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Last week, I made a simple pesto sauce and used it on the Pesto Ricotta Tomato Flatbread recipe. I had a lot of it leftover, so I made another simple recipe today with this Pesto Chicken Avocado Panini. This is the perfect lunch food when you’ve got leftover pesto, or even store-bought pesto and some leftover shredded chicken.
Just layer the bread with the pesto sauce, cheese, tomatoes, chicken and avocado, grill it in a pan or in a panini for those drool-worthy grilled lines and lunch is ready pronto!
So YUM!
I hope you try and love this recipe…my apologies in advance for the caloric content. But you can totes divide the serving in half and eat it with the a salad, which, let’s be honest, is probably the responsible healthy thing to do. Unless you’ve had one of those days where you just need to bite into a loaded crunchy sandwich, then I’m with you!
More sandwich recipes:
- Turkey Panini
- Roasted Vegetable Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Grilled Mozzarella Sandwich
- Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Wraps
- Avocado White Bean Sandwich
If you’ve tried this feel good Pesto Chicken Avocado Panini recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Chicken Pesto Panini
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 4-ounce chicken breast cutlets, pounded to ¼-inch thick
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup pesto
- 8 slices sourdough bread
- 2 ripe tomatoes cut into ¼-inch slices
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cut into ¼-inch slices
- 12-16 fresh basil leaves optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large heavy pan over medium heat. Season the chicken cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper. Add the cutlets to the preheated pan and cook until golden brown on the bottom, 3-4 minutes. Flip the cutlets and cook until browned on the other side and a thermometer inserted in the center reads 165° F, 2-3 minutes longer. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm.
- Spread 1 tablespoon of pesto on 1 side of each bread slice. Layer 4 of the bread slices with 2 slices of tomato, 1 chicken cutlet, 2 slices of mozzarella, and 3-4 fresh basil leaves (if desired) each, then top with the remaining 4 slices of bread, pesto-side down.
- Heat a panini press or a large heavy pan (or grill pan) over medium heat and brush with olive oil. If you’re cooking in a pan instead of a panini press, use a second heavy skillet weighed down with a few cans to simulate the top of the panini press, and flip the panini halfway through the cooking time.
- Add two of the sandwiches to the panini press and cook for 5 minutes, or until warmed through and crispy on both sides.
- Repeat with the remaining sandwiches. Serve hot.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Yum, What a great quick and easy lunchtime recipe!