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READY IN 15 mins

Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Read Reviews (120)

"I first had this sandwich at a small restaurant and immediately went home to duplicate the recipe. I've been making my grilled cheese sandwiches this way ever since!" — RASSA2

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Original recipe makes 1 sandwich Change Servings

2 slices Italian bread
1 tablespoon softened butter, divided
1 tablespoon prepared pesto sauce, divided

1 slice provolone cheese
2 slices tomato
1 slice American cheese

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Directions

Spread one side of a slice of bread with butter, and place it, buttered side down, into a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Spread the top of the bread slice in the skillet with half the pesto sauce, and place a slice of provolone cheese, the tomato slices, and the slice of American cheese onto the pesto.
Spread remaining pesto sauce on one side of the second slice of bread, and place the bread slice, pesto side down, onto the sandwich. Butter the top side of the sandwich.
Gently fry the sandwich, flipping once, until both sides of the bread are golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes per side.

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PREP 5 mins
COOK 10 mins
READY IN 15 mins

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With hubs out Christmas shopping it was just me at home for supper tonight. I had presents to wrap and baking to do, so I wanted something simple but delicious, something more interesting than the plain ol' grilled cheese sandwich I almost settled for. Hoping for a twist on that old standby, this recipe came up with a simple search for "grilled cheese sandwich" and what a great find it was! The ingredients seem like such a natural, yet I never would have thought to put them together in a grilled cheese sandwich. I really liked this - the flavors all come together and using good, sturdy Italian bread really helps make the sandwich. This was a quick and delicious meal with ingredients I readily have on hand. No boring grilled cheese sandwich here!

—naples34102

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Nov 13, 2011

Does not need american cheese at all. Only put Pesto on one slice of bread because it overpowers everything otherwise.

—YvieWood

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184 Ratings

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Aug 30, 2010

This was delicious! I just used what I had on hand: pesto, wheat bread, sungold tomatoes, mozarella and goat cheese. I have tried it both fried and in the toaster oven (without the butter). Both are great!

—Kay

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Sep 10, 2010

This is an amazing sandwich! I made it using the "Pesto" recipe submitted by anderval and also didn't have any American cheese on hand, so used some shredded cheddar cheese instead. I also served this with "Rachel's Tomato Basil Soup" recipe on this site. This meal was something like I would expect to get in a fancy bistro .... I can't wait for lunch today so I can have more!

—valoriec

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Aug 27, 2009

what a nice variation on a grilled cheese sandwich. I don't have provolone cheese so I left that out and put in some sliced chicken instead. I love adding tomato to grilled cheese so any recipe that does gets a second look by me! I had sun dried tomato pesto in the fridge, so that's what I used, and I put it on olive bread. Very nice! Thanks for the recipe!

—pomplemousse

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Dec 16, 2010

These were really good and easy to make on the George Foreman grill. Thanks for the great idea.

—mbfoodie

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Dec 01, 2010

I used what I had on hand. Wheat bread, provolone, tomatoes and fresh basil. Grilled without butter on a tabletop grill. Yummy! Next time I will try it with pesto but it was really good and healthy the way it was.

—patricia_monson@hotmail.com

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Jan 13, 2011

delicious take on the grilled cheese, nice change :)

—Taylor

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Nutrition

Calories
503 kcal
25%

Carbohydrates
24.2 g
8%

Cholesterol
82 mg
27%

Fat
36.5 g
56%

Fiber
2.2 g
9%

Protein
20.4 g
41%

Sodium
1108 mg
44%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Serving Size: 1/1 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 503
Calories from Fat: 329

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 36.5g 56 %
Saturated Fat 20g 100 %
Cholesterol 82mg 27 %
Sodium 1108mg 44 %
Potassium 308mg 9 %
Total Carbohydrates 24.2g 8 %
Dietary Fiber 2.2g 9 %
Protein 20.4g 41 %
** Sugars 2.1g
Vitamin A 29 %
Vitamin C 13 %
Calcium 65 %
Iron 21 %
** Thiamin 23 %
Niacin 46 %
Vitamin B6 8 %
Magnesium 14 %
Folate 52 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.