These turkey pesto sandwiches with sun dried tomatoes, feta and balsamic glaze are one of my favorite sandwich recipes! I love serving this Mediterranean inspired sandwich recipe warm and toasty but they would be also be delicious if prepped in advance.
What's a Turkey Pesto Sandwich?
Not to be cliche by starting a blog post with "when I was little"...
But hey, that's when a lot of my formulative food memories happen!
So! When I was little (lol) I went to high school near Tarpon Springs, Florida.
If you don't know about Tarpon Springs, it's a Greek diaspora on Florida's west coast.
This little waterside area has more Greek people than anywhere else in Florida.
And because of that, the food is amazing!
Dozens of Greek cafes, diners, and pastry shops line the docks where generations used to harvest sponges.
It's such a cool area with some of my favorite food in the state.
As for this sandwich, it's inspire by one of my high school lunch go-tos!
Creamy, herbacious pesto, melty cheese, tangy feta, sweet sun dried tomatoes, layers of sliced turkey and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
All of that goodness is stuffed between a toasted ciabatta bun and the results are SO SO SO GOOD!
And although this post isn't sponsored, I'm sharing it from a sponsored blog post on instagram.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Pesto - I'm using store bought pesto for convenience but you should definitely use fresh if you have it on hand!
- Turkey - I think this sandwich is best with Boarshead Smoked Turkey but you could most definitely use another type of turkey or even ham if you're more into that!
- Sun Dried Tomatoes - I love the sweet powerful flavor of sun dried tomatoes... but if you don't like them or don't have any, you could most definitely just use regular sliced tomatoes or oven roasted cherry tomatoes.
- Feta - I think feta is a must on this sandwich because it adds the perfect tang. But if you don't like it, you could leave it out of swap it out for mozzarella, boursin or goat cheese.
- Manchego - This is one of those cheeses that's totally up to you. I know Manchego can be hard to find, but you could also use provolone, sliced mozzarella, or even white cheddar.
- Balsamic Glaze - I always buy store bought balsamic glaze... but this is something you could also make it you don't have any! Just cook down balsamig vinegar, apple juice and a little sugar until a thick glaze develops.
- Ciabatta Bread - If you don't have ciabatta, no worries! You could use focaccia, french bread, or any other sturdy bread that's good for sandwiches.
How to make this sandwich
Making this turkey pesto sandwich is super easy! Honestly Yyou really don't even need a recipe - just the steps!
To begin, start by preheating your oven to 425F degrees.
While it's preheating, build the sandwich.
Slice the ciabatta in half then smear both sides with the pesto. You want a nice thick schmear.
Next, add the turkey to one side. I like rolling it up and placing on the sandwich for even bites.
Then place a slice of manchego on top.
If you don't have manchego, i recommend provolone or mozzarella.
Then on the other side, add the sun dried tomatoes and the feta on top.
Place each halves on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the feta is starting to brown.
Remove the sandwich from the heat and add a drizzle of balsamic glaze to the middle.
Close the sandwich and enjoy immediately!
What goes with a turkey sandwich
This Turkey Pesto Sandwich is begging to be paired with this smoked mozzarella pasta salad or this strawberry arugula goat cheese salad.
You could also make it with a big bowl of creamy rustic tortellini soup or even some red cabbage soup.
If you want even more tasty sandwiches, try this hummus bagel, this ploughmans sandwich, or these smoked turkey cheddar sliders.
Save this Turkey Pesto Sandwich recipe for later
If you'd like to save this Turkey Pesto Sandwich recipe for later, you can print out the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post!
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Recipe
Turkey Pesto Sandwich with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Feta
Ingredients
- 1 ciabatta bun
- 3 tablespoon pesto
- 6 thin slices turkey
- 1 slice manchego (or provolone or mozzarella)
- 2 tablespoon feta crumbled
- 2 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
- Split the ciabatta in half and place each half on a baking sheet.
- Evenly smear the pesto onto both of the ciabatta halves.
- Add the turkey and the manchego to one side and the sun dried tomatoes and the feta to the other - making sure the cheese is on top on both halves.
- Bake for 5 minutes or until the manchego has melted and the feta is soft and beginning to brown.
- Remove from the oven and add a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
- Close the sandwich up and enjoy immediately.
Emily
Listen, this is one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. We made them 3 days in a row because they’re just so quick and flavorful! We had to swap out ciabatta for onion rolls because apparently my local grocery store is having a ciabatta shortage. And I used goat cheese in place of feta because that’s what I had on hand. Thank you for yet another delicious recipe!