Ree Drummond's Breakfast Pizza Spotlights One Store-Bought Ingredient

Whether it's a late-night takeout box or microwaving leftover slices for lunch, pizza makes a satisfying treat any time of the day. And that includes breakfast. While you could always grab a slice of the previous day's pie in the morning, it's even more delicious to make a hearty breakfast pizza fresh.

Breakfast pizza provides the opportunity to pile all your favorite morning foods — like bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs — onto a pie base. The only frustrating part is how long it can take. (Who's got the time to make and bake fresh dough in the morning?) Luckily, Ree Drummond has a great way to skip the dough, making the whole thing quick and easy. It involves replacing the usual base with a crust made from store-bought crescent dough sheets. Doing it this way means your breakfast pizza is ready in around 40 minutes, making it ideal for a weekend breakfast or a special brunch.

Crescent dough makes a great canvas for all sorts of dishes, from sweet and savory pie crusts to croissants, as well as fragrant cinnamon rolls. When used for a pizza base, the sheets can be baked right on a pan with no need to roll it out first. And if you're really pressed for time, or just want to get ahead of the process, you can even partly bake it in advance and keep it in the fridge ready to top with ingredients and finish cooking.

For a breakfast pizza offering four to five servings, you'll need an 8 ounce sheet of store-bought crescent dough (use two if you're feeding a crowd, and gently push them together into the baking sheet if you prefer one larger pie). Line the sheet with parchment paper to help to stop the dough from sticking and make cleanup easier.

If you're worried about the base being bland, take another tip from Ree Drummond, and sprinkle it with grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano before baking for around 10 minutes in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Then you can top it with anything you like for a full breakfast meal. The Pioneer Woman sticks with classics like bacon, eggs, and shredded hash browns, but you could equally go for options such as cherry tomatoes with spinach or mushrooms if you'd rather keep things light and fresh.

If you don't have crescent dough, there are several alternatives for making a fast and fuss-free morning pie. Drummond sometimes uses biscuit dough pressed into a pan, topped with sauce and cheese, and baked. Try hash browns for a crispy potato pizza base; pre-shredded makes things even easier (just mix with beaten eggs and grated cheese before baking, topping, and baking again). Or for a really speedy and effortless option, simply top pita or naan bread with sauce and your chosen ingredients and bake; it'll be ready in under 10 minutes.