Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, with garlic parmesan herbed butter, taste like pepperoni pizza on cheesy garlic bread and you can make 4 grilled cheese sandwiches at once since they are baked in the oven!
What Makes This Grilled Cheese Recipe Unique?
These Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches are no ordinary grilled cheese sandwiches. They combine three of my favorite foods: Pepperoni Pizza, Grilled Cheese, and Garlic Bread! It is a triple play! A trifecta! If you love grilled cheese, garlic bread, and pepperoni pizza, then you will love this grilled cheese sandwich. It is a combination that you likely won’t find at a restaurant unless you specially go to a grilled cheese restaurant.
If you are the one preparing the grilled cheese sandwiches for your family, then you will love this recipe! Why? Because instead of grilling the sandwiches one by one by one, you can bake four (4) sandwiches all at once in the oven with this recipe. It is very easy to do.
In addition, while most grilled cheese sandwiches just lather on regular butter, this recipe makes a gourmet Garlic Parmesan Herb Butter for even more flavor! It makes the bread, Texas toast in this case, taste like cheesy garlic bread, and then when you add that melty cheese and pepperoni in the middle, it is irresistible!
What Type Of Cheese To Use In Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Most grilled cheese sandwiches call for cheeses that melt well, such as American, cheddar, gouda, or fontina. However, since this grilled cheese recipe combines pepperoni pizza with the grilled cheese sandwich, I chose to use Mozzarella cheese because it melts really well and since it is also used on pizzas, it fits into the these of these Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.
What Type Of Bread To Use In Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Often for grilled cheese sandwiches, white bread is used. For gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, often ciabatta, sourdough, or other specialty breads are used. In this case, I chose to use Texas toast because it is thick and works well with the additional ingredients in these Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.
How To Make Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Make the Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter
- Combine 2 sticks of butter, garlic powder, grated parmesan cheese, and Italian Seasoning in a small bowl and stir until it is all thoroughly mixed together well. It is now ready to spread on the bread. (See the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for the specific amounts for each ingredient.)
Make The Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Below are the step by step instructions, followed by the step by step photos, of how to make Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.
- Lay 8 slices of bread flat on a baking sheet or sheet pan.
- Spread the Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter on each side of every slice of bread. (If you want, you can butter only the outside of the bread for sandwiches but to add more flavor, on this recipe, I like to butter both sides of the bread.)
- Lay 2 slices of mozzarella on top of 4 slices of bread.
- Lay 4 slices of pepperoni on each of the 4 slices of bread with cheese.
- Add about a teaspoon of pizza sauce on top of the cheese and pepperoni on the 4 sandwiches.
- Place a slice of Garlic Parmesan buttered bread on top of each of the 4 sandwiches.
- Spread the Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter on the outside of the top slice of bread (if you have not done so already.)
- Bake The Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on the sheet pan in a 425 degree F preheated oven until the bread turns golden brown and the cheese melts, which may take about 8 minutes. (Be sure to watch the sandwiches carefully because the time can very depending on the type and thickness of the bread used and the type of cheese. It can quickly go from golden brown to burnt very quickly.)
- Carefully turn each of the sandwiches and bake for another 3 minutes or so on the other side.
- Remove from the oven and slice each sandwich in half.
The photos below show the Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches before they go in the oven and then show how they look when they come out of the oven.
I love the melty cheese and pepperoni when I slice the Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches in half.
FAQs
- Can I use just regular butter in this grilled cheese recipe? Yes. If you don’t have all the ingredients, just spread regular butter on the bread instead of the Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter. However, with just a few more ingredients and a couple of minutes, you can really add a lot of flavor if you use the Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter.
- Can I Use Spaghetti Sauce Instead of Pizza Sauce? Yes. Use spaghetti sauce if that is what you have. That will work well and still give it that pizza flavor.
- Can These Sandwiches Be Grilled Instead of Baked? Yes. If you want to “grill” these sandwiches in a hot skillet or hot griddle, that will work as well. You will likely have to cook them in batches though.
- Can I Use Regular Bread? Yes. You can use regular white bread, whole wheat bread, sourdough, or whatever you like. I was trying to go for the garlic toast type of flavor so I chose to use thick sliced white bread that is used for Texas toast. Watch the sandwiches carefully when you are baking them because if you use thinner slices of bread will likely cook faster than the time I have in the recipe.
- Can I Use A Different Type Of Cheese? Yes. You can use any type of cheese that melts well, such as American, Cheddar, Fontina, etc. You may need to adjust the baking time if you change the cheese. Watch it carefully while it bakes to ensure it does not overcook.
What To Serve With Baked Pepperoni Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
These grilled cheese sandwiches pair well with tomato soup or with a green salad. Check out these delicious tomato soup recipes to serve with sandwiches.
- Roasted Tomato Soup Shooters – This tomato soup is creamy and a little smoky from the roasted tomatoes. Serve in a glass and you can drink your tomato soup while you eat your grilled cheese.
- Tomato Basil Soup – With the right balance of tomatoes and basil, this tomato soup really delivers the flavor.
- Herby Tomato Soup – This tomato soup has a splash of red wine vinegar to bring out the tomato flavor and burrata to make it extra creamy.
- Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup – made with roasted red bell peppers, this gives the tomato soup more depth of flavor while keeping it healthy.
If you like this grilled cheese sandwich, be sure to check out our Loaded Grilled Cheese Sandwich recipe.
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Recipe
Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Ingredients
Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
- 8 slices bread (I used Texas Toast)
- 2 Tablespoons pizza sauce
- 1 recipe Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter (See recipe below)
- 8 slices Mozzarella cheese
- 16 slices pepperoni
Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter
- 1 cup butter (softened)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
Instructions
Baked Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Make the Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter. Combine all ingredients under Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter in a small bowl and stir until combined.
- Lay the slices of bread on a baking sheet or sheet pan. Spread the Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter on each side of every slice of bread.
- Lay 2 slices of mozzarella on 4 slices of bread.
- Lay 4 slices of pepperoni on each of the 4 slices of bread with cheese.
- Add a small amount (about a teaspoon) of pizza sauce (or spaghetti sauce) on top of the cheese and pepperoni.
- Cover the pepperoni and cheese with a slice of Garlic Parmesan buttered bread.Spread the Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter on the top slice of bread.
- Bake in a preheated oven until the bread turns golden brown and the cheese melts, which may take about 7-8 minutes.
Notes
- Use a good quality cheese that melts well. I used Mozzarella because that is typically used on pizza and it melts well. However, you could also use American, cheddar, white cheddar, gouda, fontina, etc.
- If you don't have sliced cheese, you can also use shredded cheese that would even help it melt even better.
- I used Texas toast for the bread because I wanted to have that garlic bread feel and I didn't want the bread to be too thin. However, you can use regular white bread, wheat bread, or just about any other type of bread. As always, the better the quality of bread, the better the end result.
- If you don't have pizza sauce, use spaghetti sauce.
- You could use regular butter instead of the Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter, but if you have all the ingredients, I recommend taking a couple of extra minutes and making the Garlic Parmesan Herbed Butter because it adds so much extra flavor.
- Watch the grilled cheese sandwich while it is in the oven. Don't walk away. The baking time can vary depending on a number of factors, including the type of bread, thickness of the bread, the type of cheese, the temperature variation of your oven, etc. Watch it carefully so you can pull it out when it is a nice golden brown and the cheese is melted.
Nutrition
Brenda Young says
Yummy!!! What a great idea to feed kids a quick dinner before trick and treating!!!!
Michele says
Yes and kids love this grilled cheese sandwich.