Meatless Monday: Avocado, mozzarella and sun-dried tomato panini

Small kitchen appliances are great, although sometimes they can take up precious cupboard space. The nice thing about this Meatless Monday recipe for avocado, mozzarella and sun-dried tomato panini is that it’s tasty and can easily be made with a panini press… or not!

The pressure is on

Panini sandwiches are popular for their great taste, portability and super flavor combinations, thanks to any number of ingredients you can add to make a flattened, grilled sandwich. These sandwiches make great meals from breakfast to dinner, and you can get them together in no time.

Try this easy Meatless Monday recipe for veggie and hummus rolls >>

If you’ve ever felt the pressure to get a great-tasting, meatless meal together in a jiffy, panini sandwiches are a great solution… whether or not you own a panini press.

Press yourself

If your kitchen is bursting at the seams and couldn’t possibly contain one more appliance, but you really want to make a panini-type sandwich, don’t fret — there is an easy solution! If you have two skillets and four canned goods, you can make a pressed sandwich without the panini maker:

• Prep your sandwiches and place them near the stove.
• Place one skillet over medium-high heat and add nonstick cooking spray.
• Put the sandwich on the skillet. Place the bottom of the second skillet on top of the sandwiches.
• Carefully place the four canned goods in the skillet to help weigh it down, pressing on the sandwich.
• Cook for a few minutes until the sandwich begins to toast slightly.
• Remove the canned goods and top skillet, flip the sandwich and replace the skillet and canned goods until the second side is toasted.

Check out this Meatless Monday recipe using avocados >>

Whether or not you have a panini press, this Meatless Monday recipe is delicious!

Avocado, mozzarella and sun-dried tomato panini

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 avocados, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced or cut into bite-sized pieces
• 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 8 slices ciabatta bread, or 4 bread rolls, split in half
• 1/4 cup sandwich spread of your choice, like seasoned mayo or brown mustard (optional)

Directions:

1. Prep your sandwiches by laying out four slices of the bread (or the bottom half of the rolls).
2. If using sandwich spread, add it to the bread. Next, layer the sandwiches evenly with the mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado slices and more mozzarella cheese.
3. Add the remaining bread slices (or top half of the rolls) to each of the four sandwiches.
4. If you’re using a panini press, add the sandwiches to the griddle and close the press. Cook according to the panini press directions or until the cheese melts and the bread is toasted on both sides.
5. If you’re using your own press method with the two skillets as described above, cook your sandwiches for about five minutes, flipping once, so both sides are golden and toasted and the cheese is melted.

There’s no pressure to get a great, Meatless Monday meal together with this recipe!

More Meatless Monday recipes to try

Stuffed and grilled Hungarian peppers
Baked eggplant marinara
Barley salad with Champagne-orange vinaigrette