A plate containing Japanese Pizza Toast made with Japanese milk bread, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and various toppings.

Need a quick lunch or a savory snack idea? Let me introduce Japanese Pizza Toast (ピザトースト). Yes, pizza toasts are all good, but this one starts with the sweet, soft, and non-like-the-other Japanese milk bread as the base. You get delicate crispy exterior, softest chewy insides, and with all the savory pizza toppings.

Growing up, my brother and I loved pizza toast for our after-school snack! It’s undeniably the BEST KIND of childhood comfort food. Busy moms and dads can make it. Kids can make it. And 15 minutes is all it takes!

A plate containing Japanese Pizza Toast made with Japanese milk bread, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and various toppings.

What is Pizza Toast?

Pizza toast (ピザトースト) is basically toast with your favorite pizza toppings! Instead of proper pizza dough, we use bread slices as a stand-in to imitate one of the most favorite foods in the world. You can say it’s a short-cut version to real pizza. Shortcut it is, but pizza toast is truly special on its own. Even a child can tell you that bread, cheese, and tomato sauce make some really yummy food.

To make Japanese version of pizza toast, we use only Japanese milk bread, otherwise known as shokupan. The mildly sweet and pillowy soft texture of the milk bread makes it a great canvas for a fun variety of pizza toppings.

History of Japanese Pizza Toast

So, how did Japanese pizza toast come about? Pizza used to be a luxury food item in Japan and not everyone could afford it. In 1964, a coffee shop called Benishika (紅鹿舎, べにしか) in Tokyo took the idea to create a simpler version of pizza by using everyone’s favorite milk bread, resulting a new hot item that we call Japanese pizza toast today.

Its popularity lives on until today, and you can find pizza toast being served as lunch or snack menu at coffee shops and bakeries all over Japan. Homemakers love making pizza toasts for their kids too since it is as quick and easy as comfort food gets!

A plate containing Japanese Pizza Toast made with Japanese milk bread, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and various toppings.

How to Make Pizza Toast

Ingredients You’ll Need

  • Japanese milk bread (shokupan) – this can be store-bought or homemade.
  • Pizza sauce – store-bought or homemade. See below.
  • Mozzarella cheese – shredded or sliced.
  • Onion – I used sweet onion.
  • Green bell pepper
  • Ham (sausage, salami, or bacon) – Pepperoni is not commonly used for Japanese pizza toast, but you could use it if that’s what you have.
  • Cherry tomatoes

Other Pizza Toppings Ideas

  • Corn
  • Mushrooms
  • Olives

Overview: Cooking Steps

  1. Cut the Japanese milk bread into thick slices. For children, cut the slice in half.
  2. Spread the pizza sauce on the slices.
  3. Top with cheese, onion, ham, bell pepper, tomato, and again cheese.
  4. Place the slices on a wire rack and toast them until the cheese is melted and browned slightly.
  5. Serve immediately and enjoy!
A plate containing Japanese Pizza Toast made with Japanese milk bread, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and various toppings.

5 Tips to Make Delicious Pizza Toast

  1. Cut ingredients into thin slices. This especially helps if you don’t like biting into raw onions or bell peppers.
  2. Make homemade pizza sauce. It doesn’t take up much time, but this improves the flavors!
  3. Cut the slice in half first. If you’re going to serve the pizza toast to children, it’s a good idea to cut the milk bread slices in half so it’s easy to hold. Put the two pieces into a regular slice shape to put toppings and toast. Try not to separate the two pieces.
  4. Sprinkle a small amount of cheese over the pizza sauce, then add toppings. Finally, add more cheese on top before toasting.
  5. Put the toast on a wire rack so that the air can circulate at bottom of the toast. I highly recommend placing aluminum foil below the wire rack to catch any falling toppings, such as cheese, if you want to avoid the mess.
A plate containing Japanese Pizza Toast made with Japanese milk bread, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and various toppings.

Make Homemade Pizza Sauce with Simple Ingredients

When I was growing up in the 80s in Japan, there was no “pizza sauce” in a squeezable bottle like we have these days. So our easy pizza toast was simply made with ketchup and my mom still uses ketchup when she makes pizza toast for my children when we visit Japan. I know, don’t cringe! Ketchup on toast is a thing in Japan.

If it wasn’t quick and easy, I would skip the hassle of making my own homemade pizza sauce but this is really fuss-free. You can’t beat the flavors, so let me share my quick pizza sauce recipe.

You will need:

  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Garlic
  • Crushed red pepper (red pepper flakes)
  • Ketchup (or use a few canned whole tomatoes)
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Dried oregano (I sometimes add it if I feel fancy, but not necessary)

All you need to do is to cook the above ingredients in a frying pan (or saucepan) in that order until combined!

If you’ve tried this pizza toast recipe, then let us know how you got on in the comments below, we love hearing from you!

A plate containing Japanese Pizza Toast made with Japanese milk bread, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and various toppings.

Japanese Milk Bread Recipe

You can purchase Japanese milk bread called Shokupan (食パン) in Japanese grocery stores or bakeries. You can also buy a similar milk bread in Chinese and Korean bakeries and supermarkets these days.

Two loaves of Japanese milk bread (flat-topped and round-topped) on a wire rack.

But If you’re interested in making your own, I have a very detailed recipe and a tutorial video. I hope you give it a try! I also have a helpful post on how to purchase a Japanese shokupan loaf pan from Japan.

Delicious Recipes Using Japanese Milk Bread

A plate containing Japanese Pizza Toast made with Japanese milk bread, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and various toppings.

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A slice of toast topped with melted cheese, cherry tomatoes, onions, and green peppers on a decorative plate, served with a gold fork on a wicker tray lined with newspaper-style parchment.
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4.54 from 13 votes

Japanese Pizza Toast

by Namiko Hirasawa Chen
Chunky slices of Japanese milk bread topped with homemade pizza sauce, salty ham, fresh veggies, and melty mozzarella cheese. This Japanese Pizza Toast is the epitome of deliciousness and nostalgia! No wonder it makes a popular lunch and snack item among children and adults in Japan!
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Servings: 3 slices

Ingredients  

For the Quick Pizza Sauce

  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ tsp crushed red pepper (red pepper flakes) (plus more for serving, to taste)
  • 1 clove garlic (minced or crushed)
  • 3 Tbsp ketchup (or 2 whole tomatoes, canned)
  • ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the Pizza Toast

  • 3 slices shokupan (Japanese milk bread) (¾ inch, 1.5 cm thick per slice)
  • ⅛ sweet onion
  • ⅛ green bell pepper
  • 4 cherry tomatoes
  • 3 slices ham
  • 6 Tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese (or more, if you'd like)

Instructions

  • Gather all the ingredients.
    A top-down view of sandwich ingredients on a wooden surface: a loaf of bread, ham, green pepper, onion, cherry tomatoes, shredded cheese, ketchup, olive oil, a garlic clove, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.

To Make the Quick Pizza Sauce

  • Heat a small frying pan or saucepan on medium low. When the pan is warm (not hot), add 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, ¼ tsp crushed red pepper (red pepper flakes), and 1 clove garlic (minced or crushed). Sauté gently for about 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant but not burned.
    A two-panel image shows a frying pan on a stove with oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes. In the second panel, a blue spatula stirs the ingredients as they cook.
  • Once fragrant, add 3 Tbsp ketchup. Stir to combine all the ingredients together.
    Two-panel image: Left, minced garlic and red pepper flakes are sautéing in oil in a pan while ketchup is being poured in. Right, a hand stirs the ketchup mixture with a blue spatula, blending the ingredients.
  • Add ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper to taste and stir to combine. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and set aside to cool.
    Two side-by-side images show hands adding spices and salt into a pan of red tomato sauce cooking on a stovetop. The sauce is simmering in oil, and ingredients are being poured from small glass bowls.

To Prepare the Bread and Toppings

  • Using a bread knife, cut 3 slices shokupan (Japanese milk bread) ¾ inch (1.5 cm) thick, if it's not already sliced.
    A close-up of hands slicing a loaf of white bread on a wooden cutting board, shown from two different angles.
  • Using a sharp knife, thinly slice ⅛ sweet onion and ⅛ green bell pepper. Cut the 4 cherry tomatoes into three slices each (if possible). Then, cut 3 slices ham into thin, short strips.
    Four side-by-side images show hands slicing an onion, a green bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and ham on a wooden cutting board.

To Make the Pizza Toast

  • Set the shokupan slices on your work surface. Leave whole or cut in half (I like to cut diagonally) if serving to children. Place the two halves back together so they look like one slice.
    Next, spread about 1 Tbsp homemade pizza sauce on top of each slice and sprinkle with a small pinch of shredded mozzarella cheese—once melted, it helps keep the toppings in place.
    A three-step sequence shows: slicing white bread, spreading red jam on it, and sprinkling shredded cheese on top with hands, all on a light wooden surface.
  • Next, scatter some onion slices, green pepper slices, and ham strips. Finally, add the tomato slices and sprinkle all over with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese, about 2 Tbsp per pizza toast.
    Three side-by-side images show hands preparing toast with tomato sauce, sliced onions, bell peppers, and halved tomatoes, then topping it with shredded cheese on a wooden surface.
  • Adjust the toaster oven rack to the middle position. Place the pizza toast directly on the rack, making sure the toppings don’t hang over the edges. Toast on High setting (450ºF or 230ºC) until the edges start to brown and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.
    Nami's Tip: I set a tray underneath the rack to catch any melted cheese. The bottom may not crisp as well, but it keeps the oven clean.
    Two photos side by side: On the left, an uncooked French bread pizza with cheese, peppers, and pepperoni; on the right, the same pizza baked with melted cheese and browned toppings, both on a foil-lined oven rack.

To Serve

  • Serve hot immediately. Sprinkle more red pepper flakes on top, if you‘d like.
    A slice of toast topped with melted cheese, cherry tomatoes, onions, and green peppers on a decorative plate, served with a gold fork on a wicker tray lined with newspaper-style parchment.

To Store

  • Wrap leftover pizza toast (cooked or uncooked) tightly in plastic. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 weeks. Reheat in the toaster oven straight from frozen or after thawing.

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 41mg, Sodium: 769mg, Potassium: 241mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 426IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 214mg, Iron: 2mg

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @justonecookbook on Instagram so we can see your delicious creation!

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on July 6, 2022, and updated on February 10, 2025, with additional tips and information.