This pesto and mozzarella grilled cheese is a delicious, quick and easy lunch or snack. This toastie contains just 6 ingredients and takes under 30 minutes to make. The recipe is for just one grilled cheese sandwich but you could easily scale the recipe to make multiple toasties. This toastie would be delicious served with a hot bowl of tomato soup.
Roasted red pepper and pesto grilled cheese toastie: ingredients
This grilled cheese has just 6 main ingredients.
- Bread
- Pesto
- Red pepper
- Tomato
- Mozzarella
- Balsamic glaze
The best bread for a grilled cheese
For the bread I used a crusty white loaf which made a delicious grilled cheese sandwich. This pesto grilled cheese sandwich, however, would work with lots of bread types. I would personally recommend using white sourdough, panini bread or white toastie bread.
Pesto
I used some delicious green pesto which my boyfriend brought back from Austria. This was jarred pesto and worked perfectly in my sandwich.
For the best results, however, it is always best to use fresh pesto. I like Sainsbury’s fresh pesto which is vegetarian. A lot of pesto is not vegetarian as parmesan is usually in pesto which uses animal rennet. You could also make your own, why not try this fresh basil pesto from Simply Recipes.
Peppers
For the red pepper I used half a red bell pepper. You called also use Romano peppers or sweet peppers. I didn’t peel my peppers as I personally think it is a lot of hassle and doesn’t affect how delicious this toastie is.
If you want to peel them place the peppers in a covered bowl straight after cooking. Allow them to steam for 10 minutes and then they should be easy to peel.
Also feel free to add in some chilli peppers as well if you want some spice. If you don’t want to roast your own peppers then simply use jarred peppers.
Tomatoes
For the tomato I quartered one large red tomato and grilled it with olive oil, salt and pepper alongside the red peppers. If you like you can remove the seeds from the tomatoes to make sure they don’t make the grilled cheese soggy. You could also replace the tomato with 4 whole cherry tomatoes if you prefer. Sun-dried tomatoes would also be delicious in this recipe.
Mozzarella
I used balled mozzarella sliced into 4 thick pieces. This ensured my grilled cheese was deliciously gooey inside. Mozzarella is a very mellow-flavoured cheese. If you prefer more sharpness or nuttiness to your grilled cheese feel free to add in some Gruyère, Cheddar or Italian hard cheese.
Ensure to dab the mozzarella with kitchen towel to remove excess water and avoid a soggy toastie. Alternatively, you could use a pizza mozzarella which has a much lower moisture content.
Balsamic glaze
Balsamic glaze is an amazing way to add extra flavour into sandwiches and salads. I used Waitrose balsamic glaze which worked really well and came in a squeeze bottle so you can easily add it to your sandwich. You could also make your own, try out this recipes from add a pinch.
How do you jazz up your grilled cheese?
There is a range of ways in which you can tailor this toastie to your preferences. Feel free to use different cheese – to make this toastie extra fancy why not try using Burrata cheese? I would also recommend Cheddar or Provolone.
If you want to add some extra fibre and vegetables I would also recommend adding in grilled aubergines and courgettes. If you do not like the taste of balsamic vinegar feel free to omit the glaze as it will still be flavourful and delicious without it.
To make your toastie extra crispy sprinkle over some grated vegetarian Italian hard cheese before cooking to make it extra crispy.
Pesto and mozzarella grilled cheese: similar recipes
If you love this grilled cheese recipe then you should also check my other vegetarian recipes with cheese:
- Pesto pasta bake
- Korean Kimchi and cheese dumplings
- Christmas pasta bake
- Spicy vodka rigatoni pasta
- One-pot creamy spinach and eggs
Pesto and Mozzarella Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
Method
- Place the peppers and tomatoes in an air fryer and pour over 2 tsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat the peppers and tomatoes evenly. Cook at 175°C/350°F for 15 minutes, tossing half way through. (Alternatively roast in the oven for 25 minutes at 175°C/350°F or 165°C/330°F fan.)
- Spread each side of bread with the remaining olive oil. Spread each piece of bread with 1 tablespoon of pesto.
- Top 1 slice of bread with the mozzarella pieces and drizzle with the balsamic glaze. Top the second slice of bread with the peppers and tomato. Flip the bread over to make a sandwich.
- Heat a sandwich grill and grill the sandwich for 4-7 minutes until golden and the cheese is melted. (Alternatively fry on a medium high heat in a frying pan. Fry for around 3 minutes on each side until golden. You can cover the pan with a lid for a few minutes to help the cheese melt). Enjoy straight away.
Notes
- *Remove the seeds if you are worried about your sandwich being soggy
- **If using a mozzarella ball pat it try with kitchen paper to remove extra moisture
This looks amazing!
Fabulous