Antipasta Grilled Cheese
Packed with a variety of Italian meats and cheeses, this Antipasta Grilled Cheese is like a delicious appetizer platter…just in a cheesy, sandwich form!
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I love a good antipasta platter. Italian meats, cheeses, olives, marinated artichokes…the list goes on. Most folks politely nibble at antipasta platters with a toothpick or mini-fork. Not me. I prefer to steal the entire plate and go hide in a closet somewhere. I have no shame, folks.
In all honesty, I wouldn’t actually run off with the antipasta platter. I might think long and hard about it, but I wouldn’t actually do it. Speaking of antipasta, my mother-in-law makes an antipasta pasta salad that is hands-down one of my top 5 favorite summer recipes. You guys all know how much I love summer grilling, so for a non-grilled recipe to crack the top 5? That says a lot! (And for the record, I really would sneak off to the backyard shed with that bowl of antipasta pasta salad. See you in a bit…with an empty bowl!)
Antipasta Grilled Cheese
A good grilled cheese is hard to beat. However, the other night, I channeled those antipasta vibes and came up with this Antipasta Grilled Cheese. I’m telling you…this sammich is amazing! First, you’ve got delicious buttery bread. I’ve been on a baking kick lately, so I used some sourdough bread that I’d made. However, thick-sliced Texas toast is my usual go-to for grilled cheese sandwiches. And here’s a little secret – instead of just buttering the bread, whip up a little mixture with softened butter, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasonings and salt. The combination is delicious!
Ok, so we’ve got the bread buttered and ready to go. The next key to making an epic grilled cheese sandwich is picking a good melty cheese. In this case, I went with sliced provolone. Provolone is a great melting cheese, and it also goes with the antipasta platter theme that we have going on here.
Finally, we have an assortment of your favorite meats, cheeses and marinated veggies. For this Antipasta Grilled Cheese, I used both salami and pepperoni. I couldn’t decide between the two…so I used ’em both! I also pulled out all sorts of jars of marinated veggies: artichoke hearts, banana peppers, marinated red pepper strips, olives. You name it, I piled it into these sandwiches!
Speaking of piling things into sandwiches, there is an art form to making these Antipasta Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. The key is layering the cheese. If you put all of the cheese down first and then layer the fillings on top, then all of that antipasta deliciousness will fall out when you flip the sandwiches. Instead, layer the cheese and the fillings. I used 3 pieces of cheese – one at the bottom, one in the middle and one at the top – for each sandwich. That way the melted cheese helps hold all of the ingredients in place! (This is the same strategy for making epic quesadillas, too. And a quesadilla is really just a variation of a grilled cheese sandwich, right?)
If you’re looking for a delicious sandwich idea, then hit the condiment aisle at your grocery store. You’ll find jars of roasted red peppers, olives, banana peppers, marinated artichokes. Grab one of each…and then pile ’em high to make these Antipasta Grilled Cheese Sandwiches! Enjoy!
Did you make these Antipasta Grilled Cheese Sandwiches at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Antipasta Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
- ½ tsp Italian seasonings
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 4 slices Texas toast bread i.e. thick white bread
- 6 slices Provolone cheese
- ¼ cup banana pepper rings
- ¼ cup fresh baby spinach
- ¼ cup roasted red pepper strips
- ¼ cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
- ¼ cup sliced black olives
- 2 oz. sliced salami
- 2 oz. sliced pepperoni
Instructions
- Preheat large griddle or skillet over medium-low heat.
- Using a small bowl, combine butter, Parmesan, Italian seasonings and salt. Butter one side of each of the slices of bread.
- Place two slices of bread buttered-side down. Divide remaining ingredients and layer them on top of bread. (Tip: There are 3 slices of cheese for each sandwich. Use 1 slice at bottom, 1 slice in middle and 1 slice on top. Once melted, the cheese will help hold the other ingredients in place.)
- Top with remaining two slices of bread buttered-side out.
- Place sandwiches in skillet and cook on medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, or until bottom slice of bread is golden brown.
- Flip and continue cooking until other side is golden brown and cheese has completely melted.
Looking for more tasty grilled cheese sandwich recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese
With Lynne and I both being at home at the moment David, I’m always looking for different lunch ideas otherwise it would just be soup every day here. These delicious grilled cheese sandwiches will certainly add a bit of a change here. Nice one. Thank you!
Yes! Make grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, Neil…but not just any grilled cheese sandwiches. Play around with the cheeses. Add a bunch of fun stuff in the middle. Make lunch exciting again! 🙂
Grilled cheese sandwiches are just about the best thing ever! You’ve taken a great sandwich to the next level with all these fixings. Seriously – this is an amazing sandwich. I really like the butter mixture you’ve used for the bread too.
I’m with ya on the grilled cheese sandwich train, Kathy – they’re amazing! But they’re even MORE amazing when you stuff ’em full of antipasta. 🙂
Two of my faves in one delicious bite! I seriously wanna reach out and grab that sandwich right off the screen and have for breakfast. Looks so good, David, and I can totally see this one going on the menu real soon 😉 Have a great wee!
Hey, grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast sounds like an awesome idea! I mean add in a scrambled egg, some bacon or perhaps some breakfast sausage – we can totally make this work! 🙂
Hahahahaha!!!! I got a visual of you hiding in the closet chomping on an antipasta platter after your opening paragraph! Too funny! While you might not do that seriously- I have- only the closet was the bathroom and instead of an antipasta platter it was a Sri Lankan applecake cupcake!
But back to this delicious concoction- am not a huge grilled cheese eater but David THIS grilled cheese has me drooling! Ooh so much flavor! Good golly, am wishing I was at home so I could whip this up NOW!! Instead I’ll be air another 9.02… 9.01… 9.00… hrs to get home and make this…!
Hey, I have no shame, Shashi – I would happily disappear into a closet to eat a grilled cheese sandwich. At least it would be quiet in there, and these days I can use some quiet! I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who sneaks off to eat something tasty! 🙂
Nothing better than antipasti! I love all of it. And everything in bread and grilled? Fabuloso!
Thanks so much, Mimi! This really is one heck of a tasty sandwich! 🙂
Oooh just look how loaded this grilled cheese is! So many flavors I love in one gooey sandwich. Divine!
It’s hard to beat a good grilled cheese sandwich – unless you add a bunch of antipasta into it, too! 🙂 And maybe some bacon…because, well, bacon. Haha!
It’s hard to beat all these delicious Italian appetizers including antipasto – I can basically live on this stuff! But what you’ve created is truly epic – what a fantastic cross between two cuisines@ We have cheese board. We have antipasto plate. Now we’ve got to have a grilled cheese board – I think this must be a new trend. You’re the grilled cheese king, David!
I’m with ya, Ben – I could probably live on Italian antipasta, too! But take that antipasta and stuff it into a grilled cheese sandwich? Now that’s my kind of comfort food! Also, a grilled cheese board sounds like a cool idea – we need to make that happen!
ooh david this looks so delish i am drooling over the keyboard… i actually made a grilled sanger the other day which this reminds me of. so if you see one of my posts in the next few weeks – i really did make it before i saw your post. not copying, honest! yum!!
Haha – I would never accuse you of copying, Sherry. In fact, if you did, I would be honored instead of offended! 🙂 A good grilled sandwich (sanger) is the stuff of legends, right??
David, your sandwich truly does make it into the ranks of a sammich. I also love antipasto, but I’ve never made a grilled antipasto beast like this. But, I say why not make one and scarf it down along with a cold brewsky.
Kudos to you for scoring points with your MIL. Well done.
Oh, a cold brewski is almost required for an epic grilled cheese sammich like this one, Ron! Cheers, my friend! 🙂
Yep, this is my idea of PERFECTION! I would totally eat an antipasta platter as a meal, so this sandwich is the BEST idea ever!! Your pictures are making me drool, David, the lunch in front of me now seems terribly bland haha. Definitely making these, YUM!
Haha – that’s the problem with writing a recipe blog, right? I get to look at amazing pictures of food all day long, and then I sit down to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because I haven’t had time to actually cook anything. 🙂 But thank you so much, my friend! You are too kind!
Good Lord, David! I wish we lived next to one another! Not that that would guarantee that I’d get to taste any of this delicious food, but I’d always be hoping! Thanks for the butter trick and the cheese layering trick!
You know, there’s a house around the corner from us for sale. It might be Keith Raniere’s house, though. Haha! (Just kidding about that one – although he did live nearby…just not right around the corner.)
This grilled cheese sounds all kinds of amazing, David! I agree that a good grilled cheese is perfection by itself but add those antipasta flavours and I am all in! And yes, I can totally relate to the idea of running off with an antipasto platter – I think I would totally do it (but happy to share with you). Thanks for sharing this great idea, my kids would devour these!
I know the seasons are opposite for us, Katerina, but a good grilled cheese sandwich is hard to beat no matter the time of year! I love grilled cheese sandwiches, but add in all of the antipasta toppings? Oh man, this is one epic sammich…and not that difficult to make at all!
I would order this in a heartbeat if I saw it on a menu. Looks AMAZING! 🙂 ~Valentina
Thank you so much, Valentina! No need to order it – it’s just so easy to make at home! 🙂
I would gladly skip the mains for an antipasto like this
So is this sandwich antipasta or a main? Deep topics for debate! 🙂
Good question!!! I’d totally serve this as an antipasto if the sandwich was small, either cut into fourth or use a small biscuit cutter to punch out a 2 bite sized sandwich. Leave them large for a main meal! You can’t go wrong either way! 😋
Hi David! WOW!!! This is like the best grilled cheese ever! Seriously, I can’t wait to try this. You’ve taken 2 of my favorite things and put them together. Then I’m going to try your cream spinach grilled cheese. Major WOW!
Hey Madalaine! I’m so glad you stumbled across this recipe – it truly is one of my favorite grilled cheeses. (I mean all grilled cheeses are my favorite because, well, grilled cheese. Haha! But this one is especially tasty!) Happy cooking, my friend…and thanks for taking the time to comment!!
Delicius recipe, thank you! Wishes from Lithuania!
Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂