This spinach pesto flatbread is quick and easy to make, healthy, and tasty! The pesto is creamy and perfectly seasoned, slathered on warm flatbread, and topped with crisp mixed greens, juicy tomatoes, and stretchy, melted mozzarella. It's the perfect combo!
When we're busy but still want to be kind of healthy, we make our favorite flatbread with spinach pesto spread! Because pestos are so versatile, we can easily top it with whatever's in our fridge, and it'll still taste amazing. But so far, our favorite topping combination to this spinach pesto flatbread is baking the flatbread with spinach pesto, mozzarella balls, and cherry tomatoes. Then top it with mixed greens and sometimes a generous drizzle of balsamic glaze. It's so very good!
What is pesto?
Pesto is an Italian sauce traditionally made of basil leaves, hard Italian cheese like Parmesan Reggiano, pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil. It's commonly used as a spread, dip, pasta sauce, pizza sauce, salad dressing, etc.
How do I keep my pesto green?
One of the most iconic thing about pestos is their vibrant green color. To keep pestos vibrant green, it is very important to make sure that the basil or whatever greens used are not over-blended. So make sure to blend pestos just until they're smooth and creamy.
Can I use pre-grated parmesan cheese?
I highly recommend grating fresh parmesan cheese yourself to avoid adding any extra starch or additives. The added starches may give your pesto an unwanted texture. Plus, fresh parmesans have much better flavor than the pre-grated ones. But, if you only have pre-grated parmesan, it'll be okay.
Must I use nuts in my pesto?
Traditionally, pesto contains pine nuts to help make it creamier. Nowadays, pine nuts have been swapped for whatever nuts available. Our favorite nut to use in place of pine nuts is cashew. But the main question is, are nuts really necessary? Taste-wise, no it's not. However, to call a sauce pesto, it has to have nuts. Otherwise, it is considered pistou, or a french pesto without nuts.
Why does my pesto look oily?
There are a couple possibilities to why your pesto look oily. One, it could simply be that there's too much oil. Second, it may be because the pesto was overheated from too much blending in the food processor or blender. When pestos get blended for too long, the blender can heat and melt the cheese which "breaks" the sauce. Also, over-blending can brown the basils or whatever green used, which will turn the pesto an unappealing color.
What kind of toppings can I have on my flatbread?
It's really up to you what kind of toppings you want to add onto the flatbread, but for this particular recipe with spinach pesto, we recommend fresh, light toppings. We love to add mixed greens, cherry or grape tomatoes, and mozzarella to our spinach pesto flatbread. But, feel free to add red onions, sausage, mushrooms, or whatever you like.
Do I need to bake my flatbread after adding my toppings?
This is really up to personal preference whether you bake or keep all your toppings fresh. We really like our spinach pesto flatbread baked after spreading the spinach and topping it with mozzarella and tomatoes. I mean, melted cheese is the best, right? But of course, I'd keep the mix greens off the flatbread until it cools slightly to prevent wilting.
Should I make my own flatbread?
Absolutely! If possible, I'd always opt for making my own homemade flatbread. Not only does it taste better, There's zero preservative or additives in homemade flatbreads, so I know exactly what I'm eating. If you want to make your own flatbread, try our 4 ingredient flatbread recipe! It's super easy to make, with only 4 ingredients (really), and you can have flatbread ready in 20 minutes or less. There's no proofing and waiting around because it's a fast flatbread that doesn't require any yeast.
If you're looking for other bread and spread recipes, check these out:
Cook with love!
Mei ❤️
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📖 Recipe
Spinach Pesto Flatbread
Ingredients
For the spinach pesto:
- 2 cup baby spinach , packed
- ½ cup grated parmesan , packed
- ¼ cup basil leaves , packed
- ¼ cup cashew nut (or your preferred nut)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup olive oil (or extra virgin)
For the flatbread:
- 6 flatbread
- 15 cherry tomato , halved (or grape tomato)
- 5 ounce mini mozzarella ball , halved
- 2.5 ounce mixed greens (or your preferred amount)
- 3 Tablespoon balsamic glaze (optional)
Instructions
For the spinach pesto:
- Combine everything for the pesto into a food processor, except for the basil leaves and olive oil. Give the food processor a couple of pulse then slowly stream in the olive oil while blending on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the food processor as needed.*If needed, add half of the olive oil to the spinach mixture before blending to give the food processor some fluidity.*
- Once all the olive oil has been incorporated, add the basil leaves and blend on low to medium speed just until the pesto looks creamy. DO NOT blend on high speed or for too long. Over-blending the pesto will brown the mixture.
For the flatbread:
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Divide the pesto amongst the six flatbread and evenly spread the pesto on each flatbread, leaving about ¼ inch space from the edge.
- Scatter the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls on each flatbread and bake them for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the flatbread is kind of crispy. Remove from the oven and let the flatbreads cool for just a couple moments.*It is totally optional to bake the flatbread. The main purpose of baking is to melt the mozzarella and to crispen up the flatbread. If you prefer a fresher pesto and don't mind the flatbread not being super crispy, feel free to skip the baking.*
- Sprinkle a generous bunch of mixed greens onto each flatbread and drizzle with some balsamic glaze. Cut the flatbreads into smaller pieces with a knife or pizza cutter.Enjoy!
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