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This amazing pizza grilled cheese has all the melty goodness of a classic grilled cheese sandwich combined with the flavor of pepperoni pizza! It’s a quick and easy meal everyone in your family will love.

Have leftover pizza fixings? Use them in these other quick and delicious meals! Pizza pinwheels, sliders, and pepperoni pizza dip are a few of my favorite recipes to make for the family. They’re all cheesy, saucy, and loaded with flavor!

2 triangle-cut halves of a pizza grilled cheese stacked on top of each other.

Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipe

Pizza grilled cheese is such a fun twist on a classic sandwich. Not only is it absolutely delicious, but super easy too! You only need a handful of ingredients to make it and it’s something kids can throw together for an after-school snack! The layers of mozzarella cheese, marinara, pepperoni, and Italian herbs are absolutely mouthwatering. Sandwiched between toasty, golden brown bread, this is a comfort food you won’t want to miss.

I love this pizza grilled cheese recipe because you can use up leftovers so easily! Whenever we make homemade pizza at my house, we’re always left with a bunch of fixings afterward, especially pepperoni. This is a great way to utilize them! Plus, you can use any kind of bread you want! It’s one of those super easy snacks you can throw together in a snap. Speaking from experience, it’s the perfect weeknight dinner for tired moms. Let’s get started!

Ingredients Needed to Make It

These simple ingredients combine to create a masterpiece out of a simple dish. There are a lot of ways to customize your pizza grilled cheese, see my tips section below! Also, if you’re looking for ingredients they can all be found in the recipe card below.

  • Bread: I used plain white bread, but you can try out different types! Sourdough bread, garlic bread, and ciabatta bread are just a few tasty variations to try for a more gourmet version of this dish. Texas toast works great too for thick, crispy goodness!
  • Softened Butter: I like mine soft so it spreads on the bread nice and evenly.
  • Grated Parmesan Cheese: Creates a nice cheesy crust on the butter side of the bread!
  • Italian Seasoning: Use prepackaged Italian herbs or make your own blend!
  • Garlic Powder: For a nice pop of savory flavor.
  • Marinara: I always recommend making homemade marinara sauce for the freshest flavor. It’s great for making ahead and storing!
  • Mozzarella Cheese: I love adding mozzarella for its creamy, milky flavor and stretchy, melty texture. If you don’t have any on hand, other types of melty cheese like provolone cheese and Monterey Jack work great.
  • Pepperoni Slices: You can use either mini or regular-sized pepperoni here.

How to Make Pizza Grilled Cheese

It only takes 10 minutes to cook up this tasty treat. Pizza grilled cheese has honestly become one of my new favorite snacks. I know you’ll love the way it tastes just as much as I do!

  1. Preheat Skillet, Create Cheese Crust Mixture: First, preheat a skillet to medium-high heat. In a small bowl combine the parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning.
  2. Coat Bread Slices: On each slice of bread, spread on the softened butter and sprinkle the parmesan mixture on top.
  3. Add Toppings: On the inside of the bread, top with a few tablespoons pizza sauce or marinara, cheese, and pepperoni.
  4. Cook: Add them to the heated pan for 5-8 minutes on each side, or until cheese is melted.
4-photo collage of a pizza grilled cheese sandwich being prepared with fillings and cooked in a skillet.

Other Toppings and Variations

Just like you can customize a pizza to your heart’s content, you can do the same thing with this grilled cheese! Here are a few of my other favorite toppings to add!

  • Other Meats: Crumbled sausage and bacon taste great on this grilled cheese! I like to buy both precooked for easy prep.
  • Veggies: For a supreme pizza version of this dish, try adding some chopped peppers, mushrooms, onions, or olives!
  • Swap the Sauce: Try out your grilled cheese with buffalo sauce or BBQ instead of marinara for a fun twist!

Storing Leftovers

I recommend eating your pizza grilled cheese sandwiches as soon as you’ve made them for the best flavor, but they can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours.

  • In the Refrigerator: Store grilled cheese in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.
  • Reheating: To keep it nice and crispy, you can reheat your sandwich in a skillet over medium heat until warmed through, or in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Closeup shot of a sliced sandwich being pulled apart in 2 halves.

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Pizza Grilled Cheese

4.50 from 2 votes
By: Alyssa Rivers
This amazing pizza grilled cheese has all the melty goodness of a classic grilled cheese sandwich combined with the flavor of pepperoni pizza! It's a quick and easy meal everyone in your family will love.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Preheat a skillet to medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine the parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning.
  • On each slice of bread, spread on the softened butter and sprinkle the parmesan mixture on top.
  • On the inside of the bread, top with marinara, cheese, and pepperoni.
  • Add them to the heated skilled for 5-8 mins on each side, or until cheese is melted.

Nutrition

Calories: 594kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 25gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 21gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 1528mgPotassium: 400mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1074IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 481mgIron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner, lunch
Cuisine: American, Italian American
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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2 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    5 stars for flavor and taste. My kids love them.
    4 stars because the bread gets soggy from the marinara sauce and it was a mess the first time I made them. The next time I made them I toasted both sides of the bread to get it nice and crispy.

  2. 5 stars
    why haven’t I seen anything like this before! It’s the perfect upgrade to a basic grilled cheese sandwich, ha, great idea, thank you