Italian Grilled Cheese Bake

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Sourdough bread loaded with ooey-gooey cheeses, pesto, cherry tomatoes, and bacon. It is then layered into a dish and baked to serve a crowd.

During my freshman year of university, I studied in a different country. So college food in the United States is not the best, but at the university I went to, the food was fairly healthy and almost gourmet at times. I felt like I was actually getting good use out of my dining plan.

One item periodically on the menu was Italian grilled cheese. This wasn't your typical grilled cheese, it was loaded with tomato and pesto and cooked french toast style. The bread was drenched in egg yolks which just blew my mind.

Obviously, this grilled cheese was so good, I still remember it to this day.

I recently was craving this grilled cheese again, but I wanted to make something easy to prepare for my family. A casserole style grilled cheese is much easier to cook than hovering over the stove cooking each sandwich individually. You just toast the bread, add all the ingredients and bake.

And it is super yum.

Italian Grilled Cheese vs. Standard Grilled Cheese

There are different variations on Italian grilled cheese and even your standard grilled cheese. Usually, Italian grilled cheese is made with provolone or mozzarella cheese, pesto, and tomato. Then it is soaked in eggs and grilled on each side. Your typical grilled cheese sandwich is made with cheddar cheese and the bread is smoothened in butter before cooking. Then, it is often served with tomato soup for dunking.

What You Will Need

2 tbsp butter

1 medium loaf of sourdough bread

15 oz ricotta cheese

1 cup pesto

1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded

4 slices provolone cheese halved

4 pieces bacon crumbled

1 cup cherry tomatoes quartered

How to Make Italian Grilled Cheese Bake

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Slice the sourdough bread and spread butter on the slices. Layer the slices in a baking dish.

Toast the bread for 5 minutes in the oven.

Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

Remove the bread from the baking dish and spread ricotta cheese on the bottom of the dish. Then layer the bread back on top of the ricotta cheese.

Generously spread pesto on the slices then place the provolone cheese in between the slices of bread.

Sprinkle the bacon, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese on top.

Place the dish back in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Remove the dish from the oven and serve the grilled cheese warm.

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