MEGA Chicken Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Chicken and Pesto makes the ULTIMATE grilled cheese sandwich combo. Juicy chicken wrapped in homemade basil pesto, paired with sun dried tomatoes and stringy mozzarella – the perfect lunch ready and waiting! 

The Ultimate Chicken Pesto Sandwich

I think one of the first food orders I ever made in Starbucks was a chicken pesto panini (or was it a chicken pesto toastie!?) who knows, you get the gist 🤣 Any who, it was bloomin’ delish, BUT, I saw room for improvement! So, here’s my take on the classic pesto chicken sandwich.

First things first, let’s see what you’ll need:

• Chicken – Leftover Rotisserie chicken works perfectly here.
• Pesto – Homemade Basil Pesto for the win! Can also sub your favourite store-bought.
• Cheese – Mozzarella works best here (discussed below).
• Bread – Large thick white slices.
• Sun Dried Tomatoes – Pesto and sun dried tomatoes are a match made in heaven!
• Butter – A sandwich, without butter?! 😱

You’re looking Mozzar-hella good over there!

When it comes to the cheese, it totally has to be mozzarella. Besides the fact it gives the perfect ‘cheese pull effect’, it actually partners with pesto really neatly for a couple of different reasons.

Firstly, unlike many different kinds of cheese, when it’s heated it doesn’t produce a huge amount of oil. The pesto itself is already incredibly oily, so to prevent the grilled cheese from turning into a brick of oil, mozzarella was the most sensible choice.

Secondly, it has quite a subtle flavour. I really wanted the flavour of the pesto to shine through, so it was important not to overshadow it with a strong tasting cheese.

Chicken Pesto

Alrighty, chicken pesto, the star of the show. The easiest option is to shred up some leftover chicken, but you can use fresh chicken, cook and shred from there. Up to you! You can absolutely make this part in advance and it’s as simple as combining pesto with shredded chicken. Just tightly cover and store in the fridge until needed.

Chicken Pesto Grilled Cheese

The best way to serve/make this sandwich is in grilled cheese form. Fresh mozzarella is great, but when melted until ooey-gooey inside crispy and buttery slices of toast? Yeah, gotta be done.

Can I make this into a panini?

Absolutely! Same ingredients, just use ciabatta and a panini grill. Or, a griddle pan with another heavy pot or pan pushed down on top to mimic a panini grill.

How to make a Chicken Pesto Grilled Cheese (quick summary)

1. Butter one side of each of your slices of bread and place butter side down on a pan, with the heat off.
2. Top with mozzarella, followed by your chicken pesto, topped with sun dried tomatoes, followed by more mozzarella and finished with a second slice of bread. Butter the top and turn on to a medium heat.
3. Fry until golden brown then flip. Cook until the cheese just begins to leak out the sides.

Serving Chicken Pesto Grilled Cheese

These are in are incredibly filling so just one sandwich is perfect for a hearty lunch. But if you’re looking to load up on some sides go ahead and add some Sweet Potato Fries, Avocado Fries or French Fries!

If you’re after more basil pesto recipes then have a ganders at my Baked Pesto Chicken, Pesto Pasta Salad, Chicken Pesto Burritos and Cheesy Pesto Garlic Bread.

If you’re looking for more similar recipes check these beauties out!

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

• The Ultimate Halloumi Sandwich
• Breakfast Grilled Cheese
• Cranberry Bacon Brie Grilled Cheese
• Maple Bacon Grilled Cheese

But for now, let’s tuck into the full chicken pesto sandwich recipe shall we?!

How to make a Chicken Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Full Recipe & Video)

5 from 4 votes

MEGA Chicken Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich

By: Chris Collins

Chicken and Pesto makes the ULTIMATE grilled cheese sandwich combo. Juicy chicken wrapped in a homemade basil pesto, paired with sun dried tomatoes and stringy mozzarella - the perfect lunch ready and waiting!

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Total: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 2

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Equipment

• Large Frying Pan & Spatula/Turner
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
• Medium Sized Mixing Bowl
• Paper Towels

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 large thick slices of Bread (see notes)
• ▢ 1.5 cups / 150g / 5oz Shredded Cooked Chicken
• ▢ 1/3 cup - 1/2 cup (80-120g) Basil Pesto (see notes)
• ▢ 5oz / 150g ball of Fresh Mozzarella, thinly sliced and patted dry to remove moisture
• ▢ 8 Sun Dried Tomatoes, patted dry to remove excess oil
• ▢ Butter, as needed

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine the chicken and pesto. Place to one side.
• Place two slices of bread in a pan with the heat OFF. Spread with butter then flip over so both are butter side down.
• Add half the mozzarella, top with chicken pesto, then top with sun dried tomatoes, followed by the other half of the mozzarella. Finish with a slice of bread. Spread butter on top and turn on the heat to a low-medium.
• Fry each side until golden and crispy, with the mozzarella melted. Slice in half and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Size and filling - These measurements are based on large thick slices of bread. Hence the 'mega' chicken pesto grilled cheese. The filling will stretch to 3 medium or 4 small slices though (increase sun dried tomatoes/mozzarella slightly if you need to).

b) Basil Pesto - Check out my homemade pesto recipe! If you're using store-bought I recommend grabbing some from the fridge section if you can. So much better than the jarred stuff!

c) Mozzarella - Completely up to you whether to use fresh or pre-grated. I don't recommend using any other cheese, mozzarella has a nice subtle flavour with allows the chicken pesto to shine. It also goes perfectly with sun dried tomatoes. If you're using fresh mozzarella in brine it's important to remove excess moisture or it'll turn the sandwich soggy.

d) Sun Dried Tomato Oil - If you are using sun dried tomatoes that have been marinated in oil, it's important to remove as much of the oil as possible. Pesto is already quite an oily ingredient, so you don't want any extra added. Having said that, I wouldn't recommend washing them, just pat them dry. You want to keep some of the flavour.

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Nutrition

Calories: 726kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 51g | Fat: 44.5g | Saturated Fat: 10.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7.7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23.8g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 1432mg | Potassium: 657mg | Fiber: 7.6g | Sugar: 4.2g | Vitamin A: 2850IU | Vitamin C: 12.1mg | Calcium: 1150mg | Iron: 5.4mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’

For more delicious sandwich recipes check out my second blog Something About Sandwiches! Yeah, I’m kinda secretly obsessed with sandwiches…