Easy Panini Recipe - Grilled Italian Sandwich with Mozzarella

This easy panini recipe is modeled after Stanley Tucci's favorite sandwich. It's a grilled italian sandwich that's loaded with fresh mozzarella, pesto, prosciutto and basil. 

Why You'll Love this easy Panini Recipe

Comin' in hot with a classic panini recipe that the whole family will love!

This is the ultimate panini recipe -- Crispy, golden-brown grilled bread packed with creamy mozzarella, delicate prosciutto, and a generous slather of aromatic pesto. 

The mozzarella melts to perfection, enveloping the savory prosciutto in a blanket of cheesy goodness, while the pesto adds a burst of fresh, herby flavor that ties it all together. 

Sounds like heaven right?! I KNOW!

What makes this panini so special is that its incredibly simple to make. With just a few high-quality ingredients, you can create a gourmet sandwich that tastes like it took hours to prepare. 

It's a surefire way to make the perfect meal or easy dinner that's both delicious and stress-free. A quick assembly, a short toasting time, and voila—your panini is ready! Easy, breezy, baby!

So whether you’re cooking for your family during the busy weeknights or just indulging in a chill solo meal, this panini is versatile enough to fit any occasion.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Panini Bread: You can pretty much use any type of bread you like as long as it's sliced. I recommend medium thick bread slices. Some of my go-tos are sourdough bread, french bread, italian bread, or another soft bread from the grocery store. 
• Spread: Since I'm making a mozzarella pesto panini, I chose to spread my bread with fresh basil pesto. You could also add aioli, store bought mayo, dijon mustard, reduced balsamic vinegar, or another tasty sauce that's won't get the bottom half of the bread too soggy. 
• Cheese: You can totally use  your favorite cheese while making a panini sandwich. In this recipe, I opt for mozzarella cheese but you could use swiss cheese, provolone cheese, cheddar cheese, or another easily melted cheese. You can even use blue cheese, gorgonzola or another crumbly cheese. 
• Deli Meats: Meat is totally optional - You can add much meat or as little meat as you prefer. I opted for prosciutto since this is an Italian panini recipe but feel free to swap it for genoa salami, honey ham, roast beef or even shredded rotisserie chicken. 
• Olive Oil: You could also use melted butter or mayo on the outside of the sandwich. 
• Fresh Basil: To bring some freshness to the sandwich, I added basil at the end of cooking it. You could also add arugula, spinach, or another fresh herb like parsley or cilantro at the end. 
• Optional Additions: Want to make it even more tasty?! Next time, try adding red onion, red peppers, caramelized onions, banana peppers, tomato slices, pickled jalapenos, pink pickled onions, or more tasty veggies!

How to Make it

Making a panini recipe is super simple.

Heat up Panini Press: Since some panini presses take a long time to heat up, it's best to do this before you build the sandwich. I recommend starting at medium-high heat to get it nice and hot. If you don't have a panini machine, a panini grill like a george forman (yes, that can also work as a panini maker!), you could also do this in a grill pan or.

Assemble Sandwich: While the panini press is heading up, build the sandwich. Smear pesto onto a slice of bread and top with mozzarella. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and some fresh cracked pepper. Then add prosciutto, in clumps, and basil. Add a drizzle of olive oil to the inside of the top piece of bread.

Add Olive Oil to the Outside: To get the bread extra crispy, Add olive oil to the top of the sandwich, flip it, and do the other side. 

Grill the Sandwich: Place sandwich on the panini press and close the lid. After a few minutes, you'll notice that the sandwich will have grill marks and the cheese will have started to melt. Once a crispy crust has developed on both sides, it's time to remove it 

Serve: Let the sandwich rest for a few minutes before serving. This helps the cheese maintain its integrity and become more flavorful.

Save: You can place any leftovers in an airtight container or ziplock bag and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

How to make it without a Panini Press:

A Panini Press can take up a lot of room in your kitchen - so it makes sense that you might not have one.

But don't worry! You can still make a yummy panini without one. All you need is a heavy skillet.

Start by cooking it just like a grilled cheese in a skillet.

If you want it pressed, use a sheet of parchment paper then top it with a sheet pan or baking sheet. Place another heavy pan on top and grill it while it's being pressed.

Unlike a panini press, it doesn't have heat coming from both sides, so you'll need to flip it.

Once flipped, repeat pressing it and cook until the bread is golden brown and the cheese has melted.

Other Combinations to try

• Cuban Panini: Inpsired by a traditional cuban sandwich, a cuban panini is also made with yellow mustard, dill pickle slices, swiss cheese, roasted ham, and sliced ham. You can build it on any sort of soft bread and grill it. 
• Italian Chicken Panini: Get creative and add your favorite toppings! Mine include balsamic grilled chicken, mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers, basil, spinach and balsamic glaze.
• Eggplant Panini: Grilled eggplant marinated in balsamic vinegar goes really beautifully with smoked provolone, marinated onions and a honey dijon.
• Breakfast Panini: I love a breakfast sandwich a breakfast panini always delivers! Try adding eggs, avocado, and pesto on whole wheat bread.
• Buffalo Chicken Panini: I could eat a buffalo chicken panini every day - and that is no lie! I like tossing store bought chicken tenders with Frank's Buffalo Sauce, ranch dressing and blue cheese. To glue it all together, I add layers of white cheddar and mozzarella.

What goes with a panini?

I'd serve this italian-style panini recipe with some of these tasty side dishes:

• Roasted Feta Soup with Butternut Squash & Honey
• The Best Easy Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Recipe
• Mexican Street Corn Soup
• Easy Dill Pickle Potato Salad Recipe (no mayo!)
• Southern Cucumber Salad with Onion, Vinegar & Sugar Recipe

Be sure to follow me on instagram for more tasty grilled cheese sandwiches!

Recipe