Ours is filled with either Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Buffalo Chicken, Chicken Alfredo with Roasted Peppers and Spinach, or a favorite Chicken Taco filling.
These simple sandwich fillings are a replica of those classic popular meals wrapped inside delicious French bread.
The ingredients are all simplified and we have several suggestions that you may like below.
The best part about these recipes besides being super easy, it frees up valuable time to spend with your family and friends they're really a self-serve meal.
Whatever you're favorite meal is you can transform it into a delicious filled sandwich with just a few creative ideas.
Just scroll down for these easy printable instructions and don't forget to check all the filling suggestions to make your next dinner or party a huge success.
Creative Fillings
One of the easiest ways to make these stuffed French bread is starting out with a few store-bought loaves of bread.
Keep in mind that you may want to pick up deli meats or cooked breaded or unbreaded chicken for these recipes.
The creative ideas are really endless with just a few basic tricks to fill these up for either opened faced or full whole-filled sandwiches.
Have a variety of cheeses on hand, and get a list ready for the ingredients you may need ahead of time.
The kids love this bread filled with pepperoni, sauce, and lots of melted mozzarella, just to give you an idea of some of the endless possibilities that are super easy.
Ingredient For French Bread Fillings
- boneless or bread chicken cooked (or use deli meats)
- alfredo sauce
- marinara sauce
- taco sauce
- buffalo sauce
- French bread
- sliced swiss cheese, extra sharp cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese
- Optional Toppings: queso, olives, sour cream, hot sauce, cooked bacon, favorite salad dressing, shredded lettuce, tomato, sauteed onion, sauteed mushrooms, hot peppers, cooked pepperoni, guacamole, cooked ground beef, or other vegetable garnishes you like
- see suggestions for the many creative filling ideas and printable recipe card
Tips and Combination Suggestions
- Don't cut through the bottom of the bread.
- Leave the top whole and only hollow out the bottom to have a top and bottom sandwich
- Broil the top for a crispy cheese
- Use cooked breaded, grilled, or rotisserie chicken for your filling
- Any deli meats can be used to substitute chicken
- Whatever your favorite sandwich filling can be used for this french bread even egg salad or tuna for a cold filled sandwich
- Top with crispy bacon, tomato, lettuce, for a filled BLT, and add mayonnaise
- Use the excess bread from the middles for making croutons
- If you love spicy add hot sauce on top with blue cheese dressing and blue cheese crumbles
- Slice the french bread after it sits for 10 minutes after baking
- Always bake hot sandwiches that are whole in foil
- Keep your favorite salad dressing on hand to use for sauces in your filling
- Try a California Style cold French bread filled with ground taco seasoned beef, diced cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and guacamole
- The cheeses we use is extra sharp cheddar, try pepper jack, swiss, blue cheese crumbles, gouda, Havarti, provolone, mozzarella, or whatever kind you prefer
- Make a Philly style with shaved roast beef, swiss cheese, sauteed onions
- Fill the French bread with deli corned beef, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing, and swiss cheese for a Reuben
- Pepperoni jarred meat sauce and shredded mozzarella
- Sloppy joe filling with cheddar cheese
- Meatballs, sauce, and mozzarella
- Sausage, peppers, onions, marinara sauce, and mozzarella
- Kielbasa, sauerkraut drained and patted dry, swiss cheese
- Antipasto Italian with salami, mortadella, pepperoni, capicola, Italian dressing, Italian seasoning, melted provolone
- Deli roast beef and extra sharp cheddar cheese
- Chicken Waldorf Salad chopped apples, walnuts, craisins, seedless grapes, cooked chicken, Peppercorn Ranch dressing
- Breakfast filling, scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, breakfast sausage crumbled or cooked bacon
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Fun Finger Foods
Stuffed bread are the perfect finger food for Game Day, birthday parties, picnics, and anytime you need to feed a crowd.
These loaves of bread make around eight slices and for those who want a smaller amount use submarine sandwich rolls.
I love to make an assortment it like the perfect extra large appetizer but really a whole meal in itself.
I would love to hear what your creations are so leave us a comment and let us know what your ideas are for fillings.
Yield: 15
5 Stuffed French Breads
Here are 5 recipes for stuffing french bread, it's a whole meal in baked delicious bread. Great for parties, lunch, or dinner!
Ingredients
- The same instructions for filling the French bread will be in the instructions section of this recipe card. Here are the fillings to use.
- Chicken Parmesan Filling:
- 1 loaf of french bread
- 2 cups of cooked breaded or unbreaded cooked chicken sliced
- 2 cups Italian marinara sauce of any kind you like homemade or store-bought
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese or more for the top
- 1 tablespoon Italian chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cups shredded whole milk mozzarella
- Mix the chicken with sauces and half the mozzarella, adding the rest of the ingredients. The rest of the cheese goes on top of the filling.
- Chicken Alfredo Spinach Filling:
- 1 loaf of French bread
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted red bell pepper, thoroughly drained and patted dry
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
- 1 cup packed baby spinach, coarsely chopped
- 2 cups of breaded chicken tenders chopped or deli rotisserie chicken shredded off the bone
- 1 jar (15 oz) Alfredo pasta sauce
- salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded Italian blended cheese and extra for the top
- 4 tablespoons Parmesan grated cheese
- Mix all filling ingredients together reserving more Parmesan and Italian shredded Italian cheese for the top.
- Chicken Cordon Bleu:
- 1 loaf of french bread
- 2 cups of cooked chicken, bread, breaded or unbreaded
- 8 ounces of chopped deli ham
- 8 ounces of Swiss cheese
- 8 ounces of Havarti cheese shredded
- 1 jar of alfredo sauce or cheese sauce of any kind
- Mix the chicken with alfredo and shredded Havarti cheese.
- Fill the bread with the chicken topping with the ham, then sliced swiss cheese.
- Buffalo Chicken Filling:
- 1 loaf of French bread
- 2 or 3 cups of cooked chicken about 1 pound or so ( use rotisserie, baked chicken nuggets cut up, fried chicken off the bone, bread chicken tenders cut up, or whatever chicken you like off the bone cooked
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 to 3/4 cup hot sauce,
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1/4 cup blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing
- 1 cup freshly grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese and more for the top saving some for the top around 1/2 cup
- 1 cup Italian blended mozzarella cheese saving some for the top around 1/2 cup
- Mix all filling ingredients together reserving some cheese.
- Taco French Bread Filling:
- 2 cups of cooked chicken or 1 pound of cooked ground beef
- 1 package taco mix
- 1 can of rinsed black beans or pinto beans
- 2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup taco sauce if the ground beef is dry
- Optional: 1 small can of minced chilies peppers
- Cook the meat with taco seasoning to the package mix instructions.
- Add the beans, peppers, and sauce if using.
- Fill bread and top with cheese.
- Note: Bake as directed below.
Instructions
- For filling the French bread you can do this two different ways:
- Using a serrated knife, cut French bread in half, and cut each half lengthwise through the center.
- Hollow out each piece, removing bread and leaving a 1/2-inch shell.
- Cut removed bread portions into 1-inch pieces and set aside.
- Note: use the extra bread for making croutons.
- Fill with whatever filling you choose, then sprinkle with cheese and bake them both until cheese melts and heated around 25 minutes on 375 degrees.
- Second Style Whole Loaf Stuffed French Bread:
- Cut the bread in half lengthwise and scoop out some of the bread on the bottom of just one side of the loaf.
- Spoon the filling in the hollowed-out part and spread a little on the top half.
- Cover both sides with shredded cheese on top, put it together, and wrap the whole loaf in foil.
- Place it on a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 375 degrees until cheese is melted and heated for around 20 minutes.
- All hot bread is made the same, hollow with bread, fill, and bake until cheese is melted. Let sit for around 10 minutes before slicing.
- Note: The cheeses we use are extra sharp cheddar, pepper jack, swiss, blue cheese crumbles, gouda, Havarti, provolone, mozzarella, or whatever kind you prefer.
- If using a cold filling, hollow fill, and slice.
- Other Filling Suggestions:
- Try a California Style cold French bread filled with ground taco seasoned beef and cheddar then bake and garnish with, diced cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and guacamole
- Make a Philly style with shaved roast beef, swiss cheese, sauteed onions, 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise fill, and bake
- Fill the French bread with deli corned beef, sauerkraut drained and pat dry, thousand island dressing, and Swiss cheese for a Reuben fill and bake
- Pepperoni jarred meat sauce and shredded mozzarella
- Sloppy joe filling with cheddar cheese
- Meatballs crushed, sauce, and mozzarella
- Sausage, peppers, onions, marinara sauce, and mozzarella
- Kielbasa, sauerkraut drained and patted dry, swiss cheese
- Antipasto Italian with salami, mortadella, pepperoni, capicola, Italian dressing, Italian seasoning, melted provolone
- Deli roast beef and extra sharp cheddar cheese, 3 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing you like
- Chicken Waldorf Salad with chopped apples, walnuts, craisins, seedless grapes, cooked chicken, Peppercorn Ranch dressing
Notes
Tips and Suggestions:
- Don't cut through the bottom of the bread.
- Leave the top whole and only hollow out the bottom to have a top and bottom sandwich
- Broil the top for a crispy cheese
- Use cooked breaded, grilled, or rotisserie chicken for your filling
- Any deli meats can be used to substitute chicken
- Whatever your favorite sandwich filling can be used for this French bread even egg salad or tuna for a cold-filled sandwich
- Top with crispy bacon, tomato, and lettuce, for a filled BLT, and add mayonnaise
- Use the excess bread from the middles to make croutons
- If you love spicy add hot sauce on top with blue cheese dressing and blue cheese crumbles
- Slice the French bread after it sits for 10 minutes after baking
- Always bake hot sandwiches that are whole in foil
- Keep your favorite salad dressing on hand to use for sauces in your filling
- Try a California Style cold French bread filled with ground taco seasoned beef, diced cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and guacamole
- The cheeses we use is extra sharp cheddar, try pepper jack, swiss, blue cheese crumbles, Gouda, Havarti, provolone, mozzarella, or whatever kind you prefer
- Make a Philly style with shaved roast beef, swiss cheese, sauteed onions
- Fill the French bread with deli corned beef, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing, and Swiss cheese for a Reuben
- Pepperoni jarred meat sauce and shredded mozzarella
- Sloppy joe filling with cheddar cheese
- Meatballs, sauce, and mozzarella
- Sausage, peppers, onions, marinara sauce, and mozzarella
- Kielbasa, sauerkraut drained and patted dry, swiss cheese
- Antipasto Italian with salami, mortadella, pepperoni, capicola, Italian dressing, Italian seasoning, melted provolone
- Deli roast beef and extra sharp cheddar cheese
- Chicken Waldorf Salad with chopped apples, walnuts, craisins, seedless grapes, cooked chicken, Peppercorn Ranch dressing
- Breakfast filling, scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, breakfast sausage crumbled or cooked bacon
More French Bread Ideas:
1. French Bread Pizza: This is the easiest weeknight meal. Slice the loaf lengthwise, top both sides with pizza sauce and your favorite pizza toppings add cheese, and bake until crispy and the cheese melts.
2. French Bread Sandwich Antipasto Topping: Slice the loaf layer on each side with lettuce, salami, hot ham, pepperoni, provolone more lettuce, and sliced tomatoes. Drizzle with Italian dressing for the perfect Antipasto Submarine.
3. French Bread Taco Bread: Instead of using tortilla shells, slice lengthwise, scoop out some of the bread, and toast the loaves in the oven. Fill with a taco flavored cooked chicken or ground beef, and refried beans, and top with cheddar cheese. Bake until everything is hot and the cheese is melted.
4. French Bread Soup Bowl: Scoop out the bread inside and cut it into cubes. Split the loaf lengthwise and bake until the crust and cubes together on a cookie sheet. Use the bread as a bowl filled with cheddar and bacon soup, beans and ham soup, potato soup, or another thick hearty soup.
5. French Bread Salad Bowl: Chop up all your favorite vegetables along with shredded lettuce. Hollow out a split loaf of bread cut lengthwise. Filled with salad, make croutons with the leftover middles.
6. French Bread Garlic Cheesy Bread Pizza: Split the loaf in half. Butter both sides. Place on a cookie sheet. Add granulated garlic powder, parsley, and oregano evenly on each split loaf. Top with cheese and bake until the cheese melts.
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