Quick & Easy Tomato Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Elevate your grilled cheese experience by adding pesto and sliced tomato! These pesto tomato grilled cheese sandwiches are a delicious and satisfying weeknight meal which take just 15 minutes to prepare. Made with crusty sourdough bread, melty mozzarella cheese, and homemade parsley pesto, everyone will love these “fancy” grilled cheese sandwiches.
As a Registered Dietitian, I practice an “all foods fit” approach to eating. This means enjoying foods you love on a regular basis – because eating is as much about pleasure as it is about nourishment. For me personally, this includes grilled cheese sandwiches!
I usually make simple grilled cheeses with just bread and cheddar cheese, but I wanted to create a fancy grilled cheese recipe to enjoy at home. This tomato pesto grilled cheese will really elevate your grilled cheese experience, but won’t take a ton of time or effort to prepare.
It features my homemade parsley pesto sauce, but you could swap in your favorite store bought pesto in a pinch. Or, try it with my nutrient-dense kale basil pesto! Including the time it takes to make pesto, your sandwiches will be ready to eat in about 15 minutes.
Is pesto good for you?
While pesto is higher in calories than other sauces, it provides valuable nutrients, especially healthy fats!
Two of the main ingredients used to make pesto are olive oil and pine nuts. These foods are high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Diets that include these heart-healthy fats can help reduce heart disease risk and lower cholesterol levels.
The fresh herbs used to make pesto provide various antioxidants, which help keep our cells healthy by fighting free radicals that cause cell damage and inflammation.
Making homemade pesto is a healthy choice because it to allows you to choose the highest quality ingredients and limit added sodium or preservatives.
Ingredients in tomato pesto grilled cheese
Everything you need to make this recipe, below:
- Sourdough bread: I think a good crusty sourdough bread is the best bread for grilled cheese sandwiches. It is hearty enough to hold it’s shape and stand up to a stuffed sandwich. It also crisps up beautifully for satisfying crunchy bites with a little chew.
- Sliced mozzarella cheese: Pre-sliced low-moisture mozzarella cheese is perfect for these sandwiches. Sliced cheddar, provolone, or colby jack cheese would also pair nicely with this recipe.
- Tomatoes: When shopping for fresh tomatoes, look for tomatoes that are free of blemishes and bruises. Ripe tomatoes will be firm to the touch with a little give when pressed gently. I used tomatoes on the vine – you could also use heirloom tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, or roma tomatoes, depending on which ones look best!
- Butter: A little butter ensures your grilled cheese bread gets perfectly browned and crispy when cooked in the pan. I used unsalted butter for this recipe.
- Parsley pesto sauce: This homemade pesto is similar to traditional basil pesto, but uses parsley instead.
- Parsley: You can use either flat parsley or curly parsley. Prolong the life of a bunch of parsley by storing it in a glass jar filled with water, like a bouquet of flowers, in the fridge.
- Baby spinach: Spinach adds a boost of nutrients and vibrant green color to this pesto recipe. Baby spinach is best, as it has a sweeter, less bitter flavor than mature spinach.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Compared to regular olive oil, extra virgin olive oil is less processed. It has a more robust flavor with vegetal and fruity notes. Read about the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil below.
- Pine nuts: Pine nuts are a traditional pesto ingredient. Almonds or walnuts are a good substitute for pine nuts in this pesto recipe.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated parmesan cheese is best for pesto, compared to pre-shredded because it has a stronger flavor.
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Salt
Kitchen tools needed
To make grilled cheese, you need a 12-inch nonstick skillet, a turner spatula, and a bread knife for slicing bread and cutting your sandwiches in half. You also need a food processor to make pesto.
How to make grilled cheese with pesto and tomato
First, prepare homemade pesto.
Tip: Don’t overblend your pesto – you still want a little bit of texture from the pine nuts, cheese, and herbs.
Next, assemble and cook grilled cheese sandwiches.
Enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches right away, while cheese is melty and hot.
What to serve with grilled cheese sandwiches
If you’d like, you can pair this grilled cheese with something like a salad or soup. Some recipes that would pair well with grilled cheese: my Instagram favorite simple kale and romaine salad, creamy broccoli leek soup, crunchy kale slaw with apples, curry cauliflower squash soup, or vegetable farro soup.
Ways to use leftover pesto
You will have a good amount of leftover pesto after making two grilled cheese sandwiches. You can store homemade pesto for 1-2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.
Some nutritious and delicious recipes to make with leftover pesto:
Extra virgin olive oil nutrition benefits
Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed type of olive oil. It’s made by grinding olives into a paste, then pressing them to collect the oil. This process is called “cold-pressing” because no heat is involved, which helps maintain the nutrients and flavor.
Due to minimal processing, extra virgin olive oil retains beneficial plant compounds such as lignans and flavones, which are powerful antioxidants.
Extra virgin olive oil has more flavor and aroma than regular olive oil. The smoke point is lower for extra virgin olive oil, so it shouldn’t be heated over 400 degrees F. These properties make it ideal for recipes like salad dressings, sauces, and dips.
Tomatoes nutrition benefits
Tomatoes are packed with nutrition! One cup of tomatoes provides:
- 2.2 grams of dietary fiber (8% of your daily needs)
- 75.6 mg Vitamin A (8% of your daily needs)
- 24.7 mg Vitamin C (27% of your daily needs)
- 14.2 mcg Vitamin K (12% of your daily needs)
- 0.11 mg copper (11% of your daily needs)
Tomatoes contain lycopene, a form of Vitamin A that acts as a powerful antioxidant. This compound has been linked to reduced risk of prostate cancer and supports heart health. Two other forms of Vitamin A found in tomatoes, zeaxanthin and lutein, are beneficial for eye health.
Let me know if you love this post by leaving a comment or star rating below, and check out Instagram and Pinterest for more healthy lifestyle inspiration. Thanks for stopping by!
Quick & Easy Tomato Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 sandwiches 1x
- Category: main dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Elevate your grilled cheese experience by adding homemade pesto and sliced tomato! These pesto tomato grilled cheese sandwiches are a delicious and satisfying weeknight meal which take just 15 minutes to prepare. Made with crusty sourdough bread, melty mozzarella cheese, and homemade parsley pesto, everyone will love these “fancy” grilled cheese sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 2 packed cups fresh parsley (a combination of leaves and stems is fine)
- 1 packed cup baby spinach
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup raw pine nuts
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Grilled cheese sandwiches
- 4 slices of sourdough bread
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 4–5 slices of low moisture mozzarella cheese
- 3–4 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- First, prepare the parsley pesto. Add all pesto ingredients to a food processor, besides the extra virgin olive oil.
- Pulse the food processor 5-10 times, or until the ingredients are well combined but some texture remains.
- With the food processor running, pour in the olive oil. Be careful not to overblend – you still want some texture to the pesto.
- Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet on the stovetop over medium heat.
- Spread about 1 tbsp of butter on one side of each piece of bread.
- Place one piece of bread, buttered side down, into the preheated skillet. (You can either cook sandwiches one at a time, or at the same time, depending on if your bread fits).
- Smear a generous dollop of pesto on top the bread in the skillet.
- Top the pesto with 1-2 pieces of mozzarella cheese.
- Top the mozzarella cheese with 2 slices of tomato.
- Top the tomato slices with 1-2 more pieces of cheese.
- Place top piece of bread on the cheese, buttered side up.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes until the bottom piece of bread is golden brown and crispy all over. Flip the sandwich, then cook for another 2-3 minutes to crisp up the other piece of bread.
- Slice sandwiches in half and serve right away while hot and cheese is melty.
Notes
What to serve with grilled cheese sandwiches
If you’d like, you can pair this grilled cheese with something like a salad or soup. Some recipes that would pair well with grilled cheese: my Instagram favorite simple kale and romaine salad, creamy broccoli leek soup, crunchy kale slaw with apples, curry cauliflower squash soup, or vegetable farro soup.
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