WOW!...is all I can say about this ooey gooey Italian Stuffed Cheesy Bread Bowl. It is jam packed with 4 different cheeses, olives, onions, garlic and pepped up with spicy pepperoni.
The bread is a 6” round homemade bread bowl, so easy to make! If you like you can even sub a small store-bought bread loaf. Just make sure it’s crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. Baguettes work, too. Make them any size, adjusting the amount of cheesy mix you stuff inside and make sure you check it as you bake it...just right for bestie sharing.
This is a delicious side for a heaping plate of spaghetti with meat sauce. The warm crusty bread with the cheeses oozing over the edge is soooo good. But, don’t burn your fingers!
This recipe will serve 4.
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
Prepare your baking vessel:
I use a ceramic bowl that’s bigger around than the bread bowl. I usually place a round piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the ceramic bowl to make clean up easy and to release the bread bowl easily.
Gather up your Ingredients:
1 Homemade Bread Bowl, 6” round
1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ C Mozzarella cheese
¼ C Parmesan cheese
¼ C Pepper jack cheese with jalapeno inside
¼ C Cheddar cheese
¼ C Onion, diced
1-2 Garlic cloves, diced
20 Olives, green stuffed with pimento
20 Pepperoni slices, quartered
1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 T Butter, melted
First slice the top off the homemade bread bowl.
-Hollow out the bread bowl with a spoon, leaving a ½-3/4” wall around inside the entire bowl and the same for the bottom. I usually cut a puck shaped piece of bread out of the middle, saving the puck for dipping.
-With one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, brush it all around the top of the rim on the bread bowl. This will give it a nice golden brown and crusty rim as it bakes.
-Set the homemade bread bowl in the baking vessel and set aside.
-Dice 15 of the green olives and set aside.
-Slice the other 5 green olives and set aside for layering on the top of the bread bowl later.
-Quarter the pepperoni slices and set aside. Save a few for layering on top of the bread bowl later.
-In a mixing bowl, combine all the cheeses, diced olives and quartered pepperoni pieces.
-Drizzle the melted butter and extra virgin olive over the top and mix thoroughly.
-Lightly pack all these goodies inside the bread bowl.
-Place the extra pepperoni pieces and the halved green olives over the top, poking them in place.
-Feel free to sprinkle a little more parmesan cheese over the top.
-What to do with the top you sliced off the homemade bread bowl? Drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil and let it bake in the oven to get crispy along with the bread bowl. It’s a great option for someone who isn’t very excited about a super cheesy bread bowl.
-What if there’s too much of the cheese mixture? Use the rest to sprinkle over your spaghetti. It’s really adds more interesting flavors!
-Place the cheese stuffed bread bowl in the baking dish and bake at 350F degrees for 20 minutes.
-Check it at 20 minutes to see how the cheese is melting. We like the cheese completely melted so it’s overflowing the bread bowl. That takes another 10-15 minutes. The rim of the bread bowl should be a golden brown. It should look pretty yummy!
-Let it set for about 5 minutes before cutting. That gives you plenty of time to get the spaghetti plated.
-Slice the Italian Cheesy Homemade Bread Bowl in quarters and place one alongside the delicious mound of spaghetti on each of four plates. It’s great for dipping and stringing into the spaghetti sauce.
How about trying some tasty options:
-There are so many variations you can do with this recipe. Substitute other types of cheese, just make sure you have at least one type that has a good melting property. Combine different flavors of cheese. Add herbs and spices. Mix in some heat – peppers!
-Make a long oblong bread bowl by cutting off the top of a long crusty French bread loaf and hollowing it out. Stuff the cheese mixture inside, mounding it over the top. Place the olive slices and extra pepperoni pieces over the top. Be sure to brush the rim all around with extra virgin olive oil. Bake 20 minutes, then check it for melting cheese and a light golden-brown rim on the bread. Bake it longer if you need to.
-Slice a baguette into thick slices but don’t slice all the way through to the bottom. Squeeze the tops of the slices apart and stuff the cheese mixture down in between them. Spread more of the cheese mixture all over the top. Top with green olives and pepperoni slices. Bake the same at 350F degrees for 20 minutes.
- Mix in diced veggies including sweet green and red peppers, extra onions, even broccoli! To tell the truth, the first time I made this, I wanted more green in the mixture for more color so I diced some broccoli florets really tiny and stirred them in. It did not affect the flavor, just added a little more color to it.
This is a delicious homemade bread to add to a great plate of spaghetti. Cut it large or small for enjoying along with your pasta. Or use it as a dipper to sop up the wonderful flavors of your spaghetti. However you enjoy it, make sure you “Bake your own Memories!”