Roasted Garlic & Pesto Chicken Flatbread

You'd think after years of cooking—and making just about every kitchen mistake imaginable—I would have learned one simple lesson: read the entire recipe before I start cooking.

Apparently not.

I was already hungry when I got started on this recipe, only to discover that I needed roasted garlic. Not just garlic. Roasted garlic. So out came the foil, olive oil, and about five large cloves of garlic. Into the oven they went at 475°F for 45 minutes while I sat around getting hungrier by the minute.

By the time the garlic was done, I was absolutely ravenous.

I'll admit, I briefly considered taking a shortcut and using jarred garlic instead. But when a recipe title includes the words roasted garlic and pesto, it feels wrong to ignore half the title. And wow, am I glad I didn't. The sweet, mellow roasted garlic paired with the pesto was what made this pizza so incredibly good.

I made one other change. Since reheated chicken isn't really my thing, I sautéed some chopped chicken breast and scattered it over the flatbread before baking. Those little pieces of chicken crisped up beautifully, adding the most amazing texture to every bite.

At the last minute, I spotted half a shallot sitting in the refrigerator begging to be used, so I tossed that on too. Another excellent decision. The slight bite from the shallot balanced the richness of the pesto and roasted garlic perfectly.

The best part? I have enough ingredients left to make another one for lunch tomorrow. And if it's even half as good as tonight's, that's a win in my book.

Roasted Garlic & Pesto Chicken Flatbread

Recipe from The Wicked Noodle

Serves 2

• 2 6-inch flatbreads, or one 12-inch
• 1 head roasted garlic
• 2 heaping tablespoons basil pesto, homemade or store-bought
• 1 - 1 ½ cups shredded rotisserie or leftover chicken
• ½ cup shredded cheese, such as mozzarella or a cheese blend
• 2 heaping tablespoons shredded parmesan
• fresh basil leaves, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place flatbreads on baking sheet.

Spread roasted garlic over flatbreads. Spread 1 heaping tablespoon pesto over each flatbread on top of roasted garlic. Add chicken then both cheeses.

Bake for 8-12 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted and just starting to brown.