This post is in collaboration with Albertsons and Safeway. All opinions are my own.

Over the past couple weeks, our fig tree has EXPLODED in growth. The little stubs of figs have become plump and started to ripen. We probably have a month or so before the figs are actually ready; however, we’re still working through all the figs in our freezer from last summer so I definitely don’t mind waiting a bit for a new batch. I love finding ways to utilize these figs since each year we have such a huge crop. My most recent recipe is a delicious flatbread!

This flatbread can be made with either fresh or frozen figs. When the frozen figs are defrosted, they don’t lose their flavor, just their structural integrity; but since they are being chopped up, they work just fine.

Fig, Bacon, & Arugula Flatbread

The first step in this recipe is to make the glaze. I wanted to do a sweet and savory glaze that would tie nicely into the other flavors of the flatbread. I decided to use Open Nature® Cranberry Juice and Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing as the bases for this glaze, and it turned out pretty delicious.

One thing I have learned is to make sure the bacon is cooked PRIOR to cooking the flatbread. Trust me. Bacon will not crisp up along with everything else on the flatbread if you put it into the oven uncooked.

For this flatbread, I used Open Nature Applewood Smoked Bacon, Uncured. This bacon is nice and thick, plus it cooks up to a nice crisp. It was hard to resist snacking on the bacon straight from the pan before it made it onto the flatbread.

I buy my Open Nature products at my local Albertsons & Safeway stores, and you can also find them exclusively at all of the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Shaw’s, Star Market, and Carrs/Safeway. Visit Albertsons.com or Safeway.com to find a store near you and discover more meal prep tips and recipe ideas.

The Open Nature line of products are available throughout the store, from USDA defined natural meat to non-food items such as paper towels. They feature foods with minimal processing, at a lower cost to competitive national and private label brands. They are free of artificial colors and flavors; and since they are available in my area exclusively at Albertsons and Safeway, I headed out to my local Safeway to pick up the ingredients for this flatbread.

The flavors of this flatbread blend so well together and create an absolutely delicious dinner. The various ingredients of the flatbread create a good balance of sweet and savory, from the figs and cranberry juice, to the bacon and goat cheese. It was also super easy to make, which makes it a perfect weeknight dinner.

I’m looking forward to making more of these flatbreads throughout the summer, and discovering more recipes that I can make using the Open Nature line of products.