you use more than a tablespoon in a standard machine. See how to stop toasties leaking.
- Sauce at the edges: tomato sugars burn quickly on the crimp and make the toastie stick. Keep a clear border; why toasties stick has the clean-up advice.
- Fresh mozzarella: watery and prone to leaking. Use the grated or block low-moisture type.
- Biting in straight away: molten tomato holds heat far longer than cheese. Rest it.
Browse more in our toastie recipes, and if your machine leaks every time you make one of these, the best toastie maker guide covers models with a firmer seal.
FAQs
Can I use ketchup instead of tomato purée?
You can, but it's sweeter and more likely to burn if it reaches the plates. Use 1 tbsp, mix in the oregano, and keep it well away from the edges.
What bread is best for a pizza toastie?
Medium sliced white seals best in a standard toastie maker. A thin sourdough adds flavour but may need trimming to fit; see our best bread for toasties.
Can I make pizza toasties for a group?
Prepare the sauce and filling in advance and assemble each one just before cooking. A 4-slice machine handles two at once and keeps the queue moving.