This melty, cheesy veggie panini is loaded with canned artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and shredded fontina. Once you see how easy and delicious it is, this vegetarian panini will become a staple in your recipe rotation.
Why we love this vegetarian panini sandwich recipe
This Italian-inspired panini is a great solution for a quick dinner or weekend lunch. Make them when you’re craving a deli-style panini or restaurant-quality pressed sandwich, but don’t want to leave the comfort of your own kitchen. There’s even a woof for making them if you don’t have a panini press.)
These vegetarian paninis are made with Italian-inspired flavors that call for a few simple staples, fresh basil, and cheese. They’re easy to customize with your favorite vegetarian ingredients and come together in minutes!
Recipe Highlights
- It only takes a few minutes to get on the table
- Made with simple ingredients and durable pantry ingredients so you always have the ingredients on hand when you need a quick meal
- Can be made with or without a panini press
love your veggies!
If you’re looking for easier ways to add veggies to your menu, check out these vegetarian recipes:
Key ingredients for this veggie panini
- Artichoke hearts: Use one 14-ounce can of quartered artichoke hearts. Drain them well.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: You will need 1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes wrapped in oil. Drain well and slice or roughly chop.
- Cheese: Use grated fontina, Italian cheese mix or pizza cheese and 8 thin slices of deli provolone.
- Garlic: Peeled off
- Basil: Stems removed, roughly chopped.
- Italian bread: Use slightly softer Italian bread. Chewy rustic loaves are too chewy and the veggies will squirt out the sides.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Coarse kosher salt
How to make this vegetarian panini
Step 1: Preheat the panini press
Preheat your panini press to 400 degrees F. This is the panini press we have and love!
Step 2: Blend veggies together
Meanwhile, assemble a food processor with the steel blade attachment. With the engine running, drop the peeled garlic down the feed tube and allow to mince. Remove lid and add artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, basil and salt. Pulse everything together until chopped evenly into small pieces but not pasty. Add shredded cheese and pulse once or twice to combine.
Alternatively, you can mince the garlic and hand chop the other ingredients. Mix everything together in a medium sized bowl.
Step 3: Prepare the bread
Place the Italian bread on your work surface and brush lightly with olive oil. turn it around
Step 4: Add provolone cheese and veggies
Place a slice of provolone cheese on each slice of bread, then spread the artichoke heart combo among four slices of bread. Close the sandwiches with the remaining four slices of bread.
Step 5: Cook Panini
Bake two paninis at a time in the panini press until the bread is browned and the cheese is melted, which should take about 5 to 7 minutes. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches, then cut in half and serve hot.
How to make a panini without a panini press:
If you don’t have a panini press, heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Place sandwiches on the hot griddle or skillet and place a second heavy skillet on top to weigh and press down. Flip them after the bottoms are browned, which should take about 3 minutes.
Cook the paninis on the second side until the bottom is browned and the cheese is melted, about 2 to 3 minutes.
FAQs and expert tips for this panini sandwich recipe
The filling can be mixed and the fontina chopped up to 2 days before serving. Then, just before serving, you can spread the mixture and cheese on your Italian bread and press the paninis. Note: Chop the fresh basil leaves and add to the filling just before cooking.
We think a white loaf of Italian bread is the perfect texture for these paninis. We found that deli bread or sourdough for the panini was too chewy and the filling oozed out on the sides. You can also try pane toscano (Tuscan bread) or ciabatta. For more fiber, try a soft whole wheat bread.
Variations to try
- Grilled or Roasted Vegetables: Add your favorite veggies! Try it with grilled zucchini or roasted portobello mushrooms. Try roasted red peppers (well drained), yellow squash, or caramelized onions.
- Raw Vegetables: In general, cooked vegetables are better than raw in paninis, but there are a few exceptions: creamy avocado, raw baby spinach, and thinly sliced ​​raw red onions are also great vegetables for paninis.
- Cheese: You can also play around with different cheeses, like mozzarella cheese paired with some tomato and basil for a caprese panini.
- Balsamic: Before adding the top piece of bread, add a dash of balsamic vinegar.
serving suggestions
Additional vegetarian sandwich and wrap recipes to try
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Have fun cooking! ~Kati
Press
Description
These vegetarian paninis are made with Italian-inspired flavors. All you need are some simple staples, fresh basil, and cheese, and they come together in minutes!
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 14-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes wrapped in oil, drained and sliced ​​or roughly chopped
1 small bunch basil, stems removed, roughly chopped (0.75 oz)
Generous pinch of coarse kosher salt
1 cup shredded fontina, Italian cheese mix, or pizza cheese
8 slices of Italian bread
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
8th Thin slices of deli provolone
- Preheat panini press to 400 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, assemble the food processor with the steel blade attachment. With the engine running, drop the garlic through the feed tube and mince. Remove lid and add artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, basil and salt. Pulse until evenly chopped into small pieces but not pasty. Add shredded cheese and pulse once or twice to combine. Alternatively, chop the garlic and hand chop the other ingredients. Mix in a medium bowl.
- Place bread on the work surface. Brush lightly with olive oil. Turn around.
- Place a slice of provolone on each slice of bread. Divide the artichoke heart combo among four slices of bread, about 1/2 cup per sandwich. Close the sandwiches with the remaining four slices of bread.
- Bake two paninis at a time in the panini press until the bread is browned and the cheese is melted, 5 to 7 minutes. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches. Halve and serve hot.
Remarks
Ingredient Note: We found slightly soft Italian bread to be our favorite for these paninis. Chewy rustic breads are too chewy and the veggie filling spills out on the sides.
Top: If you don’t have a panini press, heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the sandwiches and place a second heavy skillet on top to weigh and press down. Flip after the undersides are browned, about 3 minutes. Cook on second side until bottom is browned and cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes.
Get ahead: The filling can be mixed and the Fontina chopped up to 2 days in advance.
- Active time: 15 minutes
- Cooking time: 5 minutes
- Category: sandwiches
- Method: Panini press
- Kitchen: Italian
Nourishment
- Calories: 504 calories
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fat: 26 g
- Carbohydrates: 39 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 25 g
Keywords: veggie panini, veggie panini, italian panini, veggie panini
About the author
Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she started working in the test kitchen for EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications. Her cookbook Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. In 2009 she started Healthy Seasonal Recipes. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow lab dogs. In her free time, she can be found at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.