Need Quick Lunch Ideas? Try TikTok’s Viral Pizza Lava Toast

If you’re making lunch on a time crunch, don’t fret. This recipe for Pizza Lava Toast promises to be both delicious and quick – plus, it’s TikTok-approved.

What Is Pizza Lava Toast?

As its name implies, Pizza Lava Toast is a mashup of pizza and toast – with the lava being a combination of gooey cheese and marinara sauce. The concept, which puts the essential flavours of pizza in a grilled sandwich, has been doing the rounds on TikTok over the last few months with creators reacting to and sharing their recipes for the dish.

@kalejunkie Have you tried PIZZA LAVA TOAST? So easy and fun! #lavatoast #easyrecipes #viralrecipes #foodtrends ♬ All Around the World(La La La) – R3hab / A Touch of Class

It’s thought that the dish originated from serial pop culture trendsetter Hailey Bieber, who shared a video on TikTok in early 2022 showing her followers how she makes ‘pizza toast’ at home. While the results did indeed look delicious, the process itself was a little step-heavy – so internet chefs weighed in, and now we have the modern Pizza Lava Toast.

The version we’re now familiar with from TikTok consists of sandwiching cheese between two slice of bread, with tomato sauce, more cheese and pizza toppings decorating the top. Think a grilled cheese sandwich, but better. After all, who doesn’t love pizza?

@thecoreyb PIZZA LAVA TOAST!! @Caught Snackin’ @danosseasoning ♬ original sound – Corey B

Recipe: Pizza Lava Toast

We’ve been digging through the best Pizza Lava Toast recipes on TikTok so that we can collate them into the ultimate C&TH edition. Enjoy!

Makes two sandwiches

Ingredients

• 4 slices of bread
• A block of cheese (mozzarella is recommended if you want that cheese pull)
• 6-10 tbsp pizza sauce
• 2 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Toppings you can choose

• Pepperoni
• Basil
• Peppers
• Jalapeños

Method

1. Heat up the oven to 190°C.
2. Cut thin slices from your chosen block of cheese until you have 16 slices.
3. Take out two pieces of bread; on one piece, place four slices of cheese on the four edges of the bread, making sure to leave an open square in the middle. Place the second slice of bread on top and press down on the centre with your hands or a spoon to create a well. Fill that well with a few tablespoons of the pizza sauce. Layer four more slices of cheese across the top and then add Italian seasoning and your other pizza toppings.
4. Repeat the previous step to make a second sandwich.
5. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the cheese on top has melted and browned slightly.
6. Remove from the oven and let your Pizza Lava Toast cool for a few minutes (it’s called ‘lava’ for a reason) – then tuck in.

Featured image: Scott Eckersley, Unsplash