Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich

All the flavours of your favourite pepperoni pizza but in a grilled cheese sandwich. As far as snack foods go, who could ask for anything more. 

Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Delicious "toppings" of pepperoni with Emmental and Cheddar cheeses, but instead of spreading on a pizza dough base, these are packed into a golden grilled sandwich.    

What you will need for the perfect Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich

My preference is always for thick sliced bread for my toastie or grilled sandwich everytime. Thick sliced bread is a must as, in my opinion, the bread is the most important part of any sandwich. White sliced, or a 50/50 white/wholemeal combination always works well. For this sandwich I have chosen a really thick sliced white that is so thick it's actually labelled as "doorstep". This provides the perfect extra thickness as this sandwich needs to have a great depth in terms of both size and flavour.

The pepperoni I have used in this sandwich is from a supermarket bought pre-sliced pack of 24 slices. The pack weight is 120g and therefore each slice is only 5g (of which I use 4 per sandwich). This is a guide only to give an idea of what I have used, but your pepperoni may be thicker or larger but at least you will know roughly how much you will require.

The main cheese I have chosen for this pizza grilled sandwich is a grated Mozzarella as this is the cheese of choice for many pizza toppings and a great compliment to pepperoni. There are of course many different types of Mozzarella, and a fresh Mozzarella is very different from the shop bought packet type used here, but of course, you could use any type of cheese or even vary the recipe by using a flavoured mature cheddar or whatever you prefer.

Pizzas often have a mix of cheeses as their toppings, so here I have added a small amount of grated cheddar to the tomato topping mix, just to replicate the typical pizza flavourings.

To replicate the pizza sauce you can of course use a jar of ready made sauce, but I prefer to make my own. This is great fun, as you can use whatever you want and tweek it to your own taste. I use a mix of tomato puree, tomato ketchup, garlic puree and mixed herbs to give a strong tomato base flavour, the amounts of which you can change to suit your own tastes. 

Making the perfect Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich

While the appliance is heating up gather all the ingredients together and butter one side of each of the 2 slices of thick white bread. These will be the sides that come into contact with the hotplates, and help to achieve the beautiful golden grill lines on the outer surfaces of the bread during the cooking process. (You could lightly spray or spread on a good quality oil if you prefer).  

Then, turn over the slices to start preparing the "pizza topping" on the dry side. First with approximately one teaspoon of tomato puree, one teaspoon of tomato ketchup and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic puree on each slice. Spread the mix over the entire slice.

Now sprinkle a pinch of mixed herbs over each slice, then carefully place the small amount of Cheddar cheese over the tomato mix.

Now add the pepperoni slices to cover one slice (don't worry if these go over the edge slightly) but make sure you completely cover the slice.   

Now cover th pepperoni with a generous amount of Emmental cheese (keeping in from the edge) and that's it. You are ready to go!

Finally close your sandwich by carefully putting the top slice in place.   

With your sandwich now assembled, once the appliance is up to temperature, carefully place the completed sandwich onto the bottom grill plate (taking great care as this is very hot and will sizzle noticeably upon contact). It is important to close the top plate slowly, and bring to rest on to the top of the sandwich but do not apply pressure. This will gradually settle under it's own weight while cooking, as in this case I prefer not to compress the sandwich by closing fully and locking the handles.  

Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until golden. 

Once your Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich is ready, switch off the appliance at the socket. NEVER lift your finished sandwich out with your fingers as the plates will still be extremely hot! Always use wood or plastic tools to loosen and lift away your sandwich, which usually comes away from the non-stick surface easily. Allow to cool slightly for a minute before cutting and serving.

The Recipe

Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich

EQUIPMENT

• 3-in-1 snack maker with grill / panini plates

PREPARATION TIME : 5 minutes

COOKING TIME : 5 minutes (approx.)

SERVINGS : 1

INGREDIENTS

• 2 slices of extra thick white sliced bread
• 8g of butter or similar
• 1 tsp of tomato puree
• 1 tsp of tomato ketchup
• 1/2 tsp of garlic puree
• 20g (4 slices) of pepperoni
• 40g of grated Mozzarella cheese
• 15g of grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp of mixed herbs

 For more information on weights, measures and simple conversions in both metric, imperial (and US) read ... DO SPOONS, MILLILITRES AND CUPS ACTUALLY MEASURE UP?

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

1. Turn on the snack maker
2. While the appliance is heating up gather the remaining ingredients together
3. Butter one side of each slice of bread
4. Turn the slices over (buttered side down) and cover with 1 tsp of tomato puree
5. Add 1 tsp of tomato ketchup and 1/2 tsp of garlic puree
6. Spread the ketchup and puree mix over the slices and sprinkle over this the dried mixed herbs
7. Add the small amount of grated cheddar cheese to the ketchup / puree mix
8. Place the slices of pepperoni to cover one of the slices
9. Add the Mozzarella cheese to cover the slices of pepperoni
10. Cover with the top slice (buttered side uppermost)
11. Carefully place the completed sandwich onto the bottom grill plate
12. Close the top plate gently onto the sandwich but do not press or close handles
13. Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until golden

Or you could try...

  Why not try a BBQ sauce (or even a tangy brown sauce) instead of tomato ketchup. This will give a tasty alternative to the purely tomato "pizza topping". 

Perfect with...

 The Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Sandwich are perfect on their own as a snack at any time of the day, or whenever the fancy takes you.

Or simply add some baby salad leaves and choice of dressing for a quick and tasty meal. 

How does your sandwich maker compare?

For most of the recipes shared here I use my trusty Tower Deep Fill 3-in-1 Sandwich Maker, so obviously you may need to adjust your ingredients slightly if you are using a different appliance. Having said that, most sandwich makers are very similar in design and size, and the amount of each filling is a guide only and you can increase or decrease, add or subtract, according to your personal taste.

Never be afraid to experiment, and remember you won't always get the perfect result first time, so if at first you don't succeed try, try and try again. It's great fun!

If you want to check out some of the alternative 3-in-1 machines available check out our guide...

More than just cheese toasties  -  The best reasonably priced 3-in-1 sandwich makers