Cheese Steak Panini Sandwich Recipe

This cheese steak panini sandwich is super easy to make and your family will love it. It is a hot & toasty panini filled with steak, cheese, peppers and onions. It is sort of like a Philly cheese steak sandwich… but paninis are much faster to make because you do not have to heat a giant oven.

To make this panini sandwich recipe, you should use fresh (non-stale) “crusty” bread such as ciabatta, French bread, Italian bread, rolls, etc. You can also use homemade sandwich bread (e.g. bread made from Bread Dad’s bread machine recipes & oven-baked bread recipes).

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

My panini sandwich recipes are based on using a two-sided panini press/grill (with top & bottom grilling units) and not a frying pan, etc. When using already precooked ingredients, this recipe takes me about 10-15 minutes to assemble and “grill” on my panini machine.

Ingredients

• 1 – Ciabatta – You can also use homemade sandwich bread, French bread, rolls, etc.
• 1 Tablespoon – Butter (melted) – You can use salted or unsalted butter.
• 2 Slices – Sliced Cheese – You can use soft sliced cheeses such as provolone, pepperjack cheese, American cheese, etc. Use your family’s favorite soft sliced cheese.
• 45 Grams – Thinly Sliced & Precooked Steak (1.6 ounces) – The already cooked steak should be chopped into chunks roughly 1/2 inch in width and 1 inch in length.
• 30 Grams – Sauteed Bell Peppers (1 ounce) – Thinly sliced red, green or yellow bell peppers.
• 30 Grams – Sauteed Onions (1 ounce) – Thinly sliced onions.
• Optional – Pinch of Salt and/or Black Pepper

FYI – You can easily double the ingredients above to make 2 paninis, etc. In addition, the amount of ingredients will vary based on the size of the bread used (e.g. a large French bread will require more steak, onions, etc.)

Servings – 1 Panini

Equipment Needed – Serrated knife, cutting board, pastry brush, oven gloves, heat-resistant spatulas, cooling rack and panini press.

Instructions

• Preheat your panini press. Set the temperature to 325 F (or to medium heat if you can not set the temperature on your panini press) and turn on the panini grill.
• Slice the ciabatta in half (horizontally). You want two layers of bread with each layer having a “crusty” side (a layer with the crusty top and a layer with the crusty bottom). FYI – You can also use two slices of homemade sandwich bread, French bread, etc.
• Melt the butter in your microwave.
• Brush the exterior of each slice (the “crusty” side) with a thin layer of melted butter. FYI – I use a pastry brush to “brush” on the melted butter.
• Optional – Consider brushing the interior of each slice with melted butter. FYI – This helps to better transfer the heat to the interior ingredients but it does add more calories.
• Place both halves of the bread on a plate or cutting board (with the crust sides down and soft sides facing up). FYI – Do not place the ingredients on the panini grill until your panini has been fully assembled.
• Place a cheese slice on top of the bottom half of the bread.
• Place the sauteed onions & peppers on top of the cheese slice. FYI – If you are using already sauteed onions & peppers that have been stored in the refrigerator, you should warm them up in your microwave before adding them to your panini.
• Place the precooked sliced steak on top of the onions & peppers. FYI – If you are using already cooked & sliced steak that has been stored in the refrigerator, you should warm it up in your microwave before adding it to your panini.
• Optional – Sprinkle a tiny amount of salt and/or black pepper on top of the steak if desired.
• Place the final cheese slice on top of the steak.
• Finally, place the top slice of bread on the cheese (to complete the structure of the panini sandwich).
• Use two wide non-scratch spatulas to scoop up the panini and transfer the assembled panini to the hot panini press. Wear oven gloves. FYI – I like to use one spatula on the bottom of the panini and one on top in order to hold the panini together when moving the panini to the press/grill.
• Gently lower the panini press/grill lid on top of the panini.
• Grill for about 3-5 minutes. FYI – You can check every couple of minutes to see if the panini has finished (as panini press temperatures can vary by machine) and to avoid over-grilling & burning the panini. You might have to grill longer if you use “medium” heat versus 325 F (as the temperature range can vary by machine). Grilling time length varies due to the type of bread used.
• Turn off the grill. FYI – Be careful as panini grills can stay hot for a long time.
• Use the two spatulas to remove the finished cheese steak panini from the panini press. Wear oven gloves.
• Since the panini is very hot, you should place the cheese steak panini on a wire cooling and let it cool for 1-2 minutes. FYI – A wire cooling rack helps to prevent a soggy bottom (versus allowing the panini to cool on a plate). The cooling rack lets moisture out versus being trapped by a plate.
• Serve the cheese steak panini while it is still warm. Cut the panini in half if desired.

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Helpful Tips

• The tips below are designed to help panini “novices”. Experienced panini makers probably know most of these panini tips already.
• Click on my “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include this recipe’s tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is one of Bread Dad’s Easy Panini Recipes (such as caprese paninis and ham & cheese paninis).
• Always be careful with panini presses & grills. They get very hot and can stay hot for a long time. Wear oven gloves.

• This cheese steak panini is similar to a Philly cheese steak sandwich. However, you are using a panini (which is quick & easy) versus having to spend forever to heat up a large oven. Also preheating a panini grill/press is cheaper than preheating a large oven.
• This recipe uses bell peppers because they are not hot/spicy (as some people do not like overly spicy sandwiches).
• If you need to know how to saute the peppers & onions – Add butter or olive oil to a frying pan and then add the sliced peppers & onions to the pan. Move the frying pan to your stovetop. Cook the peppers & onions on low or low-medium heat until they are soft. This may take 10-15 minutes. Stir the peppers & onions occasionally in the pan to avoid burning them. Wear oven mitts/gloves.
• If you need to “see” how to saute peppers & onions, you might like to watch this YouTube video.
• Visitors – What type of peppers & onions do you like to use in your paninis? Please post your panini tips in the comment section at the bottom of the page.

• If you need to know how to cook your steak – Add vegetable oil or olive oil to a frying pan and then add the sliced thinly sliced steak to the pan. Move the frying pan to your stovetop. Cook the steak slices on medium heat (flipping the steak slices occasionally) until the steak is fully cooked. This may take 4-6 minutes. Wear oven mitts/gloves.
• FYI – Some people like to marinate their steak strips in order to enhance the flavor before frying them.
• After cooking the steak strips, you should cut the strips into smaller sections for easier consumption.
• I like to cut up my cooked steak slices into small chunks that are roughly 1/2 inch in width and 1 inch in length. I don’t like spending time “ripping” at long steak strips with my teeth.
• You can often buy pre-sliced steak in the supermarket. It may be called “steak strips”, “beef strips”, “beef stir fry sirloin”, beef stir fry strips”, “beef for stir fry”, etc.
• If you need to “see” how to fry steak strips, you might like to watch this YouTube video.
• If you don’t have steak, you can use chopped-up roast beef cold cuts, thinly sliced cooked sausage, etc. You can also use ingredients such as shredded roast chicken if you don’t have any steak.
• Visitors – What type of steak do you like to use in your cheese steak paninis? Also do you have great steak preparation suggestions? Please post your panini tips in the comment section at the bottom of the page.

• Do not use cold ingredients. If you have been storing pre-cooked steak or onions & peppers in your refrigerator, you will need to warm them up in your microwave (but not too long in the microwave as this can “toughen up” the steak). Your panini machine will have a hard time warming up the interior of the cheese steak panini if you are using refrigerator cold ingredients.
• Do not worry too much about the amount of grams/ounces for the steak and peppers & onions. You just want to fill up the panini but not overload it. You can also vary the amount of steak and peppers & onions based on your family’s preferences and what ingredients you have available (e.g. more steak & less peppers if you really like meat).
• Visitors – What is the craziest thing you placed in a panini (and really liked!)? Anchovies? Chocolate chips? Sliced apples? Potato chips? Please post your panini suggestions in the comment section at the bottom of the page.

• In America, panini refers to a hot sandwich that has been grilled/toasted on a panini press/grill, etc. This type of sandwich is usually filled with cheese and various other ingredients such as meat, veggies, etc. A panini also usually has the classic grilled “stripes” on the crust.
• However, the word “panini” comes from Italy. According to Wikipedia, “In Italian, the noun panino (Italian: [pa’niːno]; pl.: panini) is a diminutive of pane (lit. ’bread’) and refers to a bread roll. Panino imbottito (lit. ’stuffed panino’) refers to a sandwich, but the word panino is also often used alone to indicate a sandwich in general.”

• The best bread to use for paninis is usually “crusty” breads such as ciabatta, French bread, Italian bread, focaccia and rolls. The exterior crust on these breads helps to prevent the sandwich from being crushed totally flat by the panini press. Moreover, the crust prevents any interior liquid or melty cheesy from causing the exterior bread to become soggy.
• However, for this panini (which does not have too many wet ingredients), you can also use homemade sandwich breads such as oatmeal bread, whole wheat bread, multigrain bread, etc. Check out Bread Dad’s main Bread Recipes section if you need additional bread ideas for your paninis.
• Do not use overly thin sandwich bread slices to make your steak paninis. Thin slices are more likely to break or become soggy. I like to cut slices that are a little thicker than I normally use for sandwiches.
• Do not use overly thick bread. If the bread is too thick, it will be harder to heat the interior of the panini. I usually aim for bread to be about 1/2 inches thick.
• Do not use stale rock-hard bread to make your panini. A panini grill will not soften the stale bread. You will just be making a hot cheesy rock!

• In the pictures above, I used pepperjack cheese. My family likes a “spicier” cheese. However, you can use other soft sliced cheeses such as provolone, American cheese, etc. Use your family’s favorite soft sliced cheese when making these steak paninis.
• If you use a bland soft cheese, you might want to add a little salt/pepper in order to season your panini.
• Do not add a billion slices of cheese or it will be harder for the cheese to melt properly.
• If you have trouble melting your cheese, you should consider using room temperature cheese versus refrigerator cold cheese.

• It is easy to add extra ingredients to make your panini even more unique or flavorful. You can add extra ingredients such as crispy bacon, sauteed mushrooms, etc.
• According to Wikipedia’s cheesesteak article, some different varieties of cheesesteaks include “chicken cheesesteak or chicken Philly is made with chicken instead of beef”, “mushroom cheesesteak is a cheesesteak topped with mushrooms” and “cheesesteak hoagie contains lettuce and tomato in addition to the ingredients found in the traditional steak sandwich”. Based on these cheesesteak sandwiches, you can make a huge variety of cheese steak paninis. Just let your imagination run wild!
• Visitors – What extra ingredients do you like to add to your steak paninis? Also what type of cheese do you like to use with your cheese steak paninis? Please add your panini suggestions & tips to the comment section below.

• Do not make your panini too thick (with tons of interior ingredients) as it will be harder to heat the interior of the panini.
• An overly thick panini also increases the chances that the top of the panini might slip off (when pressed down by the panini press) and wreck your panini during the grilling.
• Do not add too many “wet” ingredients to a panini such as sauteed mushrooms, sauces, etc. Excess wet ingredients can create soggy paninis (especially if you use non-crusty bread such as homemade sandwich bread).
• If you use wet ingredients such as sauteed onions, you should try to dry off any excess moisture or oil from these ingredients (e.g. gently pat the wet ingredients with a paper towel to absorb moisture).

• You should brush melted butter on the exterior sides of the panini before grilling (e.g. crusty top and crusty bottom). This helps to add flavor and creates a more crunchy crust. The melted butter also helps to transmit the heat of the grill into the bread.
• Optional – You can also brush some melted butter on the soft interior side of the bread. This helps to transfer heat to the interior ingredients. However, it also adds more calories and fat to the panini.
• If you don’t want to use melted butter, you can replace it with olive oil, etc.
• FYI – I am old school so I like to use melted butter or olive oil to “coat” the exterior of my paninis. However, in recent years, a growing number of people like to brush a thin layer of mayonnaise on the outside of their panini slices (instead of melted butter or olive oil). They like the added flavor, believe mayo “browns” the panini better and like how mayo is already soft. Also they see mayo as a readily available substitute if they are out of butter. What do you think about mayonnaise “coated” paninis?
• Visitors – Do you brush butter/oil on the exterior of the panini or on the exterior AND interior of your paninis? Also do you prefer to use melted butter, vegetable oil or mayonnaise to coat your panini? Please add your panini suggestions & tips to the comment section below.

• Do not forget to preheat your panini grill or the grilling will take longer than expected.
• FYI – My panini grill “beeps” when it has reached its set temperature target (e.g. 325 F). However, other panini grills do not have this feature so you might need to let your panini grill warm up for at least 5 minutes before using it to bake your panini. Read your manual for the specific time needed to preheat your grill.
• Check your panini every couple of minutes to see if it grilling properly. You do not want your panini to burn.
• Do not leave your panini unattended and forget about it. You could cause a fire, burn your food, etc.
• Do you find it hard to heat the interior of your panini before it burns? If so, you should lower the heat on your panini press. This will allow you to grill the panini for longer before it burns. This also means that the panini interior will have a longer time to heat up. Also make sure the bread slices are not too thick and you haven’t added too many interior ingredients.

• Make sure the top of the panini press/grill is fully pressed against the top of the bread. The heat from the top grill adds the characteristic grill “marks” to the bread and makes sure the top of the bread is properly heated. With most machines, you do not have to physically press down on the panini. You just let the weight of the top do the “pressing”.
• Try to make sure the top of the panini press/grill is flat and even when you lower it onto the panini. A non-level top is more likely to result in uneven heating and/or pushing the top of the panini off the sandwich. Wear oven gloves if you are handling or adjusting a hot panini press/grill.
• If you need to reheat your paninis, you can reheat them in your regular oven, a toaster oven or even by using a low heat setting on your panini press.
• However, do NOT use your microwave to reheat your paninis. A microwave is more likely to make your panini soggy.

• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a panini press/grill. The panini press/grill gets very hot during the baking process and it will stay very hot even after you turn off the panini press/grill (it takes a long time to cool).
• Do NOT let kids near your panini grills because panini grills can stay hot for a long time. They might accidentally burn themselves on the panini grill.
• Make sure to READ your panini press/grill instruction manual in order to operate your press/grill safely & correctly. Always follow the safety instructions in your panini press manual.
• If you are looking for 100s of other popular grilled cheese & panini recipes, check out these popular Sandwich Recipe Cookbooks.
• In case you want to make your grilled cheese sandwiches & paninis with homemade bread (such as French bread, multigrain bread and rolls), you might want to explore Bread Dad’s sections for bread machine recipes and homemade bread recipes.

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