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Warm, cheesy, and ridiculously easy to make, these pesto cheese bombs are the kind of appetizer that disappears the second they hit the table.
Buttery biscuit dough wrapped around melty mozzarella and coated in basil pesto bakes into gooey perfection. Serve them with warm marinara, and you’ve got everyone’s new favorite snack.
Reasons You’ll Want to Make This
Let’s be honest. Bread and melted cheese are already a match made in heaven. Add pesto, and it’s game over. These little bites are golden on the outside and pull-apart soft on the inside, with just enough pesto to make your kitchen smell like an Italian restaurant.
You don’t need any special ingredients or skills either. Store-bought biscuit dough (which is what I use to make my famous monkey bread), string cheese, and jarred pesto work perfectly here. I’ve made plenty of versions over the years, but this one’s my go-to pesto mozzarella sticks alternative because it’s faster, less messy, and even more delicious.
What You’ll Need To Make It
Full ingredients and quantities are in the recipe card below, but here is a quick summary.
You’ll need biscuit dough, mozzarella cheese sticks, pesto, and marinara sauce for dipping.
Each piece of dough wraps around a cube of cheese, gets coated in pesto, and bakes until golden and bubbling. If you love pesto biscuits or pesto dough balls, you’ll fall for this one.
How to Make Pesto Cheese Bombs
Full step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below, but here is a quick summary.
- Split the biscuit dough into small portions, wrap each around a piece of mozzarella, and seal it into a ball.
- Roll each ball in pesto until fully coated, then arrange them in a ring around a ramekin filled with marinara sauce.
- Bake until puffed and golden, and you’ll know they’re ready when the cheese starts to peek out.
Substitutions and Variations
These cheesy bites are endlessly adaptable.
• Try different cheeses: fontina, provolone, gouda, or cheddar all melt beautifully.
• Use homemade or store-bought pesto (traditional basil pesto, kale, Macadamia Gouda Pesto, or even sun-dried tomato).
• Turn them into pesto cheese sticks by baking them in rows instead of a ring.
• Sprinkle grated Parmesan on top before baking for extra flavor.
Learn From Me
I’ve made these for game days, holiday parties, and random Tuesday nights when I just wanted something cheesy.
My best tip: place foil under your pan. The pesto and cheese can bubble over, and while it smells amazing, it’s a pain to scrub off the oven rack.
Bake until you see the first sign of melted cheese, and then resist the urge to grab one right away. Trust me, the molten center will burn your fingertips in the most delicious way possible.
More Game Day Appetizer Recipes
If you’re looking to put out a spread, you may want to try some of these other favorite recipes.
- Italian Cheese Bombs
- Spicy Ranch Chicken Wings
- Warm Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Loaded Potato Skins
- Ranch Jalapeno Poppers
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Ingredients
- 16 ounces biscuit dough (the kind from the tube)
- 4 mozzarella string cheese sticks
- 1/2 cup pesto
- butter for greasing
- 1 cup marinara sauce warmed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a ramekin or ceramic bowl in the center of a springform pan and grease the inside edges of the pan as well as the outside of the bowl to prevent sticking.
- Split each biscuit into two by dividing the layers, totaling 16 ounces biscuit dough. Cut each of the 4 mozzarella string cheese sticks into quarters. Wrap each chunk of cheese in the biscuit dough and seal edges to create a ball.
- Add pesto to a small bowl and roll each ball of dough in the 1/2 cup pesto to coat. Add to the pan in a ring shape and cover with any remaining pesto. Bake with a layer of foil under the pan to catch any grease that might leak out for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and some melted cheese is visible.
- Add warmed 1 cup marinara sauce to the center dish for dipping. Serve hot.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
You reckon this could be prepped the night before and put in the fridge?
I need to have it ready tomorrow, so might just see how that works.
I think it would work. I would just set them out at room temperature for a good 30min before baking. Let me know how they turn out!
I made this recipe as an appetizer for a dinner party. Cooked them for 30 min at 375, as per instructions on the biscuit tube. They were fantastic! Thanks!
These are delicious and easy to make!
Don’t kill me…..Not a big fan of pesto. Can you use something other than pesto for this recipe????
Gasp! You don’t like pesto? Just messing with you. Honestly, a nice olive oil with some minced garlic would work great!
Can these be frozen for a couple days? I need them in 4 days but don’t want them to dry out.
I think as long as you let them cool first and then wrap them super tight and squeeze out all the air, they’d be fine.
Is it possible to use a different kind of cheese, not cheese sticks?
Hi Maureen. Absolutely! Whole milk mozzarella is all you need. I prefer the firmer block as opposed to the soft one floating in liquid. -Krissy
Just made this appetizer for a wine party I went to this past weekend. It was a good choice everyone loved them. It was also easy & fun to make with my teenager, I’ll definitely make them again!
Thanks, Stephanie! Glad you enjoyed them!
Hi Krissy,
Do you think I could make these in a bundt pan like granny bread?
Yep! You’ll just need to adjust the time so they all get cooked through. Maybe lower temp to prevent burning but longer cook time? Or cover to keep from burning?
Anyway to take these to a work potluck for lunch and serve warm? Could they be baked night before and the placed in crockpot to reheat?
I think they taste best when eaten freshly baked. If it were me, I would prep them in the morning and then bake them in the slow cooker at work. I’m just not sure how long they would take.
I need an appetizer for a church Christmas party and i want to bake this into the shape of a Christmas tree and use pepperoni like ornaments.
Great idea!!!
These look delicious! Can you use pizza dough or do your recommend sticking to the biscuit dough?
Hi Kimberly, I actually think pizza dough might be even better! Krissy