Pesto Cheesy Bread is a wonderful combination of fresh basil pesto and yummy garlic cheesy bread. It is so simple to make that we have had it twice this week already! If I am being honest, I am thinking about making some for lunch right now. All amazing things come in threes, right?!
The other day I was gathering fresh basil from the garden to make a very simple, but extremely delicious homemade basil pesto. (You can find my recipe here) I could eat pesto on just about anything, but my other half is a little more picky when it comes to “green stuff”. Actually, he’s pretty cautious when it comes to anything new that I come up with – hah! Thankfully he tries just about everything I make and I know him well enough to know what a winning combination would be when it came to this pesto!
I had already bought a few loaves of Italian bread so I could prep some garlic bread for the freezer. I figured I would use the same method and kick it up a notch with some pesto and extra cheese. The very worst case scenario here is that it wouldn’t be something he liked and then I would have to eat it all. That’s the type of risk I’m happily willing to take!
Making Garlic Cheesy Bread
The first thing I did was take my Italian loaf and cut it long ways to create two halves. See all those little pockets? Those are about to be filled with garlic butter and pesto!
Next, you’ll want to make a quick spread of garlic butter. I do this by combining a few tablespoons of butter and a little garlic powder. Then I layered on a couple heaping tablespoons of pesto on each half of bread and spread it out to the edges. After a generous sprinkle of mozzarella cheese, it’s all ready for the oven.
This bakes at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese melts and the edges of the bread start to brown and get crispy. I also broiled mine for a minute because I like my cheese bubbly and brown. Make sure you watch it carefully, though! If you are like me, it is easy to get distracted by kids, pets or a husband within those 60 seconds. There should be a rule that no one in the house is allowed to talk when the broiler is on…
The Final Result…
Look at all that cheesy goodness! And as for the picky eaters in the family? Everyone loved it! There is nothing better than watching your family go back for seconds, especially when they think it is something they won’t like!
I hope your friends and family enjoy this as much as we do!
If you like this butcher block, you can find it here. It stands up to all the kitchen use I have put it through and is SO easy to clean!
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5 Ingredient Pesto Cheesy Bread
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Italian bread
- 4 Tablespoons Pesto see below for my easy recipe
- 4 Tablespoons Butter softened
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Cut the French bread lengthwise to create two halves
- Combine softened butter and garlic powder, spread onto bread
- Spoon two heaping tablespoons of pesto onto each half of bread and spread to edges
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese on each half of bread
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese melts and starts to bubble. Broil for 1 minute, if desired (watch carefully!)
- Let cool for a few minutes and cut into sticks. Enjoy!
