These packable Italian Pressed Sandwiches are stuffed with ham, salami, provolone, pesto and roasted red peppers! The flavor combo is big and even better, you can feed a crowd with them!
Perfect lunch or appetizer! With no mayo to spoil the party, these are much more picnic friendly.
I made these for our picnic last week along with our Wedge Salad Platter, and talk about going in style. We rocked our red solo cups full of Mimosa’s and ate like kings on a beach on Puget Sound!
How to make Italian Pressed Sandwiches:
First we start with a loaf of store bought ciabatta bread. Ciabatta works best because it’s so dense. If you can not find ciabatta, focaccia will work and as a last resort, you can cut the center out of a large loaf of french bread. I have done this several times and it works great!
Slather one side of the sliced bread with pesto, the other with olive oil.
TIP: Be careful to not oversaturate your bread with the oil and pesto to avoid soggy bread. Scoop the pesto out with a slotted spoon leaving the oil behind if it’s a particularly oily brand. (I like the Kirkland brand, more pesto than oil).
Important: Pat dry your roasted red peppers with paper towels.
You want as much moisture out of them as possible so they don’t mush up your sammie.
Layer your Italian Pressed Sandwich in this order:
- Ham slices
- Roasted Red Peppers
- Provolone slices
- Spinach
- Salami
- As long as the salami and ham are on the bread itself, the order of the inside ingredients isn’t that critical. You are just trying to keep the bread from getting soft.
Three sammies ready to party! These are great to make in batches. Just line ’em up!
After you assemble your sandwich and wrap in plastic wrap, you will need to press it.
This is where you get to be all clever and stuff. I asked Mr. L. Spatula to help out and he rocked the sammie squishing ingenuity! Finally putting that Kettle Ball to good use…
Put in the fridge overnight. You could probably get away with a few hours if your bread is not too thick.
Slice with a sharp serrated knife and cut into about 3 inch pieces. I like to add a toothpick with a few olives or a pickle on top before serving.
Needless to say there are a zillion different ingredients you can use but I find the two most essential are pesto and roasted red peppers. It really give it a big flavor punch.
Some other great ideas are ham and swiss, roasted chicken and cream cheese, roast beef and havarti. The options are endless!
Serve with with one of our pasta salads and you have the perfect totable meal!
To picnics, sammies and kettle balls!
Clink,
Kathi
Check out this video of our Italian Pressed Sandwiches here!
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Pressed Italian Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 loaf ciabatta bred
- 1/2 pound sliced deli ham
- 1/2 pound sliced provolone
- 1 15 ounce jar roasted whole red peppers - drained and patted dry...as dry as you can get them
- 2 cups spinach leaves - stems removed
- 1/4 pound sliced salami
- 1/3 cup Pesto if your pesto is particularly oily, scoop out the driest part leaving the majority of the oil to make sure your bread doesnt get mushy
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil,
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Slice bread horizontally. Don't worry if it isn't perfect. When these are pressed and sliced, nobody will notice!
- Spread pesto on one half of the bread and olive oil on the other. Salt and pepper over olive oil side.
- Layer your ingredients. Ham, peppers, provolone , spinach, salami.
- Add the top of the bread on and wrap tightly in plastic wrap several times.
- Place the wrapped sandwich on a cookie sheet. Add a large baking dish and some weight on top. Bricks, a cast iron pan, hand weights or kettle ball are a few suggestions!
- Store in refrigerator overnight or at least 2 hours. Remove plastic, slice and serve!
- Garnish with toothpicks and olives if desired.
Nutrition
Dori says
Hi there! I am wondering if I were to use roast beef and havarti which I LOVE, would I still be using the pesto? What would you recommend I put with this? Hope you see this…choosing recipes for a bridal shower brunch! Thanks so much in advance!
Kathi & Rachel says
Hi Dori! I think that sounds delish! Pesto would still go well with roast beef and havarti but maybe sub a horseradish cream? Go not to hot so everyone can enjoy it. You can also do thin sliced chicken breast. Ive made it that way a few times and it’s very good!
Tracy Howell says
My husband and I love this sandwich. However he is diabetic. What I do is hollow out some of the round then add more veg, meat and cheese. Comes out wonderful and does raise his blood sugars as much.
Frances says
These sandwiches were great as an appetizer for a party! The ciabatta bread from Publix made 24 sandwiches 1’x2′. This allowed me to cut off the edges to show the layers on all. They look so professional! They tasted great!
Jackie says
I made this recipe and it was soooo good. The only issue was the pesto made the foccacia soggy. I saw in your note you mentioned putting meat directly on the bread, however in the picture pesto is on the bread directly?
LaughingSpatula.com says
Hi Jackie! You were right to put the pesto directly on the bread. The meat should go on the bread on top of the pesto. I am wondering if your bread was a bit more tender than what we use or the pesto had too much olive oil. I’ll update the recipe to reflect using more of the actual pesto and less oil of the pesto. I am making this saturday!
Jackie says
That’s a good tip. Everyone absolutely loved these otherwise.
Kim Beavers says
What if you were to lightly toast the bottom slice first since this is where the pesto will go?
Elena says
HI, I’m confused. The recipe said to use chipata bread. Did they also say we could use focaccia? I am wanting to try them but not sure which bread is the best. Do you know? Thank you.
Kathi & Rachel says
Hi Elena – the notes read – “If you can not find ciabatta, focaccia will work.” We prefer Ciabatta because it is so dense. Foccacia can be more tender. Kathi
IFortuna says
This is a lovely recipe and site. I suggest a layer of butter or cream cheese spread lightly on the bread. This will keep the bread from becoming mushy from the other ingredients.
Alyssa says
I think these look delicious I am thinking about making them as an appetizer for my wedding! How many mini sandwiches does this recipe typically yield? You recipe doesn’t make any comment about that. Thank You!!
Rachel Kirk says
It really depends on the size of your focaccia bread, and how you slice them- to each their own on how many it will yield 🙂 Hope they turn out great!
Lisa says
about the red peppers. You don’t say what to do withe them. Are they choppedsliced or just put on the sandwich and does it matter where, they are not listed in the layering directions. Also what size jar? I have never used them before and there were large and small jars. Thanks.
Kathi @ LaughingSpatula.com says
Hi Lisa, sorry for the confusion! I updated the recipe to make it easier to understand. 15 ounce jar of whole red peppers (most important to pat them dry really well). Thanks for your note!
Cinzia says
I do not understand why you call this Italian sandwiches.Maybe for the red white e green , the colours of ours flag.
This is not the tipe of food we eat in Italy, especially for lunch.
Kathi @ LaughingSpatula.com says
well I guess it was the Foccacia, Provolone and Pesto that I thought gave it an Italian flare!
Angie Wamsley says
I’m Italian and I can see where you ar coming from on this sandwich!
Kathi @ LaughingSpatula.com says
Thanks Angie! I think recipes morph over time to where they are being made. Sorta like a taco here isn’t really an authentic taco. But it’s the beauty of cooking, brings cultures together! I remade this recipe last week with step by step instructions. It will be coming out wednesday! Thank you for your note!
susan says
Get over it
Sharon Myers says
Been looking for a sandwich recipe that can be made the night before! We leave for tailgating at 7:00 in the morning before the Carolina Panthers games so there is no time to make the food in the morning. Am trying this for the Sunday game.
Kathi Kirk says
This is one of my all time favorite recipes! I make it all the time for backyard stuff and traveling. I think you will really like it!
sandy says
I am wanting to make this for a bridal shower. Any special tips or advice? Any particular brand of Pesto? Would Ciabatta work as the bread?
Kathi Kirk says
The best advice would be to make sure your roasted red peppers are good and dry. Really give them a good pat down with paper towels otherwise your bread will get mushy. Ciabatta would work, great texture, if you can find it in a flat shape. Any artisanal bread would hold up well with this. You can always take a thicker bread and cut out the middle as well. I think it’s a perfect bridal shower snack!
Angela says
Unfortunately, Focaccia Bread is nowhere to be found in our area. What would you suggest as a suitable substitute? These sandwiches look and sound incredibly delicious, especially since we love everything that’s on ’em. BTW, little “Walter” is adorable, and your daughter is lovely!
Kathi Kirk says
Hellloo Angela! You can use a loaf of store bought French Bread. Just cut a slice out of the middle so it isn’t so thick. Thanks for the sweet comment about Walt and my Rachel. She is as pretty on the inside as out!
Kathi
Tracy Howell says
Try using rounds of sour dough or any kind of round or thick long bread.
Kathi & Rachel says
Great advice! When I can’t find foccacia I’ll just buy a loaf of big french bread and cut out the middle. Works great! So glad you like the recipe!