These tasty pesto and mozzarella panini are made using pita bread in 10 minutes and are perfect for a quick lunch!

If there’s one thing I absolutely love it’s bread-based dishes. As in pizza, quesadillas, sandwiches, panini or just pure bread that came out of the oven like 5 minutes ago. I know it might not be the best for you, but I think every now and then it’s very worth it. Especially if those cravings get out of control – it’s time to do something about it. Well, this is a great option.

Instead of sandwich bread, I used pita bread, sliced it in the middle and filled it with pesto, mozzarella, olives and fresh tomatoes and it was so good! Truly, was so amazing. Serve it on its own or with some fresh salad or some avocado – it’s so simple and incredible at the same time. But now I have a problem, because I want to eat this every day!

How To Make The Panini Pita

1. Prepare your ingredients. Slice the pita (or the bread you choose!), tomatoes, chop the olives and mix in some garlic into the pesto.
2. Fill the bread with the ingredients – spread the pesto on both “slices” of the bread. Then top one slice with the tomato, olives, basil and mozzarella. Cover with the other slice.
3. Toast: You can use a grill, sandwich maker or like I did – waffle maker. You can also prepare this recipe in a heated non-stick skillet.
4. Slice and enjoy immediately!
   

Panini Pita Ingredients

Bread. I used fresh pita bread, but really any type of bread will work – use your best judgment to not overstuff!

Fresh Basil and Tomato. I felt these two gave a nice fresh flavor to this recipe!

Pesto, Tomato Paste And Garlic. I still haven’t made my own green pesto, so I used store-bought and refined it with some extra garlic (super important) and a tsp of tomato paste. Can you buy red pesto? Well, probably – but it’s not the same. This combination was to die for!

Olives and Mozzarella.

Pesto And Mozzarella Panini Pita

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

These vegetarian pesto and mozzarella panini pitas are incredibly delious! Great for a quick lunch or dinner and can be done in a waffle maker! Serve with a small salad or on their own - will be amazing either way!

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Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp green pesto
• 2 Tbsp olives, chopped
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 big garlic clove
• 1/2 tomato, sliced
• a handful of basil leaves
• 2/3 cup mozzarella
• bread*

Instructions

1. Mix the tomato paste, pesto and garlic together in a small bowl. I used the garlic press to process the garlic.
2. Slice the bread and spread from the pesto mixture, to cover the slices. I covered each slice on one side.
3. Top one slice of bread with tomato, basil and olives. Add mozzarella cheese and top with the other slice (side with the pesto spread facing down).
4. Toast in a skillet, waffle maker, sandwich maker or using a panini grill until the cheese melts and the bread has a golden-brown color.
5. Serve immediately and optionally with a small salad on the side!

Notes

*For this recipe, you can use any type of bread. The recipe will make 2 servings. I used pita bread and sliced it in quarters at the end. The only thing you need to consider is to make sure to not overstuff with the tomato and olives if the bread you use is too light or thin because these can leak.

Nutrition Information

Yield 2 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 303Total Fat 22gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 35mgSodium 495mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 2gSugar 3gProtein 14g

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