• Join the Club!
  • About
    • Media
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure
    • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • BLOG
  • MEMBERS ONLY
    • Login
    • Club Homepage
    • GCE Meal Plans
    • Digital Meal Planner
    • Club Resource Library
    • Downloads
    • Live Club Events
  • Purchases
    • My Courses
  • SHOP
    • The Good Cheap Eats Club
    • Cookbooks
    • Planner
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Good Cheap Eats

eat well on a budget with easy recipes from Jessica Fisher

Find a Recipe
  • Budget Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Baked Goods
      • Yeast Breads and Rolls
      • Muffins and Quick Breads
      • Scones and Biscuits
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Lunches
    • Main Dishes +
      • Beef
      • Bowl Meals
      • Meatless
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
      • Pork
      • Poultry +
        • Chicken
        • Ground Turkey
        • Turkey
      • Sausage
      • Seafood
    • Salads
    • Slow Cooker
  • Money-Saving Tips
    • Take the Pantry Challenge
  • Affordable Meal Planning
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Turkey Pesto Panini

Jessica Fisher · March 17, 2018 · 8 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Turkey Pesto Panini are super fun sandwiches to make. They’re uber-comforting, freezer-friendly, AND even great for potlucks! Grab the recipe and get pressing these gooey, cheesy, delicious, pesto-infused sandwiches.

panini stacked on top of a wooden cutting board

My husband works at a state university. His department often enlists the aid of student workers, and Paulette, a sweet lady in the department often works with the students on different projects and/or treats them to yummy treats. Bryan told me about how she made them all panini one day, and that got me thinking.

What a brilliant idea for potluck!

My Bible study holds a luncheon once a month, so when the theme was sandwiches this month, I decided to try out my theory.

How Do You Make A Turkey Pesto Panini?

I grabbed all the ingredients (sliced turkey, sliced Havarti, ciabatta rolls) at ALDI except for the pesto which I had in a ginormous Costco tub at home. I assembled the sandwiches the morning of our luncheon and then repacked them in the bag the rolls came in.

At Bible study, I fired up my panini press and within a few minutes, we had hot sandwiches! This strategy for feeding a crowd has me intrigued. I’ve been dreaming up all kinds of flavor combinations: roast beef and cheddar with horseradish mayo, chicken and Monterey Jack with chipotle mayo, Italian sausage and mozzarella and pizza sauce.

Bible study peeps, let’s do sandwiches again next month!

Stay tuned as I WILL get back to you on more ways to potluck with panini. In the meantime, grab these four ingredients:

Turkey Pesto Panini ingredients

And make some Pesto Turkey Panini!

But first, let’s have a word about pesto. Pesto is awesome. It packs in the flavor into a tiny storage space, making it a great condiment to add to lots of different things.

Many commercial brands contain different nuts than traditional pine nuts, so read your labels carefully. I like to get the big jars at Costco and then use them in a myriad of ways. Like here:

Ways to use up pesto:

  1. The Veggie Pesto Sandwich That’s Perfect for Packing
  2. Pesto Bruschetta to Brighten Your Nights
  3. Pesto Shrimp Linguine Salad
  4. Pesto Penne and Cheese
  5. Pesto and Tomato French Bread Pizza
  6. Chicken Pesto Pizza with Fresh Avocado
  7. Pesto & Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich
  8. Pesto & Feta Pasta Salad with Cranberries
  9. Pesto Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes
  10. Pesto Pizza with Feta
  11. Goat Cheese & Pesto Pizza with Fresh Vegetables
  12. this Pesto Turkey Panini, of course

Turkey Pesto Panini on a cutting board

How to make this good and cheap:

Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this Pesto Turkey Panini recipe more economical:

  • Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. Pesto is the big ticket item in this dish. Stock up when you see a good sale or buy the bulk container at Costco.
  • Shop at Costco or ALDI. When I did my big grocery store showdown, I learned that those two stores have the best price for a lot of the things I buy, plus they sell all the ingredients needed for this recipe. I LOVE one-stop recipes.
  • Make your own pesto. Pesto can be a pricey ingredient sometimes, but it’s super easy to make yourself, especially if you’ve got a source of cheap fresh basil, like your own backyard. You can get a lot of the pesto flavor, by making this Rustic Basil Sauce that is also allergy-friendly.

How I make this recipe easy:

This Pesto Turkey Panini recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.

Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:

  • cutting board
  • bread knife
  • panini press

Turkey Pesto Paninis cut in half

turkey sandwiches with grill marks on the panini press
Print Recipe Add to Collection Go to Collections
5 from 4 votes

Turkey Pesto Panini

Turkey Pesto Paninis are super fun sandwiches to make. They're uber-comforting, freezer-friendly, AND even great for potlucks! Grab the recipe and get pressing these gooey, cheesy, delicious, pesto-infused sandwiches.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time20 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: panini, pesto, turkey sandwich
Servings: 6 paninis
Calories: 395kcal
Author: Jessica Fisher

Ingredients

  • 6 ciabatta rolls , sliced in half lengthwise
  • 7-8 oz havarti cheese slices
  • 1/2 cup pesto
  • 8 oz deli sliced turkey breast get herbed if you can

Instructions

  • Split the rolls open and place them on a work surface. Divide the cheese among the roll halves, on tops and bottoms. I had to tear a few slices in half to make it even.
  • Dollop the pesto among the six roll halves and spread to coat. We're spreading this on the cheese slices so as not to make the bread soggy since we're cooking them later. If you're cooking the sandwiches right away, you could spread the pesto directly on the surface of the roll.
  • Divide the meat among the rolls. Put the roll halves together. Place the closed rolls into the roll bag and refrigerate until ready to cook. If you're going to freeze the rolls, double bag them for added insulation and be sure to squeeze all the air out of the bag.
  • When you're ready to cook the sandwiches, heat the panini press. Cook the sandwiches in batches until the cheese is melty and the rolls are toasty.

Notes

In lieu of a panini press, you can wrap the sandwiches in foil and cook them for 4 hours on low in a slow cooker or bake them at 350 for about 2o minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 395kcal | Carbohydrates: 17.5g | Protein: 25.7g | Fat: 24.5g | Saturated Fat: 10.4g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 383mg | Potassium: 113mg | Fiber: 1.2g | Sugar: 2.7g | Calcium: 3380mg | Iron: 0.7mg

stack of turkey pesto paninis

Filed Under: Recipe, Sandwiches, Turkey

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. 2pots2cook says

    March 20, 2018 at

    5 stars
    Very generous of you ! Great idea !

    Reply
  2. Amber S -Bend Oregon says

    March 21, 2018 at

    5 stars
    Excellent! Was easy and economical to pick up all ingredients at Costco. Next weekend, will make again in oven for a crowd. These had Spring written all over them!

    Reply
    • Jessica Fisher says

      March 21, 2018 at

      Yay! So glad you liked it!

      Reply
  3. Kristen says

    April 9, 2018 at

    If you bake them in the oven, do you wrap them in foil first? Thx!

    Reply
    • Jessica Fisher says

      April 9, 2018 at

      You can and then unwrap them in the last few minutes if you want crisper crust.

      Reply
      • Kristen says

        April 9, 2018 at

        Great, thx!

        Reply
  4. Megan says

    August 12, 2018 at

    5 stars
    Yum! Have made these a couple times and love the combination for paninis. Appreciate the tip to layer cheese first and spread pesto on top of the cheese – worked well to keep the bread from getting soggy.

    Reply
    • Jessica Fisher says

      August 21, 2018 at

      Yay! Glad to hear you’re enjoying them. I’m making a ton of them this week to freeze. So yummy!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

HI! I’M JESSICA.

Jessica preparing food in a kitchen

I believe anyone can prepare delicious meals -- no matter their budget. Click here to learn more.

SAVE MONEY ON GROCERIES

2021 Grocery Savings Challenges

printed card of GCE system on refrigerator with magnets

Get a Free Printed Card of the Good Cheap Eats System

bowl of dry onion soup mix

Homemade Dry Onion Soup Mix to Replace the Packets

Ralphs receipt with groceries in a flatlay

How to Audit Your Grocery Spending

flatlay of groceries cookbook and money with coins and bills

Save Money on Groceries Right Now with These Simple Tricks

LET’S CONNECT

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

woman holding carton of talent in store
grocery cart with peets coffee

Footer

Disclaimer/Disclosure

Please note that the advertisements posted here do not necessarily represent Jessica Fisher’s views and opinions.

Also be advised that some of these advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on our site (when you click through). You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices as well as for instructions about how to opt-out of certain practices.

To better serve my readers, I have implemented Google Analytics cookies in order to better know visitor demographics. For opt outs, go here.

For more specific details on my disclaimers/disclosures, go here.

Head here to view our complete privacy policy.

Tags

30-minute meals appliances baking basics buttermilk Cakes casserole cheddar chocolate christmas cooked chicken cooking for one or two dairy-free DIY Convenience easy meals efficient kitchen enchiladas Food processor GCE basics gluten-free grains granola grilled grocery savings challenges holiday Holiday Food instant pot leftovers meal planning 101 meal prep mother's day no cook packable pantry pantry staples pressure cooker quick dinner ideas real food products save money on groceries shop thanksgiving time-saving tips updated Veggies Most whole 30

Copyright © 2021 · Daily Dish Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in