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Home Recipe Index Sides & Salads

Cheesy Pesto Bread

★★★★★ 5 /5
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Polly Conner
By: Polly ConnerPosted: 10/27/22Updated: 3/20/23

This post may contain affiliate or sponsored links. Please read our disclosure policy.

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.

Cheesy Pesto Bread
Contents hide
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients in Cheesy Pesto Bread
Did You Know You Can Freeze Pesto?
How to Make Pesto Bread
Recipes to Serve with Pesto Bread
Cheesy Pesto Bread
Did you make this?

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.
Sliced pieces of pesto bread

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!

  1. Bread – 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.” Keep in mind that the size of loaf you use will determine how much of the other ingredients you use.
  2. Cheese – Sliced provolone is what works best in this recipe. I prefer sliced over shredded.
  3. 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.
Ingredients for pesto bread
frozen pesto

Did You Know You Can Freeze Pesto?

Using our 10+ years of freezer cooking experience, we are sharing anything and everything you need to know about freezing pesto.

Learn More

How to Make Pesto Bread

Slice the bread

Using a bread knife, slice your loaf of bread evenly in half lengthwise and lay it open.

Sliced french loaf of bread

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!

French loaf of bread with pesto spread over it

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.

Pesto bread about to go into the oven

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.

cooked pesto bread

Allow the bread to cool a bit before handling. Using a bread knife, slice the pesto bread into pieces and serve warm.

Pesto bread sliced

Recipes to Serve with Pesto Bread

pan seared pork chop on a white plate with mashed potatoes and broccoli

Easy Pan Seared Pork Chops

Butter Noodles

Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

Overhead shot baked meatballs

Baked Italian Meatballs

Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!

Cheesy Pesto Bread
★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

Cheesy Pesto Bread

Wow your guests with this insanely delicious cheesy pesto bread. With crispy french bread, gooey cheese, and homemade pesto, how could you NOT love it?

Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
Prep: 5 minutesCook: 15 minutesTotal: 20 minutes
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Scale:

Ingredients

  • 1 (10-14 ounce) loaf of french bread
  • 3/4 – 1 cup (6-8 ounces) pesto
  • 8+ slices Provolone or Mozzarella cheese

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. 
  2. 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.)
  3. Using a spatula, evenly divide the pesto between the two halves and spread it out over the bread. 
  4. Layer on the pieces of Provolone cheese. Use as much as needed to cover the pesto.
  5. 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.

Equipment

baking sheet

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bread knife

Bread Knife

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Notes/Tips

  • The size of bread loaf varies depending on where you get them. Adjust the pesto and cheese accordingly. 
© Author: Polly Conner
Cuisine: American Method: Bake

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Polly Conner

Polly Conner

As co-founder of Thriving Home, Polly’s passionate about helping busy parents get dinner on the table. With a house full of kids, dogs, and (usually) a DIY project in the works, she knows firsthand how every minute (and every dollar) counts. As a business owner, she enjoys wearing multiple hats and serves best as a project manager for Thriving Home.

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  1. AvatarKelsey says

    Posted on 10/17/22 at 9:21 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Rachel TiemeyerRachel Tiemeyer says

      Posted on 10/18/22 at 8:39 am

      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!

      Reply
  2. AvatarSara says

    Posted on 2/20/21 at 9:18 am

    I make this bread when we have guests and they always ask for the recipe. It is sooo good! Super easy and super delicious.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Polly ConnerPolly Conner says

      Posted on 2/21/21 at 9:02 am

      Love that! This is totally a family favorite of ours. Especially with fresh pesto! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, Sara.

      Reply

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