Chicken Caprese Panini…Without a Panini Press
Easy chicken caprese panini with seasoned chicken breast, pesto, crushed red tomatoes, fresh basil, and melty mozzarella…all made without a single panini press!
We can all agree that bread is one of the most beautiful things humanity has ever created, right? I mean sure, there’s the Sistine Chapel, there’s the Fibonacci Sequence, there are Shakespeare’s Sonnets. But bread is truly a thing of beauty.
Unfortunately I don’t get to eat bread very often as it makes me sick. But every once in a while I really crave a sandwich as a special treat. And my coworkers can attest, I’ve been craving this particular panini for months.
We once spent an afternoon scrolling through the menus of all the local delis and artisan sandwich shops in Tribeca, trying to find this exact panini. It exists nowhere. So I decided I’d have to make it myself.
And since we’re all locked down, this seemed like the perfect time to indulge in a treat.
The problem? I don’t have a panini press. If you’ve got one, bully for you. But if you’re in my boat, there’s a solution below!
Another light summery Italian-style meal is this Smoked Sausage and Veggie Bow Tie Pasta Skillet!
Jump to Recipe
TL;DR
- Season and tenderize (optional) your chicken breast.
- Cook on a sauté pan until done on the inside and crisp on the outside.
- Butter the outsides of your bread.
- Coat the insides with pesto.
- Place one piece of bread, butter-side down, into a clean sauté pan.
- Layer mozzarella, crush tomatoes, basil, and chicken onto your bread.
- Top with the other piece of bread, butter-side up.
- Turn the heat on medium-high.
- Heat the bottom of a cast iron skillet on a burner.
- Place the heated cast iron skillet onto the top of your panini and press down. (Use an oven mitt!)
- After the cheese has begun to melt, remove the cast iron skillet.
- Flip your panini over. Cook until the cheese is melted and the toast is brown on all sides.
How to make a Chicken Caprese Panini (Without a Panini Press)
As a concept, paninis are fairly simple. You just need two pieces of bread and some stuff to go in the middle. I’d been craving some grilled chicken breast and there is nothing better than melty mozzarella and basil in a panini. Combine them together and you’ve got this fantastic recipe!
The Bread
I’m not particularly picky here. Use your favorite bread, just make sure it’s thin enough that you can get a nice flat panini top when you press down with your skillet. I chose a multigrain round peasant loaf cut into ½ inch thick slices.
The Chicken
Cook your chicken breast just before you make the panini, that way it’s still warm by the time you’re sitting down to eat. (Realistically you won’t be able to warm it up while you’re heating the sandwich.)
I’ve found the best way to prepare a chicken breast for this recipe is to slice it in half, long-ways. This makes for a thinner chicken breast that cooks faster and doesn’t overfill your panini.
If you’ve got a tenderizing mallet, that would work too. But just slicing in half may be enough. (Plus this means you can make two paninis!)
Season your chicken with italian seasonings: salt, pepper, dried basil, red pepper flakes.
The Mozzarella
Fresh mozzarella is the way to go. Shredded mozzarella doesn’t melt very well.
You also want to be able to control the thickness of your slices. Too thick and they take too long to melt. Too thin and you’re missing the point of eating cheese. Between ½ and ¼ inch thick is a good estimate.
The Veggies: Tomatoes, Basil, and Pesto
Tomatoes. I originally wanted to use whole canned tomatoes for this. But as we were entering a lockdown, canned goods were becoming scarce. So I had to use a can of crushed diced tomatoes. To keep the panini from getting too soggy, I drained the tomatoes before adding them to my sandwich.
Basil. Always use fresh basil if possible! There is no point in a caprese-anything if you use dried basil. You want that fresh herby flavor.
Pesto. Again, I’m not picky here. Choose your favorite pesto and then spread liberally!
Making a Panini Without a Panini Press
Sharing a kitchen in college is wonderful because you get to use everyone’s everything. (If you’re lucky…) Of course once you move out, you realize how many things you don’t have access to. And you have to pick which things you don’t need to replace for yourself. A panini press was something I chose to live without, much to my own chagrin.
Ingredients 
First layers. 
Final layers with chicken, before final bread slice. 
The set up! There’s a panini under that cast iron skillet. Promise!
Good news is, you can still make paninis.
You’ll need: 1 sauté pan, 1 well-seasoned cast iron skillet, and a panini.
- Make sure the outside of your bread is heavily coated in butter.
- Heat up your cast iron skillet until you can feel heat radiating off the center of the pan. (Don’t touch it! Just hover your hand above.)
- Place your panini in the sauté pan and heat over medium-high heat.
- Using an oven mitt, carefully lift up your cast iron and place it on the top of your panini. Press down evenly and hold for about 1-2 minutes until the mozzarella starts to melt and the sandwich is flattened. The heat from the bottom of your cast iron skillet will have melted the butter on top and started to toast the top part of the bread.
- Now flip your panini over and toast the other side to desired done-ness.
What sides should I serve with a Chicken Caprese Panini?
Like most sandwiches, paninis pair well with assorted salads. (Or fries and chips…but let’s pretend to be healthy, shall we?) My personal favorite is this Three Bean Pasta Salad. But you could also pair with something lighter like a Watercress and Mandarin Orange Salad too.
What wine pairs with a Chicken Caprese Panini?
As always, you have to think about the flavors involved in your panini. Fortunately caprese and other italian flavors are made to pair with wines. My absolute favorite pairing with this particular panini is a lightly chilled Grenache wine.
Little James’ Basket Press (2019) is an excellent summery red wine. Chill it just slightly and you’ll get a full basket of red berries in your glass.
Easy chicken caprese panini with seasoned chicken breast, pesto, crushed red tomatoes, fresh basil, and melty mozzarella…all made without a single panini press!
- 1 Chicken Breast sliced in half flat-ways
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Red Pepper Flakes to taste
- 8 slices fresh Mozzarella
- 12 fresh Basil Leaves
- 4 whole Canned Tomatoes
- Pesto to taste
- 4 slices Bread
- 2 tbsp Butter
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Slice your chicken breast in half so you have two chicken breasts of roughly the same thickness. Tenderize these with a mallet if you have one. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.
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Sauté both chicken breasts in a pan with some olive oil over medium-high until done. Depending on the thickness of your chicken, this should take about 10 minutes total, 5 minutes per side.
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Spread butter on the outside of two slices of bread. (Use about 1/2 teaspoon per slice.)
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Spread pesto, to taste, on the inside of two slices of bread.
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Place one slice of bread, butter-side-down and pesto-side-up, on a non-stick sauté pan. Layer the following: two slices of mozzarella, 3 basil leaves and 1 whole canned tomato (crushed). The place the chicken breast and repeat, topping with the second slice of bread.
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Heat a small cast iron skillet on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
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Meanwhile, heat your sauté pan + panini on medium heat for 2 minutes.
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Once the cast iron is hot, remove it from the heat and place it directly onto the top slice of bread. Press down and allow to cook for about 3 minutes.
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Remove the cast iron skillet and flip your now-flatted panini over. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and both sides are browned.
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Repeat with the second panini. Consume.
*Recipe makes two paninis!
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