Garlic knots are such a satisfying treat. There is something about the soft warm toasted dough topped with garlic and butter. I have taken traditional garlic knots and turned them into something even better: Pesto and Mozzarella Stuffed Garlic Knots. I know that I have said this before, but I truly believe that cheese makes everything taste better. Stuffing the dough with cheese and pesto is an easy upgrade to a classic recipe.
I love how the melty mozzarella and pesto give these garlic knots a flavor boost. We might have eaten an entire plateful for lunch... and they were so scrumptious that we didn't even feel guilty. Do you see this cheesiness?! We loved the flavor combination of the mozzarella, pesto, garlic, and marinara sauce.
This recipe is super easy and it only takes about 15 minutes of preparation time. I used Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough which is extra thin and all ready to be stretched out. Just unroll the dough, spread it with a layer of pesto, and then cut strips of fresh mozzarella and wrap a layer of dough around it. Tie the dough into a knot, and top with a mix of crushed garlic and butter. Bake for 12-18 minutes and serve with warm marinara sauce.
Charles wanted his garlic knots to be extra cheesy, so we added an extra bit of spicy manchego cheese on top of some of the garlic knots. He insisted that these garlic knots were the best, but I think he was just proud of himself for contributing to the recipe. Honestly, I don't think that the extra cheese was necessary.
Before we get to the recipe, I should let you know that we really like garlic, so I added lots of it to this recipe. You can scale back the amount of garlic based on your preferences.
Ingredients
- 1 package of Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough
- about ⅓ cup Pesto
- 1 large ball of Mozzarella
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 3 cloves of Garlic
- Marinara sauce for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then roll out the dough into a big rectangle.
- Spread a thin layer of pesto over the dough.
- Cut the mozzarella into thin strips. Arrange the mozzarella along the edge of the dough and roll the dough up around the mozzarella and press to seal it. Use a knife to cut this section of dough free. Then slice it in half, tie in knots, and place on a baking sheet. Be sure to seal up the ends of the dough so that the mozzarella doesn't melt out.
- Continue this process, using up all of the dough.
- Melt the butter and stir in the garlic. Then brush all of the garlic knots with the garlic butter.
- Place the garlic knots in the oven to bake for 12-18 minutes, until golden brown.
- Warm up some marinara sauce for dipping and serve!
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