Can you believe it’s the week of Thanksgiving already?! I can’t. I know it’s cliché, but I really don’t know where time goes. Today, tomorrow, and Wednesday I’ll be sharing three appetizer/side dish recipes for all of you last-minute planners! Starting today, obviously, I’m sharing this beauty of an appetizer. Tons of cheese, crusty Italian bread, tangy, chewy sundried tomatoes, and garlicky basil pesto. All baked together into a pull-apart bread! I could seriously eat this stuff all day, every day, and never get tired of it.
Plus, it’s SO easy, and only 7 ingredients. Such a no brainer. I used homemade pesto, because I love making it home, and it’s so much fresher and more flavorful than store bought, in my opinion. But if you’re in a time crunch, I won’t judge if you use store bought!
For this pesto, I just used basil, walnuts, garlic, parm, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I make a ton of different varieties, sometimes with kale, flat-leaf parsley, arugula, and whatever herbs I have on hand. You really can’t mess the stuff up. This pesto I made a couple years ago would be awesome to use for this recipe too!
I love this bread because it’s a lot simpler than a lot of the apps I’m used to making. I tend to go a little overboard on the difficulty of appetizers, and not realizing the time it takes to make them. Then, I end up serving dinner a lot later than intended. I can’t help it though, apps are my fave! There’s nothing like having a bunch of bites of different things. I could seriously graze all day.
Kids, adults, really anyone will love this. Total crowd pleaser. I really don’t know what’s better than warm, crusty bread, cheese, and pesto. Am I right?!
Cheesy Pesto Sundried Tomato Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
- 4 ounces fontina cheese, freshly grated
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, freshly grated or torn into small pieces
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 loaf crusty Italian bread (I used a circular loaf)
- 3/4 cup pesto, homemade or store bought
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped (I use the jarred tomatoes packed in oil and herbs)
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375℉. Using a serrated bread knife, make 1-inch diagonal cuts through the loaf of bread, not cutting through to the bottom (leave the bottom of the crust intact!). Next, make diagonal cuts in the opposite direction, creating a "criss-cross" pattern.
Pour the melted butter into the crevices of the bread. Next, spoon the pesto into the crevices of the bread, spreading it around evenly. Add the chopped sundried tomatoes into the crevices of the bread. Lastly, push the cheeses down into the crevices of the bread. Some will end up just covering the top if you run out of room..this is ok! Sprinkle the top with the grated parmesan.
- Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil after this time, and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden. Unwrap and let cool for a few minutes, then sprinkle with additional parm if desired and serve!
HOOOOOLY DROOL. Late night snack, anyone? This looks absolutely, positively amazing.
Hahah thanks so much Karly!! I could totally go for some right now!
Perfect holiday appetizer! The red from the sundried tomatoes and the green from the pesto are beautiful! The combination of ingredients is delicious and a perfect pairing, thank you for posting!
Thank you so much Nicole!