Santa was good to me this year. He brought me a Breville Smart Grill. It's a combination flat griddle, indoor drill, and panini press. I've been having a blast experimenting with it. There are thousands of sandwich combinations. Many of them taste so much better when it's been pressed and served hot. All the ingredients get pressed together and all those flavors meld for an awesome sandwich. You can be sure you'll be seeing more hot pressed sandwiches from us in the future.
This Grilled Chicken Caprese Panini is one of the pressed sandwiches we seem to be making A LOT. During summer months, you can often find a Caprese Salad on our table. The combination of tomato, mozzarella, and basil is simple and quite tasty. Don't you agree? We took those same ingredients, got creative, and added a grilled chicken breast to make this quick and easy sandwich that is great for lunch or dinner.
For this recipe, we incorporate the basil as part of the seasoning and added it to a pesto spread. Pesto is easy to make with fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and olive oil. In our house, we make a Carrot Top Pesto. We grow carrots in our garden and use the tops to make a tasty pesto. Fresh pesto is easy to store in the fridge for a few weeks or in the freezer for much longer. We freeze it in small ice cube trays and top with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent freezer burn. That way we just thaw out individual portions whenever we need it. It's a great way to extend the vegetables we grow in the garden and use something that it typically discarded. If you want to make your own pesto with just basil, you can use the same recipe and just substitute basil for the carrot top greens.
You're going to love this panini. Don't have a panini press? No problem. When you get ready to press the sandwich, use a clean, preheated skillet or pan. Press the sandwich down with a heat safe plate that will fit inside the pan. Press the sandwich with a heavy object like a large can or brick. Just place in right on top of the plate and press gently. This will give you even pressure and a uniform sandwich. If you find yourself making a lot of pressed sandwiches, look into getting your own press. Check out the one we bought at Amazon (affiliate link).
Grilled Chicken Caprese Panini
Ingredients
- Grilled Chicken Caprese Panini
- 2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices
- 2 Tablespoon coconut or olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried savory
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4-1/2 cup pesto (We used Carrot Top Pesto)
- 8 rustic or artisan bread, we used an Italian Country bread
- 16 slices of Mozzarella cheese
- 2 tomatoes, sliced
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
Instructions
- Add coconut or olive oil to a large skillet. Preheat skillet over medium heat.
- Combine salt, pepper, basil, savory, and garlic powder together. Season chicken with seasoning on both sides.
- Add chicken to skillet and cook until browned on both sides and cooked thru, about 10-12 minutes.
- While chicken is cooking, spread pesto onto the inside of both the bottom and top bread slices. To the bottom slice of bread, add the mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, and spinach.
- When chicken is done, add it to the sandwich on top of the spinach. Complete the sandwich with the top slice of bread.
- Flip the sandwich onto your panini grill so that the cheese is on top. Press down and cook until cheese is melted and bread is toasted, about 3-4 minutes.
- Carefully remove from panini press and slice each sandwich in half. Serve hot.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 sandwichAmount Per Serving: Calories: 2074Total Fat: 162gSaturated Fat: 61gCholesterol: 160mgSodium: 5192mgCarbohydrates: 39gSugar: 7gProtein: 107g
So what are your favorite pressed sandwich or panini recipes?
If you liked this recipe, you may also like:
Chopped Veggie Salad
Cranberry Turkey Salad Sandwich
Mom's Potato Salad
Sounds like a great sandwich and one that is not horribly bad for you. 😉
I would LOVE a panini press. I’ll have to hint around for this. Thanks
Thanks for stopping by Dawn. My last griddle went a sad death and I was looking for a new one when I saw the 4 in 1 that I bought. I always made due with the plate and can method. But I LOVE this thing. It’s awesome. If you get one, happy pressing. 🙂
Oh my this just looks YUMMY! I cannot wait to give it a try sometime soon. My mouth is watering just looking at the photos 😉
It tastes as good as it looks. Thanks for stopping in.
Hmmmm yes! This looks very good! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much!
What a delicious and easy recipe! I’m sure my family will love it! And, thank you for stopping by Shine a Spotlight Saturday and sharing! See you next Saturday! —Deb at DialMforMoms.com
You’re welcome Deb. It’s always great to stop by with something tasty from the kitchen. I hope you’re family enjoys them.
That looks every bit as good as any you’d buy outside the home. I’ve made pressed sandwiches before using my filled tea kettle for the weight. It works great, but I’d love a gizmo like you have.
I was doing something similar with a plate and a large can of tomatoes. My electric griddle died before Christmas and I received this as an early Christmas gift. I LOVE it and use it several times a week.
What’s up, just wanted to tell you, I liked this article.
It was helpful. Keep on posting!