marilynpeight
With summertime harvest being in full swing for my family we are bringing out all the 15 minute dinner and lunch ideas. We have been blessed with a lot of rain this summer which has helped the garden to boom with an abundance of cucumbers, zucchini, green beans and more. Since I have been bustling around trying to keep up with my two little ones, canning and food preservation, I have been serving lots of Amish fried zucchini sandwiches and these delicious pizza paninis on artisan bread with mozzarella cheese and pizza sauce. These easy pizza paninis are a busy day life saver that is so good it doesn’t even feel like you cheated by making dinner in 15 minutes!
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Easy Pizzaninis
Equipment
- Panini press (linked below)
- Cutting board (linked below)
- Spatula (linked below)
Ingredients
- 8 slices artisan style bread sour dough, ciabatta, brioche (can use any sandwich bread in a pinch)
- 8-12 slices sandwich style pepperoni
- 8-12 slices salami
- 8 slices mozzarella cheese (any good melting cheese will work)
- marinara sauce or pizza sauce
- butter
- garlic powder optional
Instructions
- Spread tomato sauce of your choice on the bottom half of 4 slices of the bread *see note below. Assemble the paninis by layering on the cheese, salami and pepperoni, then top with another slice of bread.
- Butter the top and bottom sides of the sandwich and sprinkle garlic powder over the top slice (optional).
- Heat the panini grill and then grill the paninis until nicely grilled on both sides and the cheese has melted inside or until the panini press indicates the sandwiches are done. Enjoy!
Notes
Equipment needed for these Easy Pizzaninis:
- Panini press To make the beautiful grill marks of a panini on your sandwich you will need a panini press. If you don’t have one on hand you can also use a non-stick skillet to grill the sandwiches, but will not have the same grilled look.
- Cutting board I like to use a cutting board to assemble my sandwiches on. A cutting board is easy to transfer and helps make the clean up easier too.
- Spatula You will need a spoon or spatula for spreading the sauce onto the sandwiches unless you are keeping the sauce separate.
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Ingredients needed for these pizzaninis: Sandwich bread, garlic powder (optional), butter, cheese (I use mozzarella or Muenster cheese), pizza or marinara sauce, salami and sandwich style pepperoni.
What should I do if I don’t have artisan bread or sandwich style pepperoni on hand?
You can use any type of sliced sandwich bread for these paninis. I prefer to use homemade whole wheat bread or artisan style bread such as sour dough or French bread, which both give the panini a lovely crisp after it is grilled. You can also use regular sized pepperoni for these pizzaninis, sandwich style pepperoni is just a little more convenient for building a sandwich with.
Step 1: Spread tomato sauce of your choice on the bottom half of 4 slices of the bread. This step is optional if you wish to keep the marinara sauce separate.
Step 1 continued: Assemble the paninis by layering on the cheese, salami and pepperoni, then top with another slice of bread.
Step 2: Butter the top and bottom sides of the sandwich and sprinkle garlic powder over the top slice (optional).
What to do If I have a dairy allergy or don’t have butter on hand?
You can also grease your panini grill or skillet with olive oil instead of buttering the sandwiches before grilling the paninis. If you have a dairy allergy you can use a dairy free mozzarella cheese, or make the pizzanini without cheese and add sauteed vegetables such as mushrooms, peppers onions etc.
Step 3: Heat the panini grill and then grill the paninis until nicely grilled on both sides and the cheese is melted, or until the panini press indicates the sandwiches are done.
What if I don’t have a panini grill, can I still make these pizzaninis?
Even if you don’t have a panini grill you can still make these pizzaninis. Simply pull out a large non-stick skillet and fry the sandwiches in butter or olive oil similar to how you would do for a grilled cheese sandwich. The sandwiches will not have those beautiful grill marks on top, but they will still be just as tasty!
Serve and Enjoy!
Sides and serving suggestions:
We like to enjoy our pizzaninis with a side of pepperoncini and watermelon or salad and use Ranch dressing as a dipping sauce. You could also try serving these pizza paninis with a curried chicken cobb salad, fruit salad or potato salad and more.
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