If you love your sandwiches...which I am sure we all do, here is the perfect quick and easy recipe to fulfill all of your sandwich needs. Toasted sourdough, paired with savory pesto, Trifecta chicken, and sweet Roma tomatoes; this delicious recipe can be prepared in less than 15 minutes.
About This RecipeThis recipe is quick to prepare if you're using Trifecta Chicken. The pesto can be home-made or store bought depending on how much time you have; however, homemade pestos have way more flavor!
A classic Italian pesto is prepared with basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese.
The issue you may run into when preparing a classic pesto is that most recipes call for 1/2 cup or more of oil. The sauce is naturally high in fat. which although this may help blend the pesto, it leads to excess fat and calories.
To curve this, if you are making a home-made pesto for this recipe, replace some of the oil with seasoning liquids such as lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, kombucha, or specialty vinegars.
Add as much or as little liquid as you'd like depending on if you like a smooth or chunky pesto.
Try out some of our favorite pesto recipes to pair with this killer and simple sandwich:
This recipe can be prepared quickly even if you're making the pesto sauce from scratch.
You can purchase a pesto pre-made from most grocery stores or check out your local farmers market!
Bonus: most of the time you can also find some amazing artisan sourdough bread at your local market along with all of the ingredients you need for this pesto chicken sandwich besides the Trifecta Chicken. Pick up extra ingredients for a delicious salad or any other meal prep needs you may have.
There are a few different ways you can build a panini style sandwich:
For the sake of a quick clean up, we are going to prepare this pesto chicken sandwich by using a skillet.
First heat a skillet over medium-high heat and spray you're slices of toast with a quick spritz of cooking spray, then lay into the skillet (if you'd like extra flavor and calories, toast your bread with some salted butter!).
Toast the bread for 1 minute on one side, then flip over and lay 1 tablespoon cottage cheese (or cheese of choice) and 1 tablespoon of pesto onto one of the pieces of toast and a few of the sliced tomatoes on the other.
Give the tomatoes a quick drizzle of balsamic vinegar and make sure you sprinkle a pinch of salt on top of them.
Continue to cook for at least 2 minutes adjusting the heat as needed.
This part can get a little tricky. Layer 3 ounces of chicken into your sandwich along with a few slices of basil and then gentle flip over one of the sides to close the sandwich.
Using a pair of tongs, a weight press, or a lid from one of your pots, press down the sandwich gently (not too hard or everything will fall out!). Continue cooking for 2 minutes, then flip the sandwich and cook for 2 more minutes, or until everything is heated through. Then dig in!
Sandwiches are not the best chicken meal prep recipes because the bread often gets too soggy if you try to prepare them a day in advance.
So if you have time to cook your sandwich, then this recipe will be another nutritious meal to prepare in a pinch. But if you are looking for a meal-prep friendly version of this pesto chicken sandwich recipe then we have some options! Skip the bread in any of these for a keto-friendly and paleo-friendly version of this recipe.
Start building your own budget-friendly meal prep for only $6 a meal using Trifecta pre-cooked meal prep ingredients. Just pick and choose your favorite proteins, grains, and veggies, season, and eat!