Pizza Grilled Cheese
Posted Aug 22, 2025
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This Pizza Grilled Cheese is a quick, easy, family-friendly meal made with 5 ingredients in 10 minutes! The perfect lunch or dinner for busy days.
I’m always creating fast and easy recipes to make for my family – and this pizza grilled cheese is one of our favorites (also try French bread pizza)! It’s a jazzed up version of a grilled cheese sandwich that your kids will love.
This recipe is perfect when you’re craving pizza but don’t have time to make homemade pizza from scratch.
Made with only 5 ingredients including bread, pizza sauce, cheese and your desired toppings, these pizza grilled cheese sandwiches come together in 10 minutes flat!
Pizza Grilled Cheese: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Bread. I recommend a hearty bread that holds up well to being buttered and grilled. I suggest a hearty brioche, sourdough, homemade white sandwich bread, homemade honey wheat bread, etc.
- Pizza Sauce. this is the best homemade pizza sauce! You can use store-bought, if desired.
- Mozzarella cheese. I suggest a sliced or shredded, organic mozzarella for best results. Or, you can use a “pizza blend” which you can find at most grocery stores.
- Toppings. choose your favorite. We usually make one half cheese, one half pepperoni.
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter works wee. You can also use olive oil, which you would pour into the pan and swirl until it’s evenly distributed before cooking the sandwiches.
How to Make Pizza Grilled Cheese
We’ll walk through this recipe together step-by-step, and be sure to watch the video for additional guidance.
Begin by spreading 1 Tablespoon of pizza sauce on the inside of each of the 4 pieces of bread.
Then, place 2 pieces of mozzarella cheese over the sauce on each piece of bread.
If desired, put toppings on two pieces of bread over the mozzarella cheese (I found about 12 pepperonis fit on one piece of bread).
Then sprinkle some seasoning – red pepper flakes, chopped fresh basil, etc. over the toppings if desired.
Next, close the sandwiches by putting one piece of bread with mozzarella cheese on top of the bread with toppings.
Cook the Sandwiches
Once the pizza grilled cheese sandwiches are assembled, there are two ways you could cook them using either butter or olive oil. Both are delicious, it just depends on the flavor you prefer for your sandwiches.
To use butter: spread the outside of each piece of bread with ½ Tablespoon butter.
To use olive oil: put 2 Tablespoons of olive oil into a large skillet and swirl until it’s evenly distributed in the bottom of the pan.
Then, put the sandwiches in a nonstick pan (either buttered or on the olive oil) and turn the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook on the first side until it’s golden-brown (3-4 minutes).
Then, flip, cover and cook on the second side until golden-brown and the cheese is melted.
Serve
Let cool for 1-2 minutes then serve warm with your favorite sides. I suggest a crisp salad, like a burrata salad or spinach salad and a side of fruit salad – either summer fruit salad or winter fruit salad depending on the season.
Store
It’s best to eat your pizza grilled cheese right after cooking. But if you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet for the best results.
Pizza Grilled Cheese Recipe FAQS
Absolutely – this recipe is easy to scale to the number of sandwiches you’d like to make! You may need to use more than one pan or cook in batches if you make more than 2 or 4 sandwiches, because you do not want to crowd the pan.
I suggest a hearty bread like sourdough, sliced french or Italian bread, white sandwich bread, etc.
Yes, fresh mozzarella works well in this recipe. Be sure to cut it in thin slices so it melts easily.
Yes, shredded mozzarella works well, you just have to be careful when assembling the sandwiches. If using shredded, I suggest putting the toppings on one half of bread, then put the cheese on top of the toppings.
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Pizza Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 slices bread
- 6 ounces mozzarella cheese (8 slices)
- 4 Tablespoons pizza sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Salted Butter (1 olive oil)
- ¾ cup pepperoni (about 24 pepperoni)
Instructions
- Spread 1 Tablespoon pizza sauce on the inside of each of the 4 pieces of bread.
- Then, place 2 pieces of mozzarella cheese over the sauce on each piece of bread.
- If desired, put toppings on two pieces of bread over the mozzarella cheese (I found about 12 pepperonis fit on one piece of bread).
- “Close” the sandwiches by putting one piece of bread with mozzarella cheese on top of the bread with toppings.
Cook the Sandwiches
- Either: 1) spread the outside of each piece of bread with ½ Tablespoon butter. Or 2) put 2 Tablespoons olive oil into a large skillet and swirl or spread until evenly distributed.
- Put sandwiches in a nonstick pan (either buttered or on the olive oil). Then turn the heat to medium-low, cover and cook on the first side until it’s golden-brown (3-4 minutes).
- Then, flip, cover and cook on the second side until golden-brown.
- Let cool for 1-2 minutes then serve warm
Video
Notes
- Pepperoni
- Black olives
- Fresh basil
- Spinach
- Onions
- Bell peppers
- Mushrooms
- Red pepper flakes (sprinkles over the cheese before the sandwich is put together),
- Parmesan cheese
- Bread. I recommend a hearty bread that holds up well to being buttered and grilled. I suggest a hearty brioche, sourdough, homemade white sandwich bread, homemade honey wheat bread, etc.
- Pizza Sauce. this is the best homemade pizza sauce! You can use store-bought, if desired.
- Mozzarella cheese. I suggest a sliced or shredded, organic mozzarella for best results. Or, you can use a “pizza blend” which you can find at most grocery stores.
- Toppings. choose your favorite. We usually make one half cheese, one half pepperoni.
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter works wee. You can also use olive oil, which you would pour into the pan and swirl until it’s evenly distributed before cooking the sandwiches.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
