Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
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What do you get when you combine a classic American grilled cheese with Italian sun-dried tomato pesto? A deliciously crispy and gooey sandwich that delivers bold and tangy “pizza” flavor.
Grilled cheese is my favorite guilty pleasure, and I’ll happily eat light all day so I can indulge in seconds to my heart’s content at dinner. That’s especially true with these Italian-style grilled cheese sandwiches jazzed up with sun-dried tomato pesto. My kids call them “pizza paninis” since they taste like hot, crispy pizza sandwiches. I like to serve them with an arugula salad or vegetable soup for a quick weeknight meal.
“Thank you for the best grilled cheese sandwich we have ever eaten! Fontina cheese melts so easily and the sun-dried tomato pesto adds incredible flavor!”
What You’ll Need To Make Grilled Cheese with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
Step-by-Step Instructions
To make the pesto, combine the sun-dried tomatoes with their oil, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, sugar, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan and 2 tablespoons of water in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
Pulse, scraping down the sides as necessary, until the mixture is finely puréed. Note that you’ll have way more than you’ll need; leftover pesto can be frozen or tossed with pasta.
To make the sandwiches, spread one side of each slice of bread with butter.
Then flip over and spread the pesto evenly over the other side of each slice.
Heat a large nonstick or cast iron pan over medium heat. Place the bread, butter-side-down, in the pan. Divide the cheese evenly over the bread, then top the sandwich with the remaining bread.
Cook until the first side is golden brown, a few minutes. Then, carefully flip the sandwich and cook, covered, until the cheese is fully melted and the bread is golden brown, a few minutes more.
Let cool slightly, then slice the sandwiches in half and serve. Enjoy!
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Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
What do you get when you combine a classic American grilled cheese with Italian sun-dried tomato pesto? A deliciously crispy and gooey sandwich that delivers bold and tangy “pizza” flavor.
Ingredients
For the Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto (makes 1-1/2 cups)
- 1 (8.5-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 2 tablespoons water
For the Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
- 8 slices Italian bread
- 4 tablespoons softened butter
- 8 oz Fontina or Gruyere (or any good melting cheese), sliced or grated
- ½ cup sun-dried tomato pesto
Instructions
For the Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the sun-dried tomatoes with their oil, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, sugar, basil, pine nuts, Parmigiano-Reggiano and 2 tablespoons of water. Pulse, scraping down the sides as necessary, until the mixture is finely puréed.
For the Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
- Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter, then flip over and spread the pesto evenly over the other side of each slice. Heat a large nonstick or cast iron pan over medium heat. Place 4 slices of bread, butter-side-down, in the pan. Divide the cheese evenly over the bread, then top the sandwiches with the remaining bread. Cook until the first side is golden brown, a few minutes. Carefully flip the sandwiches and cook until the cheese is fully melted and the bread is golden brown, a few minutes more. Let cool slightly, then slice the sandwiches in half and serve.
- Note: You'll have plenty of leftover sun-dried tomato pesto. It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and can be frozen for up to 2 months. You can also try tossing the pesto with pasta; just keep in mind that the pesto is thick so you'll need to thin it with some of the pasta cooking water and a little olive oil when tossing it with the pasta.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 sandwich
- Calories: 646
- Fat: 54 g
- Saturated fat: 22 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Sugar: 2 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Sodium: 733 mg
- Cholesterol: 98 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I have followed so many of your recipes over the years with great success. Regarding the grill cheese sandwich, I wondered if I could use Barilla pesto rosso sauce in place of the homemade pesto recipe?
So glad you like the recipes! Yes, the pesto rosso should work. Enjoy!
Oh my goodness.
As always, Jen!! 5 stars.
And a BIG thank you for painting my world DELICIOUS.
💜
Amazing. If I were to use the pesto (all 1-1/2 cups) exclusively for pasta next time, how exactly would I proceed? Would I use all of it for one pound of pasta? Less pasta? More pasta? What type of pasta? Any ideas for an added protein? Just trying to figure out how to make a special dinner with your amazing pesto. Thanks!
Glad you liked it! I’d guesstimate this would be appropriate for about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds of pasta (but it depends upon how “pesto-y” you want it). If you want to add a protein to it, it would be nice with sauteed or grilled shrimp or chicken tenderloins.
What cast iron skillet do you use or recommend Jen? I have your book but we just moved (immigrated actutally) and it’s still in one of the boxes. Do you have an article with tips for what brands to use? I love your website so much! I’m going to be teaching my kids cooking lessons and we will be using your recipes and ideas. Have a wonderful Christmas! xxx
Hi Samantha, I hope you’re very happy with your new home/country! I have a Lodge cast iron pan and love it. And, yes, I do have several posts with info about my favorite brands. Here’s here’s one on pots and pans, this focuses on knives, and this one’s for baking pans. Hope you find them helpful! 😊