Looking for an easy, incredibly delicious dish that can serve as an appetizer, side or main dish? Look no further than these Cheesy Pesto Buns! This recipe uses storebought dough, pesto (although see below for notes on an easy homemade pesto) and mozzarella. It’s great for game days, appetizers, side dishes at a potluck or even dinner! Although they take time to thaw and rise, let me tell you these are cheesy pesto heaven 🙂
You can use a homemade dough but to save time I like to use these from the frozen aisle. To make the thawing process easy, I line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Evenly space the 12 rolls, about 1-2 inches apart to give them space to rise. Then cover them with saran wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Do not skip this step! Otherwise the wrap will stick to the dough. I turn my oven on for 30 seconds, turn it off and place the dough in there to rise for 2 hours.
TIPS FOR MAKING THE PESTO HOMEMADE:
I love making homemade pesto but sometimes I don’t have the ingredients so for this recipe I’ll use store bought. If you’re looking for an easy, great pesto recipe, click here! All of the ingredients go into food processor, no prep required, and you blend until smooth. Fresh pesto will last for about a week in the refrigerator or frozen for up to 6 months. If you’ve ever attempted homemade pesto before you may have been disappointed when it quickly turned brown. That doesn’t mean it went bad, it’s just the basil changing color after being chopped up. After some trial and error I found the key to keeping its bright green color: blanching the basil before blending it. This pesto will stay green all week long!
This recipe is so easy and uses only a few ingredients. If you end up trying them please leave a rating and comment below! 🙂
Cheesy Pesto Buns
Ingredients
For the buns:
- 12 frozen raw dinner rolls I use Rhodes!
- 1 8 oz container of mozzarella balls 24 in total
- ½ cup pesto
For the garlic butter:
- ½ cup butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp salt
Dip
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- fresh herbs like basil and parsley
Instructions
For the buns:
- Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray and evenly space out 12 frozen raw dinner rolls (I use Rhodes). Cover with saran wrap sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and allow to rise 2 hours.
For the garlic butter:
- Melt the butter and add in the garlic and Italian seasoning. Set aside until needed.
For assembly:
- Once the dough is soft and has doubled in size you will fill them! Line a cast iron skillet with parchment paper and set aside. Spray hands lightly with nonstick spray and press the dough into about 3 -inch circles. Spread about 2 teaspoons of pesto on the dough, leaving about ¼ of dough around the edges so the pesto does not leak out. Place two mozzarella balls in and pinch the dough to seal. Place the pinched end down in the pan and evenly space. Cover with saran wrap sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 350. Remove the saran wrap and brush the tops of the buns with the garlic butter mixture. Bake according the the instructions on the dough bag, about 15-18 minutes or until they are baked through and golden on top.
- After the come out of the oven brush with remaining garlic butter and sprinkle with grated parmesan and fresh herbs. Serve with marinara or extra pesto and enjoy!
Dan
Sp good, 11/10