7 Great Panini Ideas

These 7 great panini ideas should get you excited and ready to use your press. These suggestions are going to get you a little away from the norm and what’s expected, which generally tends to be just meat and cheese. While that works, it’s always a good idea to mix up and use some new ingredients, to keep you excited about your food, while still keeping things simple and easy to make.

The thing to keep in mind when coming up with new sandwich ideas, is that like the typical meat and cheese combination, you want something creamy and smooth (like cheese) and something filling to go with it, like meat, or some great vegetables.

As a general panini making tip, leave the butter out so that it gets soft before spreading it on the outside of your sandwiches for grilling. You may also want to experiment with spreading on some olive oil instead.

The Panini Ideas

– Provolone cheese, mushroom, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, chopped red onion and olives, and basil. This one has quite a few ingredients, so you’ll want to do just a small amount of each on each panini.

– Grilled crimini mushrooms, onions, and crumbled tofu with Dijon mustard. This is a simple sandwich that will leave you wanting more. If you haven’t cooked tofu before, all you need to do is wrap the tofu in some paper towels for an hour, to let the juices get out, and then simply crumble some in a pan and cook it up to a golden color with your mushrooms and onions. Put this in a sandwich with some Dijon mustard for a delicious panini.

– A pita pocket filled with refried beans, olives, salsa, peppers, onions, and maybe some cheddar cheese. A great way to mix things up is to use something instead of bread for the outside, so this is a good one to get away from the norm.

– Sautéed onions and mushrooms, tomatoes, pesto, and mozzarella. This is a simple and delicious sandwich that is particularly great in the summer.

– Mayo, basil, eggplant, mozzarella, red peppers, and red onion. Grill the eggplant, red peppers, and red onion (all sliced up) before putting this sandwich on your panini maker for an awesome summer treat. If you’re not a fan of mayonnaise, you could always switch out the mayo and basil for some pesto and spinach.

– Sun dried tomatoes, sharp cheddar cheese, and sliced avocado. You could also do this with pesto instead of cheese for a very different taste. Avocado is great on sandwiches and is very nutrient rich, so it’s great to find new ways to mix this into your diet.

– Mushrooms, crumbled tofu and/or chicken, and brown gravy. This sandwich is great comfort food on a cold winter day, and is very different from the others on this list. It really gives you a unique sandwich that can help get you out of a food rut, fast. Be aware that this one will probably get some gravy on your panini maker, but it should be pretty easy to clean up as long as you get to it as soon as your grill has cooled.