Tortilla Pizza: A Frugal Use of Leftovers?

James and I had a craving for thin crust pizza. We also had leftover homemade tomato sauce, leftover fresh mozzarella, a less than fresh tomato, and a bag of tortillas. What resulted? Crispy margherita-style pizzas. Not super filling, but a delicious and light meal.

The question is, is it a frugal meal?

After completing a cost analysis, the results show a cost of $1.37 per pizza. As the portion was small, this is perhaps not the most cost-effective meal. However, the majority of our ingredients were close to expiration, so it was a good opportunity to reduce our household waste. The cost could also be reduced by changing the type of cheese (but for me, fresh mozzarella cheese is a luxury I am willing to splurge on!)

We could have used the leftovers to make more caprese sandwiches (which were more filling and cheaper to make), but it wouldn’t have satisfied our thin crust pizza craving!

Cost Analysis:

Ingredient	Ingredient Cost per Unit	Units Required for Recipe	Recipe Cost
Flour Tortilla	$0.23 per tortilla	2 tortillas	$0.46
Fresh Mozzarella	$ 0.37 per ounce	3 ounces	$1.11
Tomato	$ 0.30 per tomato	1 tomato	$0.30
Leftover Tomato Sauce	$2.64 for full batch	1/6 of sauce	$0.44
Fresh Basil	$ 0.06 per leaf	4 leaves	$0.24
Olive Oil	0.23 per tablespoon	1/3 tablespoon	$0.08
Balsamic Glaze	$ 0.10 per tsp	1 teaspoon	$0.10
Total cost for TWO pizzas:			$2.73
Total cost for ONE pizza:			$1.37

Note: This cost analysis is based on what I paid for my own ingredients in the year 2020. Actual prices may vary.

Picture Tutorial:

Recipe:

Tortilla Pizza: A Frugal Use of Leftovers?

• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 7-9 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

This crispy margherita-style pizza is delicious and light meal

Ingredients

• 2 Flour tortillas (we used the “taco” size)
• 3 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese (feel free to substitute)
• 1 small roma tomato, halved and thinly sliced
• 3-5 tablespoons leftover tomato sauce depending on your love of sauce! (you can use any pizza sauce/tomato based sauce that you have)
• 4 leaves fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic glaze
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Rub a a little bit of olive oil on a baking sheet, add tortillas to baking sheet (do not stack), and rub a little bit of olive oil all over the tortillas (this will make them super crispy!)
3. Spread tomato sauce on the tortillas .
4. Add fresh mozzarella (1.5 ounce per pizza) on top of the sauce.
5. Add fresh tomato to the top of the pizza.
6. DO NOT ADD THE FRESH BASIL UNTIL AFTER THE PIZZA IS COOKED. It will turn BLACK if you do this which is a terrible waste!
7. Bake pizzas for 7-9 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and add basil and balsamic vinegar glaze (optional).
9. Satisfy your pizza craving and use up those leftovers!