Italian Grilled Cheese

Upgrade your grilled cheese night with this Italian Grilled Cheese! Loaded with ham, salami, pepperoni, melty cheese and pepperoncini peppers, then finished with a crispy parmesan butter crust, this easy sandwich is packed with bold Italian flavors.

If you love a good grilled cheese sandwich, make sure you also try this Three Cheese Grilled Cheese with Tomato or this Pimento Grilled Cheese.

We are obsessed with sandwich night, and obsessed with anything Italian inspired. So this Italian Grilled Cheese? Yes, please!

This sandwich is definitely not boring. It starts with an easy balsamic mayonnaise. It’s super easy (only 2 ingredients!) and it’s so good that you’ll want to put it on everything. Then you fill the sandwich up with all of your favorite Italian meats and cheese.

Then the outside of the bread is slathered with a parmesan butter, which gives it a delicious crust. This sandwich gets all the thumbs up!

Ingredients

• Mayonnaise: I’ll typically just use regular mayo, but have recently been using avocado oil mayo and it works great.
• Balsamic Vinegar: Balsamic vinegar has a very distinct taste, so if you don’t have it, it’s hard to have a similar substitution. But you could use red wine vinegar for a different, although complimentary, flavor. Or even just use the mayo and skip the vinegar.
• Butter: You can use either salted or unsalted butter.
• Parmesan: Freshly grated is your best bet here for cheese that will melt well. I like to grate it on the finest side of my grater.
• Italian Seasoning: This just adds some extra flavor.
• Bread: I like to use a bread that is a little more sturdy, but you don’t want a bread that is too thick so that the cheese doesn’t melt. I found a sliced Italian loaf that worked well. A good sourdough would be delicious, as well.
• Meat: I went for a mix of salami, pepperoni, and ham. You can get creative here and use any Italian meats that you want.
• Cheese: We prefer provolone cheese, especially with the Italian flavors. But this can be easily substituted with another easy melting cheese.
• Pepperoncini Peppers: These are optional, but they are one of my favorite parts of this sandwich, so I never skip them! I don’t find them very spicy, but if you want less heat, you can use banana peppers.

How to Make an Italian Grilled Cheese

STEP 1: Make the balsamic mayo. This is just mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar whisked together in a bowl.

STEP 2: In another bowl, make the parmesan butter. Mix your softened butter with the parmesan cheese and the Italian seasoning.

STEP 3: Start assembling your sandwiches. Take 2 slices of the bread, and spread some of the balsamic mayonnaise on the insides of each slice.

STEP 4: Add some cheese onto each slice over the mayo. Then layer on your ham, salami, and pepperoni.

STEP 5: Now take your peppers and add them, if desired. Place the second slice of bread on top, cheese side to the inside.

STEP 6: Spread the outside of both slices of bread with the parmesan butter. Grill the sandwich in a skillet until browned on both sides, and until the cheese is melted.

Tips and Tricks

I like to use a cast iron skillet, because it cooks evenly and browns up the outside of the sandwich well. But you can use any skillet you have, or even a griddle so that you can cook all four sandwiches at the same time.

The size of your bread will determine how many sandwiches you get from the amounts of the ingredients in the recipe card.

I like to cook these pretty low to make sure the cheese gets melty. You can also place a lid on the skillet for part of the cook time to encourage the cheese to melt.

More Sandwich Ideas

Pizza Grilled Cheese
Roast Beef Panini
Turkey Sub with Artichoke and Basil
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Club Sandwich

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Italian Grilled Cheese

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Author: Deborah Harroun

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Dish, Sandwich

Cuisine: Italian

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Upgrade your grilled cheese night with this Italian Grilled Cheese! Loaded with ham, salami, pepperoni, melty cheese and pepperoncini peppers, then finished with a crispy parmesan butter crust, this easy sandwich is packed with bold Italian flavors.

1x2x3x

Ingredients

Balsamic Mayo:

• ▢ 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• ▢ 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Parmesan Butter:

• ▢ 1/2 cup butter softened
• ▢ 1.5 oz finely grated Parmesan cheese
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Sandwiches:

• ▢ 8 slices bread I used a sliced Italian loaf
• ▢ 10 oz sliced provolone
• ▢ 4 oz deli sliced ham
• ▢ 2 oz sliced salami
• ▢ 2 oz sliced pepperoni
• ▢ Sliced pepperonicini peppers

Instructions

• In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar. Set aside.
  1/2 cup mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• In another bowl, mix together the softened butter, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning.
  1/2 cup butter, 1.5 oz finely grated Parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• Take 2 slices of the bread and set on a cutting board or work surface. Spread some of the balsamic mayo on the insides of each slice of bread.
  8 slices bread
• Take 1/4 of the cheese and place it on top of each slice of bread. Use 1/4 of the ham, salami, and pepperoni and layer on top of one of the pieces of bread. Top with peppers.
  10 oz sliced provolone, 4 oz deli sliced ham, 2 oz sliced salami, 2 oz sliced pepperoni, Sliced pepperonicini peppers
• Place the other slice of bread on top of the peppers, cheese side down.
• Use 1/4 of the butter mixture and spread on the outsides of both sides of the sandwich. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
• Heat a skillet or a griddle over medium heat. Place the sandwiches in the hot skillet and cook, flipping once during cook time, until the sandwich is toasted on the outside and the cheese is melted. (I typically like to cover the skillet with a lid so that the sandwich heats through to melt the cheese.)
• Cut in half and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes:

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 938kcal (47%), Carbohydrates: 32g (11%), Protein: 34g (68%), Fat: 75g (115%), Saturated Fat: 33g (206%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 15g, Monounsaturated Fat: 20g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 164mg (55%), Sodium: 1931mg (84%), Potassium: 329mg (9%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 3g (3%)

Keywords: grilled cheese, italian grilled cheese