Loaded Focaccia

By Melissa Clark

Updated Dec. 10, 2024

Loaded Focaccia
Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Total Time
15 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(124)
Comments
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Beautiful to behold, fun to eat and a snap to make, these loaded focaccias are like charcuterie boards, but with an edible base. You can use any kind of flatbread to make them, but thick pieces of focaccia work particularly well, holding their own against whatever is on top. The key here is to choose a few toppings that work well together, like figs or persimmons, blue cheese and walnuts, or Parmesan, arugula, salami and pepperoncini. Or, use one combination of ingredients for one side of the focaccia and another for the other side. Just bear in mind that keeping things simple will look and taste the most harmonious.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 12 servings
  • 1½cups whole-milk ricotta or 6 tablespoons salted butter
  • 1(9-by-12-inch) store-bought focaccia, or use flatbread or prepared pizza crust
  • 2tablespoons chopped fresh herbs
  • Flaky sea salt, as needed
  • Hot or plain honey, as needed
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
  • Toppings of choice (see Tip)
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Spread ricotta or butter generously on top of focaccia. Top with herbs, sprinkle with salt and drizzle with honey or olive oil if you like. Use a serrated knife to cut focaccia into 1½- to 2-inch pieces, then push the pieces back together.

  2. Step 2

    Top with any combination of your favorite toppings (see Tip). To finish, drizzle with olive oil or hot honey (or both) and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Tip
  • Top your focaccia with any of the following: prosciutto, salami, baby arugula or baby kale, cherry tomatoes (halved if large), olives, thinly sliced red onion, radicchio (sliced into ribbons), sliced persimmon, toasted walnuts, shaved Parmesan, crumbled blue cheese, bocconcini or mozzarella (torn into pieces), capers, pepperoncini, anchovies or sardines.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
124 user ratings
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Comments

K Moodus

DARN. This looks so great but I was hoping some of this fabulous community would already have posted ideas of what did and did not work. As the acknowledgement goes, I used to be indecisive... now I'm not sure...

NDN

@KMoodus I’ve done fresh heirloom tomatoes and blue cheese—that combo warms up in your oven very nicely. A char on it from the broiler is good too. Drizzle with olive oil before or after. Lots of black pepper. Add a touch of green arugula and give it that Italian festive look. Great time of year for these. They are tasty look good and easy! Thanks for the reminder NYT.

Dan

It looks beautiful indeed, and I understand that an unfussy presentation is intended, but the pieces of prosciutto, arugula, persimmon and such randomly strewn across the cut pieces of focaccia looks to become a sloppy mess as guests serve themselves. Perhaps best to sacrifice appearance for cleanliness by cutting after fully assembled.

Elizabeth G

I made this recipe this evening, but was very confused with the instructions or lack of .

Jude

We had some very nice "boards" when we were in Verona last year. They basically used the toppings on a board or platter and served the bread with an olive oil dip on the side, instead of under the other stuff. Much easier to eat.

CG

I make a variation of this that bakes together- essentially pizza crust with a thin layer of either BBQ sauce or yangnyeom sauce, with peach slices, torn burrata, thinly sliced shallots and fresh basil. If I'm feeling decadent, I drizzle truffle glaze and prosciutto would work too. Then I bake until crispy. Beware: peaches are very juicy and this may drip in your oven!

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