Spinach Basil Pesto & Tomato Grilled Cheese
Fresh spinach and basil pesto, juicy sliced tomato and melted mozzarella make for one delicious and comforting grilled cheese!
Okay, so I know I just posted a pumpkin recipe but that doesn’t mean I’m letting go of summer just yet!
With all of the big juicy tomatoes and fragrant fresh basil exploding with deliciousness right now, it would be just plain SILLY to let that pass us by.
I’ve waxed poetic about my love for grilled cheese on here before and the flame in my heart is still burning bright.
Especially once soup weather arrives, it’s all down hill. All I want are two big slices of crusty bread with melted cheese and a bowl of warm tomato soup to dip it in!
Considering the fact that it was over 100 degrees today, I might be a little early jumping on the grilled cheese and soup wagon but I couldn’t help myself after eating an incredible pesto tomato version during our trip to Lake Tahoe.
We had them for dinner one night at a restaurant called Bite along with the most delicious little chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches. Mmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Pobably not the healthiest of meals but hey, it was totally worth it.
Anyway, the version I recreated is made slightly healthier with a nice helping of vitamin packed spinach inside of the pesto, whole grain bread and about a third of the cheese.
I recently found this brand that sources from local pasture-based farms which I love. It’s definitely not the cheapest but it makes me feel better knowing that it’s coming from a good source. And it tastes amazing too! :)
For those of you that can’t have dairy, you can always substitute vegan cheese or sliced avocado. I would just toast the bread in the skillet on it’s own and then layer the fillings after if I were using avocado.
Oh and one last thing I should clarify, I wrote the recipe for 4 sandwiches because it makes enough pesto for that many, but you can make only one or two sandwiches and then save the pesto for later if you want.
Alright, so now all we need is some cool fall weather and a warm bowl of soup! Of course I’ve got the second one coming very soon. ;)
Ingredients
Spinach Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup fresh basil
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
squeeze of lemon juice
Grilled Cheese
2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
4 slices mozzarella cheese
8 slices whole grain or gluten-free bread
4 tablespoons grass-fed butter or extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients for the spinach pesto into a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Next spread the butter or olive oil on one side of each piece of bread. Place the bread buttered side down in a skillet over low to medium heat. Layer the mozzarella on top along with a slice of tomato. Then grab another slice of bread, spread the pesto on the side that’s not buttered and place it on top of the other piece in the skillet.
- After it’s cooked for about 3 minutes and the cheese starts to melt, flip the sandwich so that the uncooked side is facing down. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, until light golden brown on the outside. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Yes yes yes!!! I have been CRAVING a grilled cheese lately!
I’m glad it’s not just me. ;)
Man, it’s been eeons since I’ve thought about a grilled cheese and now I’m fixated on this one. I’m pesto-obsessed and anything with fresh heirlooms and melty cheese is a-okay by me. And that bread….I hope the very same thing exists in gluten-free form, because I want to lay mouth all over that loaf!
P.S. I’ll have to try those chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandiwches at Bite!
that crusty whole grain bread looks uh-mazing!!
I loooove grilled cheese but I don’t make it nearly enough. This one looks like a winner to me. OH and these photos–so pretty!
Thanks Erin! :)
Wow, this looks delicious! Love the caprese feel and that melty mozz :)
I will never eat regular grilled cheese again.
Haha! ;)
Yummm! This looks amazing. The bread looks so good. I like the idea of adding spinach to the pesto. I like to freeze my pesto in ice cube trays. I pop out the “cubes” and keep them in a zip lock freezer bag. They last really well. I’m going to try some with the spinach. Your photos are really lovely….
Have a great day! Blessings
That is such a good idea, Nancy! I need to do that with all of my basil before summer ends. Thank you for the sweet comment. I hope you are doing well! :)
I am doing well! This weekend I have 3 friends coming from PA to visit and I can’t wait!!!!! I’m making your blueberry/peach crisp for dessert tomorrow evening. We’ll guild the lily and top it with some French vanilla ice cream. I know they are going to love it as much as I do. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it….
Have a superb weekend!
That sounds like a perfect weekend! I am honored to have you make my crisp too; thank you! I hope you and your friends have a wonderful time! :)
Whatever bread you used looks so good. The bread totally makes the sandwich! Cheese, too, in this case.
It’s still super hot here too, but I’m so ready for fall foods!
It’s from a local bakery and it tastes just amazing as it looks! :)
Girrrlll! You always come up with the fanciest of recipes. Here I am making grilled cheese with bread, cheese, and tomatoes, and you get all fancy by throwing pesto up in there. I can just imagine how amazing that would taste. Amg. Drooling.
Oh gosh yes! We need cooler temps! I need the weather to match my craving for fall foods! haha
This grilled cheese looks completely amazing. And I cannot wait to really start having soups all the time again!
WHAT KIND OF BREAD IS THAT! It looks so crusty and toasty and amazing!!
Where did you get that bread?! It looks so dense and hearty. My favorite kind! And this sandwich looks awesome. All sorts of adult grilled cheese perfection.
Yum yum yum, I share your love for a good grilled cheese! I’ll have to keep a lookout for that cheese. I buy most of my cheese from this grocery store that has all locally made cheeses that are non GMO/veg rennet only/from pasture raised animals… I love buying dairy I can feel good about.
I’m with you, it was 95 degrees here today and I’m currently sweating laying under a ceiling fan.. I’m definitely craving some more autumn-ish weather, sweaters & soup!
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I’m with ya on the grilled cheese! I could eat my weight in it! Then there’s pesto… any kind of pesto, on bread alone, it makes me weak in the knees, so this is the perfect sandwich, Sarah! It’s the best of both worlds in September… a little Fall, a little Summer. Thank you for this my dear!
I love grilled cheese!! I haven’t had one in so long and now I’m looking through the fridge seeing if I have all the ingredients to make this! My heart is ready for pumpkin but it is still pretty hot there, so a tomato grilled cheese sounds perfect :)