Grilled Panini Sandwich Recipe Ideas

Grilled Panini Sandwich Recipe Ideas

Apr 1st 2015

With spring and warmer weather we like to eat lighter and spend less time in the kitchen. A great convenience meal for spring is sandwiches! We’ve been making paninis, hot grilled sandwiches, in the Frontier Soups kitchen for the past week.  Here’s some of our best ideas and tips for successful fixin’s!

The BREAD Matters.

A 1/4 inch slice of good Italian or whole grains bread works best. We tried skinny bread and it’s tasty, but it gets soggy and falls apart. Open two slices of good quality bread and layer on the ingredients.

The INSIDES Offer a Great Blend of Flavors.

Here’s our formula for sandwich success:

  1. Something solid like chicken, turkey, grilled mushrooms or tomatoes.
  2. Cheese, choose from so many; it melts and holds the sandwich together.
  3. A sandwich spread from mayonnaise to chutney. See our dip mix/sandwich spread suggestions below from our Party Starter Dip Gourmet Collection.
  4. A bit of greenery, like arugula, is always good.

The OUTSIDE Makes the Crust.

Lightly spread softened unsalted butter on both top and bottom outsides. Olive oil works too, but the butter browns better.

The GRILL or GRIDDLE Makes it Easy.

We used a Breville Panini Maker that holds 4 sandwiches and you don’t have to flip them. They’re done in about 3 minutes, so attractive with the grill marks on them. Or, you can place sandwiches on a flat griddle or frying pan, flip them, cooking about 3 minutes a side.

We started with classics like the Reuben and Tuna melt and had fun getting creative. Try any of the following combinations and let us know your favorites.

Reuben: Corned beef, gruyere cheese, cranberry mustard, and sauerkraut or arugula.

Tuna Melt: Tuna salad made with fontina cheese, arugula, and Pesto Tomato Bread Spread.

Chipotle Chicken:  Sliced cooked chicken breast, Monterey jack cheese, avocado, and Chipotle Bread Spread.

Vegetarian: Baked sliced eggplant, tomatoes, brie cheese, and Green Onion Bread Spread. Or, sliced grilled Portobello mushrooms, hummus, cheddar cheese and Lemony Dill Bread Spread.

BLT: Bacon, lettuce, tomato and Swiss or cheddar cheese, with any of above spreads.

Turkey or Chicken: with cucumbers, Gruyere or Jarlsberg cheese, and Lemony Dill Bread Spread.

Summer Chicken: chicken breast with pesto (homemade or buy a jar), fontina cheese and arugula.