If You're Not A Fan Of Plain Pizza Crust, Turn Your Leftovers Into A New Snack

Any night can be pizza night when you've picked up a couple of pies from your favorite local spot. With so many different styles of pizza in the U.S. (and even around the world), there's a lot to be said about cheese, sauce, toppings, and crust. But if you aren't a fan of a typical deep-dish pizza crust, you may be tempted to toss the excess bread. To prevent food waste, try repurposing your leftover pizza crust into a savory snack in the form of breadsticks.

Transforming your pizza crusts into breadsticks is simple and effective, creating fun possibilities for dipping sauces and more. Looking at the most popular pizza chains, many of the offerings include a deep-dish style or other variations with a thicker crust. You can easily cut the crusts off of your pie and reserve them for later use. It's easy to steam or reheat them in the microwave to keep the crusts from drying out.

Saving your pizza crusts from the fate of the compost heap or wastebasket is a good way to make the most out of every part of your meal. It will allow you to enjoy the best of your pizza as dinner while using the crusts as a separate snack. With careful reheating, preparing your own dipping sauces (or opting for store-bought versions), and covering your breadsticks in cheese and other complementary ingredients, your breadstick snacks may just outshine your original pizza.

The first step in this creative way to use leftover pizza is to cut off your crusts. Starting where the cheese and toppings stop, separate the crust from your pizza and set it aside. You can cut up and store the excess bread in an airtight container to keep it until you're ready for snacking. This will prevent it from drying out too much. To reheat your crusts, place them on a microwave-safe plate alongside a dish of water to help them steam up to bring the bread back to life instead of letting it go stale. You can also pop the crusts into your air fryer for extra crispy breadsticks. From there, it's simply a matter of assembling your preferred dipping sauces for the perfect snack.

If you're a fan of delicious buttery dipping sauces, try a mouthwatering compound butter that you can melt to pair with your pizza crust breadsticks. Garlic and herb is a classic, but you can always get creative with other spices, seasonings, and herbs. Add some crushed red pepper flakes for extra heat. Alternatively, prepare a simple marinara sauce with stewed tomatoes, fresh and dried herbs, and onions, garlic, and olive oil for a hearty treat. Any way you choose to amp up your leftover pizza crust, it will be a satisfying snack.