8 Amazing Uses for Store-Bought Pizza Dough

Apple tart

Use the dough as a pie crust: line a baking pan, spread with caramel sauce, and top with thinly sliced ​​apples mixed with sugar. Sprinkle a little butter on top, then bake until golden brown. For a luxurious finishing touch, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of warm caramel.

Filled breadsticks

Try an Italian-inspired appetizer: stretch dough into breadstick strands, then press savory fillings along each. Try olives, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, or marinated artichokes. Brush with oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and you're ready to go. Bake until crisp and golden brown.

Sweet S'mores Pizza

Start with a buttered circle of dough, baking it just until lightly browned. Add sweet toppings like mini marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate chips, and the like, then bake until the crust is golden brown and the chocolate is melted. Grilling the pizza will create a light char, similar to a campfire.

Mini pizzas

Using a glass or cookie cutter, cut the dough into circles. Place in a mini muffin tin, layer with your favorite toppings—like mozzarella slices, tomato sauce, mushrooms, and Parmesan—and bake until golden brown and bubbly. It's the perfect compact snack.

Grilled gyros

To grill the oval-shaped dough, simply add a little oil and salt. Use the toasted flatbreads as the base for a Mediterranean sandwich with grilled chicken, tomatoes, onions, and a zesty yogurt-cucumber sauce.

Naan flatbread

You've mastered curry, now try baking Indian-style bread. Shape the dough into flat circles and fry them in ghee or vegetable oil, turning once, until fluffy and golden brown.

Cinnamon buns with raisins and nuts

This simple twist on a classic will brighten up your mornings. Roll the dough into a thin rectangle, brush generously with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, raisins, and walnuts. (Chocolate chips and hazelnuts also work well.) Roll into a log, slice, and bake in a greased pan like regular buns. For that signature gooey finish, drizzle with powdered sugar glaze.

Empanadas

Leftovers are perfectly put to use in this simplified version of Latin American pie. Mound the dough circles with cooked shredded beef (or chicken), cheese (or potatoes), and olives (or raisins), fold them into a crescent shape, and pinch the edges shut. Brush with egg and bake—or, even better, fry until golden brown and crispy. Serve with sour cream.