This is what I like to call “eating color.”
There’s a lot of green here—in several different forms—and it works beautifully.
I want to call this bread, but I also want to call it pizza. Think of it as faux pizza on French bread: the easiest version since you don’t need to make dough. Buy a loaf, split it, and load it with bold flavors.
This is the ultimate party food. It may take a touch of effort, but it’s absolutely worth it.
It’s a riff on the buffalo chicken French breads I made years ago, and is perfect for game day, dinner, lunch—really any time. It’s reliably comforting, especially when you need a tasty distraction late at night.
When the world is full of dramatic TV finales and intense scenes, these French breads are the kind of food that makes everything feel a little better.
The bases are brushed with a generous drizzle of BBQ sauce, layered with cheese, chicken, bacon and caramelized shallots, then baked until the cheese is bubbly and the bread is crisp. After baking they’re topped with a blanket of fresh chives, scallions, cilantro and more BBQ sauce. Use your favorite sauce—you can mix sauces for more complexity. I used a staple bone-suckin’ style sauce and a vanilla bourbon BBQ blend; the combo was dangerously good.
It’s so satisfying you might find yourself tearing up a little from happiness.
BBQ Chicken French Breads
Yield:
4 to 6
1 hour
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 shallots, sliced
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 large French baguette, sliced in half
- 1 cup your favorite BBQ sauce
- 8 ounces fontina cheese, freshly grated
- 4 ounces white cheddar cheese, freshly grated
- 6 sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup snipped chives
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
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Heat a skillet over low heat and add 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter. Add the sliced shallots with a pinch of salt and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are caramelized and golden, about 15–20 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and cook another 5 minutes to deepen the flavor.
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Place the chicken in a bowl and toss with the brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper until evenly coated. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter. Cook the chicken until golden and cooked through, about 8–10 minutes, turning as needed. Remove from heat and toss with 1/3 cup of BBQ sauce.
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Spread a thin layer of BBQ sauce over each half of the bread. Sprinkle half of the fontina on both halves as a light layer to help ingredients stick. Top with the chicken, caramelized shallots and crumbled bacon, then cover with the remaining fontina and the white cheddar. Bake 15–20 minutes until cheese is golden, bubbly and the bread is toasted. Remove from the oven, drizzle with remaining BBQ sauce and top generously with sliced green onions, cilantro, parsley and chives. Slice into squares and serve.
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It’s Friday—devour it.