Tomato Focaccia (Easy No-Knead Recipe)

This tomato focaccia is super bubbly, soft, and chewy, with crispy crust and all the flavors and colors of summer. No kneading, no equipment, no fancy techniques — this is lazy girl baking at its best.

Tomato girl summer is calling, and this Tomato Focaccia is the essential lazy girl bread. It’s the perfect way to give those gorgeous summer tomatoes their moment without requiring too much effort. This rustic loaf is joyfully bubbly and chewy with crispy edges, loaded with juicy summer tomatoes and plenty of savory flavor. 

It’s super versatile for summery meals. Drizzle it with basil flower oil, dip into homemade tomato soup, or eat alongside entrée salads and Italian-inspired meals.

Below, you’ll find step-by-step photos and key tips for making super bubbly, fluffy-yet-crispy homemade focaccia.

Recipe highlights

• Soft & fluffy interior, satisfyingly crispy, crackly crust
• Beautifully bubbly focaccia perfection
• Low effort, high reward: the ideal combo for summer baking
• Deliciously flavorful with fresh tomatoes + rosemary + parmesan
• A versatile side for soups, summery dinners, and Italian-inspired meals
• No equipment and no kneading – so easy to make by hand!

How to make this tomato focaccia

Find the full ingredients list and detailed recipe instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview of how to make this recipe:

1. Mix: Whisk together water, olive oil, and salt. Add bread flour and yeast to form a shaggy dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
2. 1st stretch-and-fold: Perform a round of stretch & folds to build tension and structure in your dough. Cover it back up and rest another 30 minutes.
3. 2nd stretch-and-fold: Do a second round of stretch & folds, then rest an additional 30 minutes. At this point, the dough will be hydrated, a little sticky, and a bit bubbly.
4. Shape: Pour dough out onto a generously oiled sheet pan, stretching and pressing the dough gently to form a rough rectangle. Cover and allow to rise for about an hour.
5. Dimple: Use your fingers to dimple the dough all over, pushing all the way through the dough to the pan while being careful not to tear the dough.
6. Add toppings: Drizzle a bit more olive oil over the dough and decorate with tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper, and grated parmesan.
7. Bake: Place bread in a preheated oven and bake until golden brown on top and bottom, about 30-35 minutes.

Tomato focaccia variations

Size & shape: You can make this recipe on a standard baking sheet or in a 13×9 inch pan. The sheet pan will yield a thinner result that’s chewy and super crispy on the top and bottom. A 13×9 inch pan will create a bread that’s a bit thicker and softer (you may need to increase the baking time slightly if using this option).

Tomatoes: Use your favorite tomatoes for this! They’re the star of the show here. I like to use a combination of cherry tomatoes and fresh heirloom tomatoes from my garden. If you use tomato slices, be sure to slice them fairly thin. A mixture of colors looks gorgeous here!

Other toppings: The herbs and parmesan are optional here. Feel free to skip them or use different toppings. Other options that would be lovely: thin slices of garlic, roasted garlic cloves, fresh oregano, pitted olives, fresh mozzarella, crumbled feta, basil flower oil.

Make it sourdough: If you’d like to leaven this bread with sourdough instead of yeast, use this recipe for sourdough focaccia instead. Or try this sourdough discard focaccia recipe for a version that’s in-between.

Serving & storing 

Tomato focaccia doesn’t keep quite as well as a basic focaccia, as the fresh tomatoes add quite a bit of moisture to the bread. For that reason, it’s best eaten within three days. You can store it at room temperature, loosely wrapped or in an airtight container.

You can also store it in the fridge. This will extend the shelf life by a day or two, but it also dries the bread out a bit faster.

To re-warm your focaccia: Place slices of tomato focaccia in a saute pan and cook for a minute or two, until warm and softened. You can also warm it in a 350° F oven or toaster oven. I like to wrap slices in foil before putting them in the oven for a softer texture.

To serve: This bread pairs perfectly with soups, salads, and summery meals.

Here are some of my favorite ways to serve it:

• Dipped into homemade tomato soup
• Drizzled with basil flower oil
• Alongside a big summer salad
• Topped with more slices of fresh tomatoes
• As a side for pasta and Italian-inspired meals (I especially loved it with this Sausage & Zucchini Orzo!)
• Served with breakfast, especially if it’s a frittata or shaksuka 

What to bake next: Try Raspberry Brie Focaccia, Sourdough Caprese Focaccia, Edible Flower Focaccia, or any of these delicious bread recipes!