We love making unique sandwiches on our home panani grill. They are easy, healthy, and delicious.
Following, find starter ideas for stuffing your choice of breads to make fabulous meals. Feel free to improvise these panini sandwich cooking recipes and experiment with cooking taste combinations that are delicious, elegant, and enticing.
Be sure to read and follow appliance instructions for grilling times & tips. Once you know your grill, there is not much that can go wrong as you try different panini filling and bread ideas.
Quick and Easy Basic Panini Recipes for a Sandwich Grill Press
- Pizza Panini: Fill Italian bread slices with favorite pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and toppings.
- Turkey Club Sandwich Panini: Sliced turkey, swiss cheese, bacon slices (pre-cooked), tomato slices, and mayo, grilled on bread of choice.
- Shaved Smoked Ham, Cheddar Cheese, and Tomato Panini: Pile above and add mayonnaise and/or mustard into sourdough bread and grill.
- Ham or Turkey and Pepperjack Cheese Panini: Pile above into English muffin or sourdough bread and grill.
Vegetarian Panini Grilled Sandwich Recipes (including milk and egg products)
- Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil Panini: Layer thinly sliced ingredients inside bread of choice (ciabatta is a good choice). Add favorite spreads or drizzle with olive oil and vinegar and a sprinkle of garlic, if desired, before grilling.
- Marinated Artichoke Hearts and Havarti Cheese Panini: Add mayonnaise if desired or drizzle with Italian dressing. Grill on Italian bread and serve with a variety of olives.
- Grilled Veggie Panini: Lightly grill veggies of choice (onions, mushrooms and thinly-sliced zucchini for instance) and fill bread of choice with the veggies and cheese or tofu.
- Good Ol’ Grilled Cheese Panini: Just like it sounds. Experiment with favorite varieties of cheeses. Crispy and delicious. Sometimes we add tomato slices, mild green chilis, or ranch sauce.
Vegan Panini Sandwich Ideas for a Panini Press
- Grilled Veggie Panini: Prepare as above, omitting or substituting vegan cheese. Add bread and condiments of choice.
- Grilled Mushroom, Tomato, and Onion Panini: Add bread and condiments of choice.
- Italian Vegan Panini: Fill bread with your of choice of thinly sliced zucchini, eggplant, sliced tomato (or a bit of tomato sauce), black olives, and Italian dressing or seasonings. A bit of fresh garlic is a treat!
- We like to cool the panini until able to handle and add avocado or lettuce right before serving.
One fun idea when feeding a crowd with various dietary considerations is to make up a panini bar. This is easy to do by filling bowls with different sandwich makings. Each person can choose his or her own fillings and the host or hostess can do the grilling.
Yummy Dessert Panini Recipe Ideas:
Begin with a sweet bread or even day-old sliced cake. Try experimenting with fillings such as:
- Cinnamon, sugar, and butter (also very good snack for someone sick in bed)
- Cream cheese and strawberry jam
- Pie filling (such as apple with cinnamon or cherry)
Also see A+ Yummy Breakfast Panini Recipes, Panini Sandwich Party Recipe Ideas, and Easy Vegetarian Panini Recipes.
For more good ideas, see the websites Panini Sandwiches and How to Make Pizza Dough.
Panini Makers, Presses and Grills
A panini sandwich grill, press or panini make is a must-have small appliance for today’s kitchen. At reasonable prices from about $35 and up, panini makers are within most family budgets. A panini grill is a fun party idea, too. Panini grills are also a great gift idea. Oprah Winfrey has given many of her friends panini presses as gifts and put one on her Oprah's Favorite Things 2010 list.
Some of the best brands of panini makers to consider are Wolfgang Puck panini grill, Hamilton Beach panini press, Cuisinart panini grill, and Le Creuset panini press. For delicious paninis without a grill, Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice make frozen microwavable versions.
Panini’s are a lot of fun to make and even more fun to eat. These fast and delicious sandwiches are yummy alone or with a small green salad or a piping hot fresh soup for lunch or dinner. They are also perfect for a grab and go meal-on-the-go, fresh out of the panini press.
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Article updated 2011
Janienne Jennrich - Janienne Jennrich, Topic Editor for Kids & Teen Parties and for Hair, is an award-winning freelance writer & webmaster.
