Cheesy Pesto Bread
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Cheesy Pesto bread is a delicious twist on the classic garlic bread or Texas Toast. It serves as a hearty side but has an extra punch of flavor thanks to the Pesto. It’s super easy to make and is a total crowd-pleaser recipe.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- It has only 3 ingredients! More on those below.
- It’s done in 20 minutes. Seriously. It takes roughly 5 minutes to assemble and 15 minutes to bake.
- It’s a lot of bang for your buck. This recipe is very affordable and goes a long way.
- It’s a good side dish any time of the year. While pesto is best when made fresh, it can be purchased at the store and works great on recipes like this.
Polly’s Testing Tips
- I recommend grabbing a fresh loaf of bread from the bakery at your grocery store. Sometimes it’s labeled as a “French Loaf” and other times it’s labeled as an “Italian Loaf.”
- I tested freezing this recipe before baking and it worked great! Simply let it thaw at room temperature before baking and it will taste fresh.
- If you make fresh pesto for the recipe, make sure you freeze what you don’t use.
Ingredients in Cheesy Pesto Bread
Our readers go crazy over recipes that only have a few ingredients. Busy parents need simple recipes in their lives, am-I-right?! Here’s the good news…you only need 3 ingredients for this Pesto Bread recipe!
- Bread – The size of loaf you use will determine how much of the other ingredients you use.
- Cheese – Sliced provolone is what works best in this recipe. I prefer sliced over shredded.
- Pesto – We highly recommend making your own pesto. However, we are well aware that fresh basil is not always abundant so most of the time you will have to get it from the store. If this is the case, opt for the refrigerated pesto (vs. the kind in a jar on the shelf.) The refrigerated pesto tastes better.
How to Make Pesto Bread
Using a bread knife, slice your loaf of bread evenly in half lengthwise and lay it open.
Add the pesto
Use a spatula or butter knife, divide the pesto in half and spread it out evenly over the surface of the bread. Use it all up!
Slice the bread
Using a bread knife, slice the bread evenly in half.
Lay out the cheese
On top of the pesto, lay out the cheese slices. Use as much or as little as it takes to cover the bread as best you can.
Bake the Pesto Bread
In a preheated oven, bake the Pesto Bread for about 15 minutes, or until you start to see the edges brown a bit.
Allow the bread to cool a bit before handling. Using a bread knife, slice the pesto bread into pieces and serve warm.
FAQs
You can use classic basil pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto, or even spinach or arugula pesto. Store-bought or homemade both work well.
It’s best stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4–5 days. Let it come to room temperature or warm it before serving.
Absolutely. I’ve tested this and it works. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil, or use a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and bake as instructed.
Yes, you can swap the provolone out with your preferred cheese. Mozzarella or Pepper Jack cheese would be delicious.
Cheesy Pesto Bread
Ingredients
- 1 (10-14 ounce) loaf french bread
- 1 cup pesto
- 8 slices Provolone or Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Slice the bread in half lengthwise and place on a sheet pan. (Tip: Cover the sheet pan with foil or parchment paper for easy clean up.)
- Using a spatula, evenly divide the pesto between the two halves and spread it out over the bread.
- Layer on the pieces of Provolone cheese. Use as much as needed to cover the pesto.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown a little. Let cool for a few minutes and then cut into pieces.
Notes/Tips
- The size of bread loaf varies depending on where you get them. Adjust the pesto and cheese accordingly.
- Fresh pesto is best!
Nutrition
Absolutely delicious! Better than restaurant bread. We did half as cheesy pesto bread (using the pesto recipe, which is so easy & yum). The other half we did as cheesy garlic bread (to please the non-pesto eater). This will be a regular!
So fun Anna! We eat too much bread at our house, so I tend to do a loaf of each. Thanks for the suggestion of half and half though. We just had one kiddo move out, so as the numbers dwindle, I’ll need to cut back on some of things like bread!
Is this freeze-able? Loved the idea of your tomato bisque recipe to freeze for my expecting friends, but was trying to think of a way to make “grilled cheese” options for them to freeze too.
Can’t wait to try this for my own family for dinner this week at any rate!
Hi Kelsey. I haven’t tried freezing this Cheesy Pesto Bread myself, but I have prepped grilled cheese sandwiches ahead and frozen them for my kids before. Just spread butter on the outside of two pieces of bread (a hearty bread like sourdough works best), place a few slices of cheese inside the sandwich, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil. To use, thaw in the fridge and then they are ready to make in a skillet!
I make this bread when we have guests and they always ask for the recipe. It is sooo good! Super easy and super delicious.
Love that! This is totally a family favorite of ours. Especially with fresh pesto! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, Sara.