The Perfect Pesto Grilled Cheese recipe, made with low moisture mozzarella cheese & flavorful pesto, this sandwich is great on it’s own or with a bowl of soup!
So this recipe in all honesty a total work up to my Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup because what goes together better then tomato soup and grilled cheese? Let’s try Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup and Pesto Grilled Cheese!
Basically a pair made in heaven am I right?!? I am super excited for both of these recipes, I have been working on perfecting them both for a while and so excited it is finally soup season so I can share!
So before I get ahead of myself with the soup, let’s talk about this delicious mouth watering grilled cheese, truly it is so good it can stand all on it’s own, it doesn’t need any soup supporting it 😉
So to make this truly the best Pesto Grilled Cheese that I could I tested the many different forms of mozzarella cheese. I tested it out shredded, deli style, and a block of low moisture mozzarella, the undeniable winner? The block of low moisture mozzarella. This cheese tasted the best by far and got beautifully warm and gooey… drool.
To match the deliciousness of the melty cheese, I choose to opt for a crunchy style bread, a true sourdough to be specific, but you can go with whatever crunchy style bread speaks to you, a loaf of French or Italian bread would be perfect here as well.
And then there is the pesto, you can choose homemade or store bought, I don’t think you can go wrong with either!
So whether you are pairing this up with soup or just looking for a Perfect Pesto Grilled Cheese, this is sure to delight 🙂
TIPS & TRICKS:
- For the cheese, I stand by the block of low moisture mozzarella, I have never had trouble finding it at the store, it is usually sold in a 16 ounce block and also usually comes in whole milk and a lighter skim milk variety, I go with the whole milk because of the flavor. Calabro Cheese is the brand that I usually find at my local store
- If you have extra cheese left, this cheese is amazing topped on pizzas!
- Remember everyone’s stove top and pans are going to have a different temperature and heat, so adjust your stove as needed
- In order to speed up cooking times I often will place a lid over top the sandwich, one that is smaller then the pan that covers just the sandwich and somewhat flattens it, I find this keeps the heat locked in and melts the cheese faster
- Don’t forget to make a pot of delicious Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup for dipping!
Pesto Grilled Cheese
pesto and gooey mozzarella cheese piled between two slices of perfectly crunchy bread
Ingredients
- 8 slices of crunchy bread* (Sourdough, French, or Italian loaves work best)
- 4-5 tablespoons butter, softened
- 8-10 teaspoons pesto
- 8 ounces low moisture mozzarella
Instructions
- Heat a large pan/skillet or over medium-low heat. (Or to cook more than one at once you can cook on a large electric griddle heated to medium-low.)
- Butter all of slices of bread on one of the sides, spread just enough for a light coat of butter over the one side, the butter sides will be the outside of the sandwich.
- On the non butter sides spread about 1 teaspoon of pesto evenly over all of the slices of bread, the amount you will use will depend on the size of your bread. You don't want to oversaturate your bread with the pesto, a thin even spread works best here.
- Carefully cut even slices of the mozzarella, you will want about 2 slices per sandwich (or 8 slices in total) If your bread is bigger/smaller you may have to adjust the amount of slices that go on your sandwich, make sure that the cheese covers most of the slice of bread but it will melt and spread out a bit so full coverage is not necessary.
- Lay the cheese slices down onto 4 of the pesto sides.
- Place the other 4 slices of bread on top of the cheese, ensuring the butter sides are facing out on both slices.
- Place one sandwich onto your hot skillet, cook 3-4 minutes until your preferred crispiness, timing will depend on your stove. (Or place all of the sandwiches onto your electric griddle.)
- Flip and cook another 2-4 minutes until cheese is fully melted and the bread is to your preferred crispiness.
- Repeat for the 3 other sandwiches, if necessary, serve immediately.
Notes
*Depending on the size of the loaf of bread you choose the amounts of the other ingredients may vary
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 463Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 774mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 18g
Nutritional data is automated, final nutritional information will depend on ingredients used and any changes made.
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Peace & Love
Lauren, The Schmidty Wife
P.S. Looking for more soup pairings? Check out my Homestyle Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup or my Lemon Chicken & Kale Soup.
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