chickenpesto5.jpg

Pesto Chicken French Bread Pizza

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One of the best deals that I snagged during our monthly grocery shopping trip was a pound and a half of organic basil marked down to 99 cents! It was such an incredible steal that I just couldn’t pass up. I knew I’d need to do something with it quickly though, since it was marked down for a reason.

So one of the first things I did after unloading groceries was make a huge batch of pesto. I love pesto! Plus, it’s the perfect treatment for prolonging the life of basil since it freezes so well. I like to freeze my pesto in ice cube trays so that I can just pop a cube or two into whatever I’m making (especially soups and spaghetti sauce) for an extra kick.

As soon as I tasted the pesto, I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied with just packing it all away in the freezer. I wanted to eat some immediately. So I quickly threw together some French bread pizzas and they were a huge hit all around.

chickenpesto5.jpg
Print Recipe

Pesto Chicken French Bread Pizza

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Appetizer

Ingredients

  • 1/2 – 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • Desired seasonings
  • 2 loaves French bread, halved lengthwise
  • 1 – 1 1/2 cup pesto
  • 2 cup Italian or pizza blend cheese

Instructions

  • Season chicken breasts to taste. (I used a Tuscan spice blend, but even just some simple salt and pepper would work.) Bake at 350 degrees until fully cooked, about 30 minutes. Let cool and cut into thin slices.
  • Spread pesto on each of the four halves of bread. Evenly layer the chicken pieces on top of the pesto.
  •  Cover completely with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, until cheese is completely melted and lightly golden brown.

Notes

If I had been thinking ahead a bit, I probably would have picked a big tomato to slice and add to our pizzas as well. That would have added some nice contrasting texture and color. But they were still great as is.
We enjoyed the pizzas for dinner with a salad and some grapes, but they’d work equally as well for an appetizer when entertaining.

 

Toni and Jen have been cooking up lots of great stuff in their kitchens, so don’t forget to visit The Happy Housewife and Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

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