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Sun dried Tomato Pesto Panini, my cure for when you feel like you’re in a rut with lunch and dinner. Sun dried tomato pesto and lots of gooey mozzarella!
This Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Panini is warm and cheesy and how could you not love that?! I had a similar recipe at a restaurant in South Carolina where my cute mother in law lives and I was sold forever. It’s crazy easy, but the flavor is fantastic. Those are my favorite kinds of recipes, simple but flavorful.
This panini takes only a couple of ingredients, one of which we make a whole jar of and freeze it so we can use it anytime. There’s sun dried tomato pesto, mozzarella cheese, fresh tomatoes, and really good sour dough or ciabatta bread. That’s it! You could certainly add meatballs, zucchini, or anything else you’d like.
How to Make Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Sun dried tomato pesto is one of the easiest things to make. Grab a blender or food processor and blend sun dried tomatoes (always choose the oil packed), basil, parmesan and wait on seasonings until the end.
read more: Looking for more Italian recipes? Try our favorite Bolognese Sauce too!
This pesto is really easy to make but in case you need an even faster version, Costco sells sun dried tomato pesto every now and again so watch for that for sure!
Let me tell you this, sun dried tomato pesto takes literally two minutes to make. You don’t have to cut, chop, or do anything until it’s out of the blender, and then you just grate in cheese and stir. Two minutes. I timed it. Watch the video above and you’ll see just how to make this all happen tonight.
Can You Freeze Pesto?
You absolutely can freeze pesto! You can store pesto in small amounts by placing it in ice cube trays and freezing and then storing in ziploc bags, or we just freeze it in mason jars.
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Panini
How to Make Paninis
The best way to make a panini is to start out with a panini press. These are our favorites.
A good panini press will make the best paninis. It will evenly melt the cheese without under or overcooking the bread.
Next, make sure that you start out with a higher heat in order to leave grill marks on the bread then turn to medium heat so as to not over cook the bread but still melt the cheese.
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Panini
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Panini
Ingredients
For the Sandwich
- 4 Tomatoes, Vine or Roma, sliced in half or into thick slices depending on the size of your tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper, fresh ground
- Fresh Mozzarella
- Sourdough Bread
For the Pesto
- 1/4 Cup Pine Nuts, toasted
- 1 Cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes, oil packed
- 1 Cup Fresh Basil
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 1/2 Cup Olive Oil, extra virgin
- 1/4-1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, fresh grated
- A dash of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
Roast the Tomatoes
- You'll start this recipe by getting the tomatoes roasting in the oven. Place the Roma (or vine ripe) tomatoes on an oiled baking sheet.4 Tomatoes, Olive oil
- Sprinkle evenly with salt, pepper and then drizzle with a little more olive oil.Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Olive oil
- Bake in a 250 degree oven for 2 hours or until the tomatoes have wilted down.
To Make the Pesto
- While the tomatoes are roasting, you can make the pesto. Start by toasting the pine nuts. To toast the pine nuts, place a pan over medium heat and add the pine nuts.1/4 Cup Pine Nuts
- Cook, tossing the nuts occasionally, until they begin to turn golden.
- Blend the sun-dried tomatoes, basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor until the mixture is beginning to smooth out.1 Cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes, 1 Cup Fresh Basil, 2 Garlic Cloves, 1/4 Cup Pine Nuts
- Drizzle in a little olive oil until you get to the desired texture. I used about 1/2 cup. Because you are using oil packed sun-dried tomatoes you may not need the extra oil. I only did because we were towards the end of the jar and I had already used too much of the oil.1/2 Cup Olive Oil
- Add the cheese in and pulse twice.1/4-1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
- Set aside.
Assemble the Panini
- Slice open bread and spread a generous layer of pesto on each side.Sourdough Bread
- Place slices of fresh mozzarella on next followed by the roasted tomatoes on top.Fresh Mozzarella, A dash of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- Cover with the other slice of bread and drizzle the top with olive oil.
- Place in a hot panini press or onto a grill.
- Close the lid and let them cook until the cheese is beginning to run out and you can see grill marks on top of the bread.
- If you are grilling them in a pan place a heavy plate or cast iron lid on top to smoosh down the sandwich.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The ultimate pot roast sandwich with a sauce that is going to have you drooling at the table.
I was confused I baked the dried tomatoes and they burned. I decided to read the comment,and had to start all over again, could you change the instructions they are confusing!
Hi Carmen! I am so sorry for the confusion! I have added some clarification in the instructions. I hope this helps!
Q – why would you bake the “Sun-dried tomatoes” in the oven? Wouldn’t just draining them be enough in putting together for the pesto? Especially when in your instructions you say you may need to add more olive oil. This step increases the time for being an easy process!! Please explain to me the reasoning – as I’ve been looking for this combination – and looking forward to making this for my panini party!!
Hi Ann! I’m so sorry for the confusion! The sun-dried tomatoes don’t get baked at all. The first step refers to roasting the vine or Roma tomatoes that you will put on your panini with the mozzarella and the pesto that you make with the oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Steps 10 and 11 clarify how to build the panini. Let me know if this doesn’t make sense!
I’m hooked now I want a panini press ,love all things tomato and pesto and am looking forward to lots more of your yummy recipes thank you
We love love love our panini press! thanks for taking time to leave a comment Jacqueline!
I am in love with this delicious sun-dried tomato pesto sandwich. This is easy to make. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.
Isn’t it sooooo tasty?! I could use one right now actually! So glad you love it!
In the first step, you say to put the tomatoes in the oven, but you do not say whether you are talking about the fresh tomatoes or the sundried. Later in the instructions, you build the sandwich with the pesto, mozzarella and roasted tomatoes, but the video shows you putting fresh tomatoes on the sandwich. Please clarify what tomatoes are roasted! Thanks!
The first step of roasting the tomatoes is if you want to make your own sun-dried tomatoes to make into the pesto. You could just as easily buy the sun dried tomatoes to make into the pesto too. Then the tomatoes we slice and put on the panini are just fresh. Let me know if that clears things up and sorry for the confusion!!
I can’t wait to make this recipe but don’t want cheese in my pesto. Can I just omit it, or will it be too oily? Also, if making pesto from jarred sun-dried tomatoes, do we still need to roast them? Or can we go ahead & blend without roasting? Thanks!
Yes, you can omit the cheese, and the consistency should be fine. You don’t roast the sun-dried tomatoes. You roast the roma tomatoes. You want them roasted so they cook down a little and intensify in flavor. You’re going to love this!
I just recently rediscovered how delicious sun-dried tomatoes are in omelets! I’ve never made pesto before using them, but can’t wait to try this! 🙂
Thanks Brittany!
Wow – this sounds amazing! What a great sandwich.
Wow! This looks fabulous! Perfect for my new panini maker.
Love the new look!
What delicious photos! I love a good panani too.Happy New Year to you