Make delicious pesto french bread pizza recipe in minutes! It’s easy and fun and makes for an easy dinner or as a great appetizer, too.
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You know those chubby loaves of French bread that the grocery sells? They are usually sold in baskets near the checkstands. They cost just a couple bucks.
Well, while they may not be the cat’s meow when it comes to French bread, they make pretty fabulous bases for pizza.
What?! You’ve never cheated for pizza? This is your week then!
While I love making traditional pizza dough, I also love the convenience of pulling together a delicious pizza in less than 30 minutes. You can do this with pizza dough; the result will be more of a cracker crust than a light and fluffy bread base. But, for those days when I’m in a hurry, I prefer to use some alternative bases.
Why Make Pesto French Bread Pizza
It’s super versatile. I’ve used pita bread to make a quick and easy pita pizza, English muffins, tortilla pizza, and pizza bagel with great success. My new favorite is using the big puffy, not-really-French, French bread loaves.
It’s deliciously easy. Slather on some pesto, sprinkle on cheese and tomatoes, and you’ve got a rocking awesome pizza in minutes! Feel free to vary your toppings, but be sure to try this simple combo of pesto and fresh tomatoes.
It’s great party food. These little strips of pizza make great appetizers, too. Be sure to make them for your next party or serve with game night snacks.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make homemade Pesto French Bread Pizza:
large French loaf – thicker than a baguette, a French bread loaf is often labeled Italian loaf at the grocery store. You can bake your own with a simple bread dough if you like.
pesto – Pesto is delicious on French bread pizza, but you can also use a homemade pizza sauce or a garlic sauce of olive oil, chopped fresh garlic, and red pepper flakes. Basil Sauce can also be used. Remember you can freeze pesto if you get more than you can use right away.
chopped tomatoes – I think the acid in the tomatoes is a perfect combo with the pesto, but feel free to use your favorite toppings for pizza, such as cooked chicken or sliced pepperoni.
shredded mozzarella cheese – Mozzarella is traditional. Remember you can freeze cheese if you buy too much. You can also add grated parmesan cheese.
fresh parsley garnish – this is optional, but I think it gives the pizza bread a nice finishing touch. You can also add chopped fresh basil after baking.
Variations
I love the ease of French bread pizzas for saving time. Feel free to to use other pizza bases besides a loaf French bread. You can use homemade pizza dough, English muffins, bagels, pita bread, or even tortillas for pizza.
You can also vary the sauce and toppings to suit your preferences.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make homemade French bread pizza:
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Cut the bread in half horizontally and place each half cut-side up on a baking sheet.
Spread pizza sauce or pesto over the bread; sprinkle the tomatoes, cheese, and parsley. Bake until the cheese is melted and has started to brown in spots, about 7 to 10 minutes.
Cut and serve.
Freeze Extra for Later: You can freeze pizza cooked or uncooked. If freezing uncooked, lay evenly on a tray in the freezer until firm, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. Store for up to 6 weeks. Bake from frozen. If freezing cooked pizza, cool and wrap for freezing. Chill until cold before transferring to freezer. Store for up to 6 weeks. Reheat in microwave, oven, or air fryer.
Make a Plan for Leftovers: Leftover pizzas are delicious the next day. Be sure to promptly store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven. If you store your leftovers in clear containers, they’re more likely to get eaten.
FAQs
French bread pizza is a split loaf of French bread, topped with pizza toppings and baked.
Baking at high heat should prevent your pizza from getting soggy. Limiting the amount of sauce can help as well.
This pizza recipe is delicious with veggie dippers and Ranch or with a green salad of any kind.
More Great Pizza Recipes
Tell us what you think!
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Pesto and Tomato French Bread Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 loaf large French loaf
- ½ cup pesto or more to taste
- 2 roma tomato chopped
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese (shredded) (4 cups)
- parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Cut the bread in half horizontally and place each half cut-side up on a baking sheet.1 loaf large French loaf
- Spread the sauce over the bread; sprinkle the tomatoes, cheese, and parsley. Bake until the cheese is melted and has started to brown in spots, about 7 to 10 minutes.½ cup pesto, 2 roma tomato, 8 oz mozzarella cheese (shredded), parsley (chopped)
- Cut and serve.
Notes
- Use bagels, tortillas, English muffins, pita, or naan as the base for your pizzas.
- Raid the fridge for bits of cheese, meat, or veg that you can use for toppings.
- Monterey Jack is a great sub for mozzarella if you don’t have it.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on June 9, 2014. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Katie
Excellent recipe! My husband, preschooler and toddler all loved it. Leftovers reheated really well the next day. We found 3 cups of cheese was plenty for us. We’ve also made with Alfredo sauce and added a little cooked diced chicken. Thank you, Jessica!
Jamie
Hey! Scrolling through your archives today and finding so. many. amazing recipes. But, had a questions, do you have a recipe for a homemade pesto? I was searching for a link and couldn’t find one! Thanks in advance!
Jessica Fisher
I don’t have one for pesto as in my experience it’s been very expensive to make. Instead, I have one for Easy 3-Ingredient Basil Sauce that omits the cheese and nuts to bring the cost down. It can be used in place of pesto as an affordable alternative.
AmyG
Yes, for a pizza sauce I make a standard white sauce and add Parmesan, so I really should have called it a Parmesan cheese sauce. For pasta I melt the butter, add cream, Parmesan, salt and pepper and gently toss with the hot cooked pasta, allowing the starch from the pasta to thicken the sauce.
Jessica Fisher
We are on the same page. 😉
AmyG
A late comment, but I have been reading the through the archives. My teenage daughter’s favorite French bread pizza is Alfredo sauce (homemade or purchased), shredded cooked chicken breast (rotisserie works), vegetables like fresh spinach or steamed broccoli and carmelized onion topped with a good melting cheese (it is probably wrong but we love how Monterey Jack melts on pizza) and freshly grated Parmesan. I used to make this more when working full time, thus the purchased French bread, Alfredo and rotisserie chicken 🙂
Jessica Fisher
Would you say that purchased Alfredo is a white sauce with cheese added? My alfredo is butter, cream, and parmesan so it would be too thin for a pizza. Going to try a sauce like this this weekend.
Carla
Although not in the mood for pesto tonight, I have no meal plan for the week. Ran to the store on my lunch hour, grabbed some stuff for a few meal, ran by the house for the teens to put away groceries as I ran back to work (we live in a small town so all of this can be done during lunch if focused). I saw the french bread marked down to 70cents/loaf so went and grabbed some toppings. Will have to try the pesto/tomatoes some other time. Thanks for the reminder of a quick summer meal. 🙂
Jessica Fisher
I’m thinking I need to stock the freezer with this kind of bread loaf. 🙂
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup
Thank you for the timely suggestion! We have a very busy day today so this would be the perfect dinner. I think I’ll grab a few loaves on my way home. 🙂
Stephanie M.
I make these too. The topping ideas are endless. If I have leftover chicken, I slice that and make a chicken pizza. Other times, I top it with sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil for Pizza Marguerite. Sometimes, I top it with pepperoni, or if I have leftover sausage from a Sunday sauce that I made, I put that on it. And sometimes, I just feel like a plain pizza. Sometimes, I’ll buy French Bread just to make this because I have everything in the house other than the bread to make it. Then, if I make several loaves of it, I’ll freeze it for another time. No matter what’s on it, though, French Bread pizza is a wonderful way to put a fun, fast dinner on the table that everyone loves.
Andrea
I make this all the time! French bread pizzas, a fresh salad, and fresh fruit are this mama’s savior when it comes to a fast, easy supper.
One thing I do differently (because I live in Wisconsin and fresh tomato season is so fleeting – use a can of tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic. That way, I don’t have to deal with insipid tomatoes from the grocery store. 🙂
Come August, we slice the tomatoes thick, layer on that pesto, add slices of buffalo mozzarella, and grill it! 🙂
Jessica Fisher
Great idea on the tomatoes, drained?
Andrea
Yep! I just dump them in my little strainer, and squeeze them a bit to crush them up. I let them drain for a bit, and spread liberally on top of the pesto. I’ve never seen my people eat a meal I made so fast!
Also, this post really has me wishing for fresh tomato season and our all time favorite dish here…TOMATO PIE! 🙂
amy
That looks so delish! I’m definitely making getting a loaf of that bread and making that this week. Will be great to add into my meatless repertoire.
Thanks!