Easy, Kid-Friendly Lion King Pizza
If your kids love animals, this easy Lion King pizza is about to become their favorite dinner, and it is a huge win because it is super easy to make.
With a simple multi-layered circle of pepperoni for the mane and a few clever toppings for the face, you can turn an ordinary homemade pizza into a smiling lion. Kids love helping assemble the toppings, which makes this recipe just as fun to make as it is to eat.
This kid-friendly pizza is perfect for family movie nights (I’m thinking The Lion King), animal-themed learning days, or even celebrating World Lion Day. Best of all, the design is simple enough that children can help build their own lion pizza while you guide them through the steps.
Cooking with kids does not have to be complicated. Sometimes the most memorable meals are the ones where everyone gets to create something together.
This lion-shaped pizza is a fun and simple dinner idea that turns an ordinary pizza night into a creative activity for kids. Kids will love this pizza because
- They can help make it.
- How many kids do you know who don’t like pizza?
Also, August 10th is World Lion Day, so this pizza would be a great idea for something to make along with lion-themed lessons or crafts.
There are also some different variations you can do with this Lion King pizza recipe, depending on how much time you are willing to commit. If you want to go all-out, you can make your own dough from scratch (a suggested recipe for homemade dough is included below). Or you could simply purchase pre-made dough from the grocery store and let your kids have fun rolling and shaping it!
If you’d like an in-between option (I’m all about in-between options), you can also purchase a pizza dough mix. I know we have a lot of gluten-free readers, and we haven’t forgotten you, either. I love this flour for gluten free baking if you plan to make your own dough or this mix!
If you were looking for something sweet for your lion study, check out our fun Oreo lion.
How to Make The Lion King Pizza
To get started, cue The Lion King soundtrack and prepare your dough (whatever that means for the version of this pizza you have chosen.) Set the dough aside and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. You’ll also want to make sure that you have a large baking sheet, or pizza stone, at the ready.
Next, prepare a large workable surface for rolling and shaping the dough. I like to lay out a large sheet of parchment paper and dust it with flour when working with bread or pizza dough. It keeps things from getting sticky and makes it very easy to transfer the pizza later.
Once your surface is prepared, flip out your dough and have fun rolling it out and shaping it (kids of any age love this part!) When you’re done playing with the dough, you’ll want to make sure it has that lovely, circular pizza shape. The thickness is entirely up to your preference, how much dough you have, and how many people you are feeding!
Pick up the parchment paper on either side and set it on top of your baking sheet/pizza stone (see how that step saved you some trouble?). Slide your crust into the preheated oven and allow it to cook for 5 minutes.
Remove your crust and (being careful not to let anyone burn themselves) load it up with your favorite sauce, and plenty of mozzarella cheese!
Now it’s time to build the face for your Lion King pizza. The face design we have chosen is very simple, and even very young children should be able to help create it! Build the lion’s mane by creating two rings of pepperoni on the outside of the pizza. (I follow a Kosher lifestyle and use turkey pepperoni, but you can use whatever works for you!)
Then use:
- two black olives for the eyes
- a semi-circle (or triangle) of pepperoni for the nose
- thin slices of carrots for the mouth shape and whiskers.
Pop your Lion King pizza back into the oven for 5-8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly!
Enjoy! Do your kids like to help out in the kitchen? What are some of your favorite recipes to make with young children?
Easy, Kid-Friendly “Lion King” Pizza
- Cook Time: approximately 15 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
Description
This easy idea for a Lion King pizza will be a hit when working with kids in the kitchen this summer!
Ingredients
Pizza dough, homemade or store-bought refrigerated
Pizza sauce, homemade or store-bought
Mozzarella cheese, about 3 cups
Pepperoni
Sliced black olives, for eyes
3 julienned carrot strips
For Homemade Dough (Optional):
3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon sugar
1 envelope instant dry yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups water, 110 degrees F
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out pizza dough on a lightly floured surface or pastry mat into a circle.
- Place shaped dough on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes.
- Remove pizza dough from oven and add sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, black olives, and carrots to resemble a lion face.
- Return to oven and bake an additional 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of your dough and desired doneness.
For Homemade Dough (Optional):
- Combine the bread flour, salt, sugar, yeast in a stand mixer. Add water and oil while still mixing, until the dough forms into a ball. Add in more flour if needed. Once dough has completely combined, scoop it out onto a floured surface and knead it into a big, smooth ball.
- Thoroughly oil down a large bowl with the remaining olive oil. Next, place dough in the bowl and cover it with a towel or plastic wrap. Let it rise for at least an hour.
- About ten minutes before you are ready to make your pizza, flip the dough back out onto a flour-covered cutting board and coat it in the flour—cover it again for about 10 minutes. Then you will be ready to roll it out for the pizza!
Notes
If using a store bought pizza dough, try bringing it to room temperature before you roll it out/shape it! It makes things so much easier.
Enjoy making themed pizzas? Try out this Cat in the Hat Pizza next!
This looks so easy and super cute for the kids in our lives. I bet they would love it..
I shared this with all my friends! So clever!
Such a cute and fun pizza!
My son wants to be a chef now after making this, its all he talks about
How cute! My grandchildren will get a kick out of this!
This would be fun to make with our little grandson!
I am not much of a pepperoni person but this is just super cute!!
How clever! This is so cute. I know our little grandson would love it!
Cute. Could add other items too.
Oh, this is so cute! My grandkids would love this pizza. Thanks for sharing. 👍
This is so cute!! What a fun kids party idea too..,
I haven’t made homemade pizza dough in such a long time, I think with this recipe it may turn out better than it usually does.
Cutting a pepperoni slice in half was genius for his nose!
Ham would probably make the lion’s mane look fluffier! 🙂
Homemade pizzas are always better than store-bought, it’s not even a question!
Did your sons sample some of this lion pizza, or did you have it all to yourself? Lol!
His olive eyes are so cute! Like little buttons. 🙂
I wonder how this recipe could be vegan… Might be something I’ll explore in the future!
**Not sure if my comment went through…
This is so cute! I like the remake, but my daughter isn’t thrilled about it. At least we get some great pizza from it.
This recipe is so cute! I like the remake, but my daughter isn’t so thrilled. Oh well, at least we get some great pizza out of it! 🙂
great idea, i work in a pizzeria, and im defiantly trying this
Thanks for the good ideas ! My kids will love
Very fun & cute pizza idea.
I love having my grandkids help in the kitchen and it is something they enjoy too. This is a fun recipe that they could easily do even on their own if we used premade dough and sauce.
Definitely saving this recipe!