Published August 22, 2020

I visited my sister’s house for a shopping day and she made an amazing pesto pizza for a snack. Inspired by that treat, I decided to see if I could make my own caprese pesto appetizer, using the fresh ingredients from my garden.

I found the Midwest Foodie’s no yeast dough recipe on Pinterest, so I decided to turn my caprese appetizer into a flatbread!

Ingredients for Caprese Pesto Flatbread

The dough for this recipe is Midwest Foodie’s recipe, which I love because it doesn’t require yeast. The toppings for this recipe are classic caprese flavors inspired by what I grew in my garden this year.

My sister’s recipe which uses pesto (my favorite), was an additional ingredient which I added to this flatbread. You can follow my homemade pesto recipe to make your own, or use store-bought.

How to Make Caprese Pesto Flatbread

Tools for this Dish

• Food processor

  • Rubber spatula

• Rolling pin

• Cookie sheet

  • Fork and brush

• Tablespoons/teaspoons for toppings

• Pizza cutter or sharp knife

• Platter or cutting board for serving

Cooking Notes

The Dough

I could tell the minute that I removed the dough from the food processor that it was going to be amazing. It was much fluffier than the pre-bought dough I used for the curry hand pies.

The dough was tacky as you first start to work with it, so make sure you flour your counter and hands.

When I first rolled out my dough, I rolled it super thin. Unfortunately, the dough ripped when I tried to lift it onto the cookie sheet. I kneaded it again and rolled it into a new shape so it was easier to move without tearing.

Flatbread Toppings

I used my homemade tomato sauce for this caprese flatbread. Normally, I would like a lot more sauce on the crust, however, I was mindful not to add too many toppings that would prevent the crust from crisping.

Now that I’ve made this once, I would add more sauce, especially closer to the edges of the crust, for additional flavor. Feel free to add as much as you prefer. Keep in mind that the moisture from the fresh tomatoes and mozzarella will also contribute to the weight of each slice when your flatbread is cooked, so try not to overload it with too many toppings.

Also note, that your fresh basil is added at the end of the cooking process. Since the oven is at such a high temperature, any fresh basil added while cooking will become dry and flavorless.

Cook Time

Once I added my toppings, I cooked the flatbread for 5-minutes until I saw that the cheese was melted. I did not want my cheese to brown, so I removed it and served it right away.

By this point, the flatbread crust had crisped enough to lift away in slices when serving. However, my olive oil coating did not make the crust golden or brown. Next time, I will leave the flatbread to cook for a little longer to see if it helps with the color.

Storage and Serving

I only used half of the dough for this recipe. I wrapped the other half in plastic wrap and will use it again this weekend for another flatbread. Midwest Foodie says you can freeze the uncooked dough or cook and freeze the crust to use at a later time.

The Final Product

I was excited to see how fancy the final caprese pesto flatbread looked! Sweet basil leaves, thin crust flatbread, gooey mozzarella cheese, and homemade tomato sauce creates a delicious and fresh appetizer.

Recipe Score

I would give this caprese pesto flatbread a 9/10 for the following:

• Recipe Level

  • Easy: The flatbread dough for this recipe is simple to make. Flatbreads, unlike pizza, are supposed to be oval shaped. Since you cut the flatbread into different triangles anyway, you don’t have to stress about rolling your dough into an even shape.
    
    Add your toppings in an even layer and bake until melted. Ta-da! A delicious and fresh flatbread.

• Ingredients

  • If you don’t use ingredients from a garden, you can easily purchase them at a local farmers market or supermarket. Since the Midwest Foodie’s flatbread dough doesn’t require yeast, you more than likely already have everything you need in your pantry to make this caprese pesto flatbread.

• Prep

  • Preheat your oven and make sure you have all of your ingredients measured and ready to go before you start cooking.

• Flavor

  • 9/10: You can’t beat a recipe that uses fresh and homemade ingredients. Sweet, homemade tomato sauce, fresh picked tomatoes and basil, and bold pesto makes for a tasty flatbread appetizer.

K. Martinelli Makes Caprese Pesto Flatbread

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