Pesto Chicken Flatbread
Pesto chicken flatbread has a homemade pesto base and is made with mozzarella cheese, juicy chicken, and veggies on a flatbread crust. Enjoy this quick and easy recipe for your next pizza night. It’s dairy free with a gluten free option.
Looking for more recipes using pesto? Try my creamy sun dried tomato pesto chicken, dairy free salmon pesto pasta, or 15 minutes pesto rosso pasta.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this chicken and pesto flatbread:
- Leftover rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken – this can be either chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- Olive oil
- Flatbread – either store-bought flatbreads or homemade. I used this flatbread recipe, but instead of making 6 small flatbreads as the recipe suggested, I made mine into two larger flatbreads.
- Mozzarella cheese – dairy free mozzarella, sliced fresh mozzarella, shredded mozzarella, etc. Anything will work. I used Miyoko’s pourable cashew milk mozzarella for one of them.
- Pistachio basil pesto – This takes the place of tomato sauce and is made with fresh basil leaves, roasted pistachios, nutritional yeast, garlic cloves, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Cherry tomatoes – could also use grape tomatoes or another variety.
- Red bell pepper
How to Make Chicken Pesto Flatbread: Step By Step
Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!
- Prepare flatbreads. Preheat your oven to 450ºF/230ºC and add the flatbreads to an unlined baking sheet or two depending on their size.
- Assemble flatbread. Spoon ⅓ cup of pesto onto each flatbread, leaving about ½-inch space around the edges. Then top with mozzarella cheese of choice, chicken pieces, halved cherry tomatoes and red bell pepper slices.
- Bake. Bake flatbreads for 7-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil if desired. Cut into slices and enjoy!
Helpful Tips
- Use leftover chicken to turn this into a quick and easy meal.
- Make your own pesto instead of buying store-bought. The flavor is exponentially better and fresher. Plus, the majority of store-bought pesto contains dairy.
Quick Tip: The cooking times may vary depending on the thickness of the flatbread. For an extra crispy crust, place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, watching closely so it doesn’t burn.
Storage
Store leftover flatbread in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this easy chicken pesto flatbread using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No flatbread? – you can also use pita bread or naan bread if not dairy free.
- Use another type of fresh pesto – sun-dried tomato pesto, arugula pesto, sauteed green onion pesto, etc.
- Make it gluten free – use your favorite gluten-free flatbread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely. Grill on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes for an added smoky flavor.
To get more veggies into the flatbread, I recommend making zucchini pesto for the base. Otherwise, you can serve it with a side dish like my shaved cucumber fennel salad or Italian green bean salad.
More Flatbread Recipes
I hope you love this Pesto Chicken Flatbread! If you make this recipe, please leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Pesto Chicken Flatbread
Ingredients
- 2 flatbreads either homemade or store-bought
- ⅔ cup pistachio pesto or pesto of choice, see ideas below
- mozzarella cheese of choice to taste
- 1 cup cubed cooked chicken
- ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 small red bell pepper diced
Instructions
- Prepare flatbreads. Preheat your oven to 450ºF/230ºC and add the flatbreads to an unlined baking sheet or two depending on their size.
- Assemble flatbread. Spoon ⅓ cup of pesto onto each flatbread, leaving about ½-inch space around the edges. Then top with mozzarella cheese of choice, chicken pieces, halved cherry tomatoes and red bell pepper.
- Bake. Bake flatbreads for 7-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil if desired. Cut into slices and enjoy!