Pesto Grilled Cheese (o/g free and Jain-friendly)
This right here, my friends, is straight up comfort food. I don’t really eat bread or cheese much, but once in a while I make a kickass grilled cheese sandwich. I love adding veggies to grilled cheese, especially tomato, because I think it totally elevates the taste and gives a nice bite and some flavor. This time, I also added my famous homemade pesto, which was phenomenal. Sour dough bread is my favorite for any sandwich because it taste delicious and it is perfect when grilled. Definitely not a healthy meal, but life is short and you gotta live a little.
I love homemade pesto. I used basil for this pesto, but you can add other greens too, such as spinach or parsley. It is perfect to add to sandwiches, pizza, or pasta. Usually store bought pesto contains garlic, but this one is garlic-free. However, if you do love your garlic, feel free to add it to this recipe. I try to avoid garlic, so I added my garlic substitute – hing. If you are adding pure hing, then make sure to add less than what this recipe calls for because I didn’t use pure hing. I also love adding vegan mayo to the outside of the sandwich instead of butter. The mayo adds a wonderful taste.
Hubs makes his own version of this sandwich with mushrooms and lemon pepper spice. I have to say, it is pretty good and I am going to have to ask him to write down the recipe for y’all!
Hope you enjoy this sandwich! Leave me a comment if you try it out and let me know what you think.
Pesto Grilled Cheese
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
Homemade Pesto Ingredients
- 2 cups basil leaves
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/8 cup water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp hing (asafetida) this is my garlic replacement, if you fancy garlic, you can use that instead
- – – add salt to ur taste I didn't need to add any salt because the Parmesan cheese already contains salt
- crushed red pepper to taste add according to your spice level
Sandwich ingredients
- 8 slices sourdough bread I love the Whole Foods sourdough bread which is eggless
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1 sliced tomato
- 1 diced bell pepper
- 1/4 cup vegan mayo
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients for the pesto above into a blender. Adjust the water amount based on how thick you want the pesto to be.
- Use two slices of sour dough bread. Apply pesto onto the two slices.
- Add cheese, veggies, and then cheese on one of the slices.
- Put the two slices of the bread together. Now on the outer side of both slices of bread, spread 1-2 teaspoons of vegan mayo. If you don't like mayo, you can skip this step and just spread some butter instead.
- Add the sandwich to a cooking pan or a panini griddle until it becomes crispy. This recipe makes 4 sandwiches.
- Say a prayer of gratitude and enjoy!