Pesto and Mozzarella French Bread Pizza Recipe (2024)

Just use Costco pesto! One of the very best reasons to buy a Costco membership.

Variations: maybe try adding some blanched broccoli florets (cut into small pieces) and/or some seitan crumbles just before adding the cheese. Za'atar instead of oregano would be tasty And sprinkle some parmesan along with the mozzarella for the last step. Looking forward to trying this one.

I absolutely love a white pie (not so much made from french bread, though), and pesto is mandatory in my house. But, after oily results (whether the pesto goes on the crust or on top of the cheese, the oil separates in the heat), I now toss my uncooked veg toppings in not-too-much pesto, which beautifully roasts the onions, garlic, peppers or anything else. Also, sharp provolone mixed with asiago is a great cheese option.

Diamond Crystal apparently has less salt in a given volume because of how the crystals are formed - they’re bigger so they don’t pack in as densely. So if you’re using a different salt, use less (by volume) than the recipe says or it will turn out too salty. By weight, they are the same.

Costco's pesto recipe changed 7 years ago - the cheese taste taking up too much space, diluting the basil. Now I combine a couple cups of spinach or arugula along with a scoop of Costco pesto - great taste and better vitamin counts.

It's less salty than Morton's. So if the recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal, but you only have Morton's kosher salt, then you would add 1/4 teaspoon of Morton's as it's twice as salty as Diamond Crystal.

Thinly spread pesto. Good simple

We make pizza on all kinds of bread including French but also pitas and flour tortillas. I also make my own crust and make pizza that way but boy is it nice and easy to sub something else out for the crust.

Yeah … but sometimes a French bread “pizza” is just THE thing. It’s not trying to be pizza dough pizza: it’s sort of like what might happen if you marry garlic bread and pizza…it is what it is and that’s good! IMHO

Added banana pepper rings

Greek pizza on naan - so much better than cheesy bread, Roma tomatoes, kalimari olives, spinach, olive oil and feta cheese.

Not to throw cold water on a recipe, but I suggest everyone who ends up here should be aware of the Roberta’s pizza dough recipe on this site. Double the recipe and the dough freezes beautifully - it greatly facilitates easy weeknight pizza.

My family loved this! So versatile and tasty. Thanks Dawn Perry for another easy weeknight dinner.

This is a good reminder that dinner can be delish and doesn’t have to be over complicated. We stole this recipe for use with tomato bean soup. And discussed at dinner how we will make these pizzas as the actual main event next week (already did the shopping for this week).

This was surprisingly yummy as I wasn't sure what to expect. I purchased country french loaves at Costco, so freshly baked this AM. I had been to HMart on Saturday and picked up fresh basil there as I find all store bought pesto to be oily and NEVER as good as what I make. I did end up adding more basil to the pesto as it was a bit oily, which I do with my own pesto since I mostly eyeball what I'm putting in it. I found this to be a quick and easy meal for lunch and will make it again.

Doubled the recipe to yield one pint.

Any suggestions on what to do with the leftover bread that’s scooped out??

Use a Molcajete or a mortar and pestle to grind the pesto, it releases so much more flavor. If you don’t have a Molcajete, or a mortar and pestle, freeze the garlic, and the basil for 15 minutes, process in your food processor as the recipe tells you to. The key to more flavor is bursting the cells of the aromatics rather than slicing.I learned this from J Kenji Lopez-Alt. It’s changed the way I make pesto and guacamole. Tip, if you do make the guacamole, go to light on the onion.

Fantastic. I use pumpkin seeds instead of pine nuts in my pesto, but otherwise, I really enjoyed making and eating this weeknight meal that will surely become a staple!

Costco pesto with steamed broccoli mixed in. Added prosciutto and sliced cherry tomatoes - the fam gobbled it up.

I completely ruined this recipe by using store-bought arugula-parsley pesto that turned out to be borderline inedible. Oh well, lesson learned. Next time, I'll stick to the recipe!

I used commercial (refrigerated) pesto from Rana. I had no idea of the fat/calorie content! I used an Italian bread loaf (all that was available at the store when I was there). The brushed-on olive oil + the pesto made the pizza very oily/greasy.

I loved this. I can barely make toast and I made these super great French bread pesto pizzas tonight.

Such an easy work nite meal, especially when accompanied by a generous salad. Don't do Costco, so used the fresh pesto made by a local store, and it did the trick. (Made sure to mix it up while spooning on so that there wouldn't be the oil separation issue mentioned.) Only had those little mozzarella balls on hand but, sliced up, they worked like a charm, too. So did the garnish suggestions. Timing perfect. Didn't wait 5 minutes to bite down :D Yum.

1/28/22 Excellent! Put quartered grape tomatoes under the fresh mozzarella- recommended!

Question... I'm pretty new to pesto and was told to never heat it because it breaks it down and doesn't taste good. That obviously goes against this recipe... Was I given bad advice? Or is 'ruined' pesto perfectly fine?

Why is it necessary to scoop out the bread? This is not a bulky topping.

I turned this into a sandwich and added roasted red peppers and a huge handfull of fresh spinach. The pesto did get extra oily but the bread soaked it up. I never could get the cheese to toast without the bread getting a little too dark around the edges. I used fresh mozzarella packed in water sliced very thin. This was an easy weeknight dinner that was also very satisfying.

This was surprisingly yummy as I wasn't sure what to expect. I purchased country french loaves at Costco, so freshly baked this AM. I had been to HMart on Saturday and picked up fresh basil there as I find all store bought pesto to be oily and NEVER as good as what I make. I did end up adding more basil to the pesto as it was a bit oily, which I do with my own pesto since I mostly eyeball what I'm putting in it. I found this to be a quick and easy meal for lunch and will make it again.

My family loved this! So versatile and tasty. Thanks Dawn Perry for another easy weeknight dinner.