Pesto French Bread Pizza is a mouth-watering appetizer featuring a combination of warm bread, flavorful pesto, gooey cheese, and tomatoes!
Pesto French Bread Pizza is perfect for elevating your pasta night or party appetizer offerings! Toasted French bread layered with a deliciously herby pesto sauce, plenty of cheese, and oven-roasted tomatoes; this side dish is so amazing that it might become your main dish!
Pesto Pleaser
I made the “mistake” a while ago of making Pesto French Bread Pizza for the family, and they have never let me forget it. They ask for it constantly, which I consider a parenting win! Easy French bread pizza is so simple to toss together and it’s perfect for busy nights when we want something quick and super delicious. I love to serve this pesto pizza bread with our favorite pasta dishes and chicken wings and at parties as an appetizer- It’s always the first dish to disappear!
Summer parties are perfect for a wonderfully light appetizer of Easy Veggie Pizza, full of bright fresh veggies, or on busy weeknights, dive into comforting Pizza Lasagna, with the best flavors of both pizza and lasagna!
Other Recipes to Serve with Pesto French Bread Pizza
- One Pot Alfredo Pasta is a great weeknight meal with French bread pizza, and it’s just as quick to make!
- Pizza is the perfect meal, so why not make a Brownie Fruit Pizza to keep the great pizza vibes going?
Ingredients
Bread: To make this pizza, you will need a loaf of French Bread or Italian bread.
Pesto: Mix up a batch of Homemade Pesto Sauce or pick up a jar at the grocery store.
Cheese: For this pizza, you will need Mozzarella cheese. Preshredded cheese is fine for this recipe, but grating your own will create a nice, melty topping.
Tomatoes: Slice a few Plum or Roma tomatoes for the pizza bread, or halve cherry tomatoes in a pinch.
How to Make Pesto French Bread Pizza
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and slice the French bread in half horizontally. Spread a layer of pesto sauce over each half of the bread
STEP TWO: Divide the mozzarella cheese evenly over each loaf and top with tomato slices. Cover a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Place the French bread pizzas on the prepared baking sheet.
STEP THREE: Bake the pizzas for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted. Once out of the oven, let them cool for 5 minutes. Then slice and serve warm.
Tips for Success
- Homemade pesto sauce is flavorful and delicious on this pizza, but store-bought pesto is great, too, so go with what you have time for. If you make a batch of pesto sauce, it can be stored in the fridge and used in various other pasta dishes the next week or as a dip for breadsticks!
- If using pre-shredded cheese, you can stick with mozzarella or pick up parmesan to mix in with the mozzarella, or even an Italian blend would be a great option.
- Store any leftover French bread pizza covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat the pizza for a few seconds in the microwave or enjoy cold-it, which makes a great on-the-go lunch!
What is French bread pizza made of?
French bread pizza is a great, simple appetizer that can easily be turned into a main dish or eaten as a side. The base of the pizza is a halved loaf of French bread, sauce, cheese, and toppings—that’s it! French bread pizza is customizable and can be made with tomato pizza sauce, pesto, or even no sauce for picky eaters. Toppings and cheeses can also be switched up to make a pizza each member of the family loves!
Can I add more toppings?
Pesto French Bread Pizza can be topped with almost any ingredient you and your family love! Chicken breast, pepperoni, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and more can all be added to your pizza. If your additional toppings need to be cooked, just make sure they are cooked and ready to be layered on when it’s time to assemble the pizza. I don’t think there’s a limit or too much of a good thing about food, especially pizza, so go for all the toppings!
More Crowd-Pleasing Pizza-Inspired Bites!
- Pizza Pull-Apart Bread
- Ricotta Parmesan Garlic Bread
- Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
- Meatball Pizza Bread
- Pizza Dip
*This post originally posted on 01/21/2014.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French bread or Italian bread
- 7 ounces pesto sauce
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 3 plum tomatoes sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set aside.
- Slice the loaf of bread in half horizontally. Place each loaf half, cut-side up, on the prepared baking sheet.
- Spread a layer of Pesto sauce over each loaf half. Divide the mozzarella cheese evenly over each loaf and then top with the tomato slices.
- Bake for 10 to 15 min until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Cut each pizza into 6 slices and serve warm.
Diana says
This looks absolutely delicious! I am a sucker for warm bread alone but adding these toppings to it will only make it better. This is on our dinner menu for this week! Going to pair it with a salad for a easy meatless meal!
Aubrey Cota says
Thanks Diana! Dinner sounds delicious!
Bea Cook says
I truly like your site !!!
Aubrey says
Thanks Bea!
Sylvia says
I know you list this as an appetizer, but this looks so good that I could make it my dinner. What a simple recipe for such great taste. Love it!
admin says
Thanks Sylvia! I ate some of the leftovers for lunch the next day. 🙂 I didn’t even bother to warm it up and I loved it. Sort of like cold pizza. 🙂