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.

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:

• Pesto pasta
• Pesto cauliflower
• Pesto baked cod
• Pesto pizza
• Stir pesto into soup

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!

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