Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

This Pizza Grilled Cheese is a super easy recipe that the kids can make themselves! This recipe serves six and costs $5.12 to make. That’s just 85¢ per serving!

For more pizza recipes we recommend our Easy English Muffin Pizzas, our 1 Hour Pepperoni Pizza, and our Pizza Casserole. 

Nothing screams American classic like a good old-fashioned grilled cheese sandwich. It just brings back memories of our childhood. We remember our moms making grilled cheese sandwiches and serving them with a bowl of tomato soup on busy school nights. We loved it; it was pure comfort food. 

If there was a competition for the ultimate American comfort food, we think the front runners would be grilled cheese and pizza.

Growing up, we had pizza every Saturday night after working in the yard and around the house all day. We would then gather around the table for some pizza that always seemed to taste so good after a day of chores. It was such a treat. 

We have carried both traditions of serving Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on busy nights and Pizza on Saturdays after chores in our home. Do you know what we love about traditions? We love old traditions, and we love new traditions. What we love even more is when two traditions collide. 

Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Making the same old grilled cheese can get a little boring. That’s why we decided to combine it with another classic comfort food dish, pizza!

We know from experience that a mash-up of two comfort foods is always the right choice. Check out our Grilled Cheese Sloppy Joes to see what we are talking about. Today we are combing Grilled Cheese and Pizza into one AMAZING sandwich!

Make this recipe, and you will see that Grilled Cheese and Pizza belong together just as much as bread and butter do! The melted cheese, combined with the yummy sauce and pepperoni in between two pieces of crispy bread grilled to perfection, creates the perfect marriage of flavors. Pizza Grilled Cheese is so tasty; you will wonder why you waited so long to combine these classic comfort meals!

What we ultimately love about this dish is that kids can make it themselves. Watch the video in this post of Jill’s 10-year-old daughter, making this recipe all on her own. 

Ingredients and Cost

RECIPE COST: $5.12

PRICE PER SERVING: $0.85

• 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter – $0.80
• 1 Tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil – $0.14
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning – $0.13
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder – $0.01
• 12 slices white bread – $1.30
• 6 Tablespoons pizza sauce – $0.33
• 36 pepperoni slices – $0.69
• 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese – $1.72

To find out more about how we price our recipes, check out Budget Recipes Explained.

Instructions

1. First, make the garlic butter. 
2. Then, preheat a 10-inch skillet on the stovetop over medium-low heat.
3. Next, prep the sandwiches by brushing one side with garlic butter. Then flip the pieces of bread over and top with pizza sauce and evenly spread it over the bread. Add pepperoni and mozzarella cheese to each. 
4. Place another piece of bread on top of each sandwich. 
5. Cook the sandwiches, garlic butter side down, for 2-3 minutes. 
6. Finally, transfer the grilled cheese to a plate and cut it in half and serve. 

Recipe Variations and Substitutions

•  Try switching out pepperoni for other tasty toppings such as sausage or Canadian bacon. 
• Instead of white bread you can use Italian bread or focaccia bread.

Storage Tips

• Serve: These can stay at room temperature for up to 2 hours, but they’ll be cold. You’ll want to eat them immediately after coming off the stovetop. 
• Store: Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. They won’t be as crisp (might be a little soggy)—re-crisp by placing in a pan over low heat for 4-6 minutes. 
• Freeze: If you’re going to freeze these, we recommend freezing them before they are cooked. Place them on a baking sheet and freeze until frozen solid, about 2 hours. Then, transfer the sandwiches to a freezer-safe bag. You can keep them in the freezer like this for 2-3 months. 

Cook’s Tools:

• 10-inch skillet
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• mixing spoon
• small microwave-safe bowl
• spatula

What is good with grilled cheese?

Grab a bag of salad and some carrot sticks, and you’ve got yourself a meal. Some French fries would also be yummy alongside this dish. 

Is shredded cheese better for grilled cheese?

We use shredded cheese for our sandwiches because it melts more evenly and quicker than slices of cheese. It leaves you with the perfect ratio of cheese to bread. 

Can you use any cheese for grilled cheese??

Next to ice cream, cheese is one our my most favorite things to eat! We love all kinds of cheese and will put almost any type on our grilled cheese sandwich, depending on the taste that we’re looking to get from the sandwich.

Colby is an excellent choice for a classic sandwich. Provolone gives a more Italian taste to your sandwich. For this pizza grilled cheese, it was clear that the best selection of cheese to use was mozzarella to provide the full pizza feel. 

Get Kids Involved

• Ages 2-3: Let them help by measuring the ingredients to make the garlic butter. They’ll also love helping you brush the butter mixture onto the first six slices of bread.
• Ages 4-5: Let them help measure 1 Tablespoon of pizza sauce for each sandwich. Show them how to gently spread the sauce onto the bread with the back of a spoon. 
• Ages 6-8: Have them add the pepperoni and cheese to each sandwich. 
• Ages 9-11: Supervise them while they prepare the entire recipe. Remember to have them read it twice before beginning the recipe. 
• Ages 12+: Let them prepare the entire recipe, unsupervised, while you do the happy dance in the corner!

Discover why we love getting the kids involved in the kitchen and more tips in our How to Get Kids Involved In Cooking article.

More $5 Recipes:

• Best Homemade White Bread
• Buttermilk Sheet Pan Pancakes
• Chocolate Wacky Cake
• Corn Muffins
• Crock Pot Greek Yogurt
• Dry Roasted Chickpeas
• Eggs Benedict Breakfast Braid
• French Toast with Blueberry Syrup
• Instant Pot Refried Beans
• Mango Banana Smoothie

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Pizza Grilled Cheese

Recipe Cost 5.12

Serving Cost 0.85

Course lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American

This Pizza Grilled Cheese is a super easy recipe that the kids can make themselves! This recipe serves 6 and costs $5.12 to make. That’s just 85¢ per serving!

Servings: 6 people

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Equipment

• 10-inch skillet
• measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• mixing spoon
• small microwave-safe bowl
• spatula

Ingredients

 

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GARLIC BUTTER:

• 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 Tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

GRILLED CHEESE:

• 12 slices white bread
• 6 Tablespoons pizza sauce
• 36 pepperoni slices
• 1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

MAKE GARLIC BUTTER:

• In a small microwave-safe bowl add butter and melt in the microwave.
• Stir in olive oil, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

PREP SKILLET:

• Place a 10-inch skillet or pan on the stovetop and preheat it over medium-low heat while you prep the sandwiches.

PREP GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES:

• Place 6 pieces of white bread on a cutting board. Brush one side with the garlic butter.
• Flip the pieces of bread over and top each with 1 Tablespoon of pizza sauce. Use the back of a spoon to spread the sauce.
• Add 6 slices of pepperoni to each piece of bread followed by ¼ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese to each.
• Place another piece of bread on top of each of the sandwiches.

COOK GRILLED CHEESE:

• Place a sandwich, garlic butter side down, and cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
• Carefully flip the sandwich over and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
• Transfer the grilled cheese to a plate and cut in half.
• Repeat with the remaining sandwiches and then serve.

Video

Notes

To speed up the cooking process, use a large pan and cook a few at a time. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1sandwich | Calories: 436kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 713mg | Potassium: 162mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 721IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 286mg | Iron: 2mg

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