Pizza is always a good idea, but in a pinch these sandwiches are a worthy substitute. You don’t need a panini press or any fancy equipment to make Pan Fried Pepperoni Pizza Panini’s and all the ingredients are things you can easily find in the grocery store, so it’s super easy to whip these up for a simple meal, an after-school snack for the kiddos or whenever you have a craving for something melty and satisfying!
The ranch salad dressing on the side might seem like a strange choice to some and it’s absolutely optional, but I almost never have pizza without ranch dressing for dipping. It’s something I’ve done since I was a teenager in America – we dipped everything in ranch dressing back then – and it just makes pizza taste even better. These sandwiches are no exception, so if you’ve never had pizza with ranch, I’d encourage you to try this and see what you think!
If pepperoni isn’t your thing, feel free to leave it out or substitute something else. You could use ham instead or whatever you like. You can also feel free to use your own homemade pizza sauce if you wanted, but for me this recipe is all about convenience so I grab for ready shredded cheese in a bag and sauce in a tin to make this as simple as it can be. Sometimes convenience is what’s needed, but in this case it’s no less delicious. Let’s get started!
Serves 2 -4
Ingredients
- 2 half ciabatta rolls
- 1 tin pizza sauce (400g)
- 250g shredded mozzarella cheese
- 90g sliced pepperoni
- Garlic oil
- Ranch dressing for serving (optional)
Method
- Prepare the bread for the sandwiches by cutting each ciabatta roll in half and then slicing them through the middle to split them, creating 4 mini sandwiches.
- Spoon some pizza sauce onto each slice of ciabatta and spread it out. Don’t worry if you don’t use the whole tin of sauce, but don’t be stingy. The sauce will help the cheese stick to the bread and whatever you have left can be used as dipping sauce for the finished sandwiches.
- Sprinkle shredded mozzarella generously on each of the slices of bread, pressing it lightly so it sticks onto the sauce.
- Divide the pepperoni slices evenly between 4 slices of the bread and layer it on top of the cheese. Assemble the sandwiches – you should have 4 in total.
- Warm some garlic oil in a non-stick fying pan that has a lid over medium heat. Brush some of it on the bread if you like so it won’t stick in the pan. Place the assembled sandwiches into the pan gently, taking care not to drop any of the sandwich filling and clamp on the lid. You might want to cook them in batches, two at a time.
- Leave the sandwiches to cook for a bit under the lid so the filling can start to heat up and melt. Give them a smush with a spatula to help it all stick together and flatten out a bit. When the bottom is starting to brown and the cheese is melting, flip the sandwiches and fry on the other side. Cook until the sandwiches are golden brown and the filling is all hot and melting together.
- Serve the sandwiches hot with the rest of the pizza sauce for dipping along with some ranch dressing if you’re using it.
