Zucchini Focaccia, plus Tomatoes and Pecorino

Zucchini Focaccia topped with sweet cherry tomatoes, oregano and shavings of Pecorino Romano. Made with our easy no-knead overnight focaccia dough it's light and fluffy with a golden, crispy top.

Recipe overview

Flavour and texture: soft, light and airy focaccia dough topped with sweet roasted cherry tomatoes, oregano, zucchini and salty pecorino cheese.
Prep and bake time: This is an overnight focaccia dough, so it takes a little over 24 hours, but there's little hands-on prep time involved (around 15 minutes total and 20 minutes bake time).
Suited to: serving as an antipasto or aperitivo with drinks, as a snack or served alongside soups and salads.

Focaccia is one of our favourite things to make, and we've been making it for years. Our go-to recipe has changed drastically over the years as we've learned new techniques and learned from many mistakes.

We make focaccia 1-2 times a week, usually for sandwiches or to serve as a snack for family and friends when they visit.

This recipe uses sweet roasted cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced zucchini and is topped with shavings of Pecorino Romano. The combination of sweet vegetables and salty pecorino is unbelievably good.

We use our overnight no-knead dough which is so light and fluffy. Although you do have to prep it one day in advance, there's hardly any hands-on prep time involved, and it's so worth the wait!

Ingredient notes

Here are our top tips and ingredient notes before starting. The full written recipe with step by step photos can be found in the recipe card below.

All the ingredients needed to make a focaccia laid out on a rustic wooden surface.

Flour: We highly recommend using Italian 00 flour or bread flour when making focaccia, which generally have a higher protein content (12%+). This helps give the focaccia a beautiful light, airy and chewy texture.
Extra Virgin Olive oil: don't scrimp on the olive oil. We add 4 tablespoons to the dough itself then drizzle it generously on both the baking tray and on top of the focaccia. It gives the focaccia the most good texture and flavour.
Instant yeast: We always use yeast that can be added directly into the flour. Not all yeast is the same, and some needs to be activated in water first. Read your packet instructions and use some of the water from the recipe to activate your yeast if needed.
Salt: We recommend using fine salt in the dough so it incorporates evenly then use sea salt flakes for sprinkling on top if possible.
The topping (not pictured): you only need a small handful of cherry tomatoes (8 total), a small zucchini (courgette) and some dried oregano.
Pecorino Romano: you can use Parmigiano Reggiano instead.

Recipe tips for making our zucchini focaccia

Slice the zucchini thinly: you can use either a knife or mandolin for this (we use a knife and cut as thinly as we can). Thin slices ensure that they cook evenly and don't release too much moisture into the focaccia.

Watch the video showing the folding techniques: since this is a no-knead dough, it uses a simple folding technique. It can sound quite complicated when it's written down, but it's so quick and easy, so we've included a short video showing you exactly how to fold the dough (don't worry, it's a breeze).

Line your baking tray: this is a small adjustment we've made recently. We don't use non-stick trays, so we line our tray with baking parchment, which makes it so easy to remove once baked.

A side shot of a slice of focaccia showing the light and airy texture. It's topped with zucchini, tomatoes and pecorino on a rustic wooden board.

Serving suggestions

Serve the focaccia warm or at room temperature. We recommend waiting at least 15-30 minutes before cutting into it.

It's good cut into slices and served as a snack with other nibbles such as marinated olives peppers cheese and cured meats and of course an Italian cocktail.

You can also serve it alongside a cosy soup like our roasted red pepper soup or potato zucchini soup or with salad.