Sun Dried Tomato Spinach and Ricotta Grilled Cheese
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Who could resist this fresh and flavorful twist on grilled cheese? This Sun Dried Tomato Spinach and Ricotta Grilled Cheese is a must try grilled cheese sandwich! It’s loaded with three kinds of cheese and it has that delicious flavor combo of sun dried tomatoes and spinach.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sara Lee® Bread. The opinions and text are all mine.
Grilled Cheese
April is National Grilled Cheese Month! What better way to celebrate than this hearty grilled cheese? It’s perfect for lunch or dinner. It really just makes that plain old cheddar grilled cheese sandwich seem ultra boring!
Layered together over soft cracked wheat bread is steamed fresh spinach, fresh basil, creamy ricotta, rich provolone, salty parmesan, and those rich ultra flavorful sun dried tomatoes.
Sound good yet??
This is a grilled cheese I’ll want to make time and time again! I’ve already made it twice and can’t stop thinking about it.
For this recipe I used Sara Lee® Artesano™ Golden Wheat Bread. I love this new bread! It’s soft, it has a great flavor and it holds up well as a base to all your favorite sandwiches. Sara Lee Artesano Golden Wheat Bread is the ORIGINAL artisan-style sliced bread. Sliced thick with a mouthwateringly soft texture and rich flavor plus:
- A touch of honey, olive oil and sea salt
- No high fructose corn syrup
- No artificial flavors
- No artificial colors
To celebrate National Grilled Cheese Month and National Grilled Cheese Day (today!), Sara Lee Bread is hosting a “Grilled Cheese Worth Celebrating Photo Sweepstakes.” You could win $1,000 or a year supply of Sara Lee Artesano Bread! Here’s how to enter:
- Post a photo on Instagram of your favorite grilled cheese with the hashtags #ArtesanoBread and #Sweepstakes
- Or enter via the form here: www.ArtesanoGrilledCheeseSweepstakes.com
- Good luck!
How to Make Grilled Cheese
Back to basics. To make grilled cheese I like to lightly butter both sides of the bread, and always use a sturdy bread. Then add in your favorite cheeses and cook in a non-stick skillet over medium – to medium-low heat (here I go with medium-low so that cheese filling will have enough time to melt). Cook just until the bottom is golden brown then flip and continue to cook until golden brown on bottom. Here I also cover it with a lid while it’s cooking to trap in the heat, again to help all that cheese melt.
For this recipe you can also sauté the spinach. To do so, rinse and drain but leave the water that clings to the leaves. Then add about 1 Tbsp olive oil to a skillet and sauté the spinach until it just wilts (covering with a lid will make it go faster). Dab dry with paper towels.
Then feel free to use oil packed tomatoes or those in the pouch. I opt for those in the pouch for less fat/calories but either works great here.
More Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipes to Try
Follow Easy Cooking Zone
Sun Dried Tomato Spinach and Ricotta Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 oz. shredded unsmoked provolone cheese (or dice up deli slices)
- 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
- 3 Tbsp finely shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 small garlic cloves, minced (1/2 tsp)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups (slightly packed) fresh spinach
- 4 slices Sara Lee Artesano Golden Wheat Bread
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 3 Tbsp minced sun dried tomatoes*
- 8 tsp butter, softened
Instructions
- In a bowl stir together provolone, ricotta, parmesan and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste, set aside.
- In a medium pot bring 1/2-inch water to a boil then place a steamer basket in pot.
- Add in spinach, cover with lid and let steam until just wilted, about 1 - 2 minutes.
- Transfer spinach to paper towels and fold paper towels over spinach to remove excess moisture.
- Butter both sides of bread slices with 1 tsp butter.
- On two slices of bread evenly layer spinach and basil.
- Then layer over ricotta mixture and sprinkle and lightly press sun dried tomatoes into ricotta mixture.
- Top with remaining slices of bread.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat.
- Add sandwiches, cover and cook until golden brown on bottom, about 4 - 6 minutes.
- Flip and continue to cook until golden brown on bottom and cheese has melted through, about 2 minutes longer (reduce burner temp slightly as needed to prevent bread from browning too much).
- Serve immediately.
- *If using sun dried tomatoes in oil dab off all excess oil with paper towels.
- Recipe source: Easy Cooking Zone