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 love grilled cheese sandwiches and this one added a new spin. Loved this and can’t wait to serve it at the next game night for my sister and niece. Thanks for another winner.
This was a pandemic comfort food winner! Easy to fix on a weeknight, paired with tomato basil soup. I didn’t have enough basil, so did half basil and half kale and it was delicious! Expect to use the leftover pesto on pasta later this week.
I love this sandwich! I am a sucker for a good grilled cheese and pesto! Unfortunately, I am allergic to nuts so pesto is hard to come by so I love making it at home. Although different, I’m sure, I added sunflower seeds instead and still turned out lovely!
This sandwich is delicious and a huge hit in our family. It is lovely with soup(s). Thank you Jen!
Delicious! I love and trust your recipes. Thank you for doing what you do! Side note, not about this recipe – I received your cookbook just a day or two before my mom was hospitalized last year. Before heading to the hospital to spend the day with her, I put it in my bag. Mom perked right up when I took it out and handed it to her, and we spent hours looking at it and making plans to try various things in it.
Glad you liked these! And happy to hear that the cookbook provided a nice distraction while your mom was in the hospital. Hope she’s fine now!
According to my 18-y-o son, “These are the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever!” High praise from a serious sandwich eater. I went a little light on my application of the pesto, but I’ll go all out next time–the entire family asked for more pesto. Everyone loved them! Thanks for another great twist on a classic!
So delicious!! And the gruyère cheese is the perfect complement! Perfect lunch
Hi Jenn,
Do you spread the pesto on both sides of the sandwich? My daughter is planning to make these as part of a mini-meal 4-H cooking contest. She has already made them a couple of times and they are delicious, but getting the right proportion of cheese to pesto is tricky. How much pesto do you use? Also, any other cheeses you recommend?
Hi Amanda, Yes on both sides — and you’ll need about a tablespoon for each slice. As for cheese options, you could try mozzarella or smoked mozzarella/provolone. I have a wonderful pesto and smoked gouda grilled cheese sandwich in my cookbook if you wanted to serve another variation. If you don’t have the book, I’m happy to send you the recipe. Just email me at jennifer@onceuponachef.com. 🙂
So good!! The pesto is delicious on spaghetti later in the week!
Delicious with tomato basil soup!