These easy homemade pizza sandwiches are made with an easy pizza dough, folded and baked until golden, then filled with creamy basil pesto, salami, baby spinach and juicy charred cherry tomatoes. Finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze for an absolutely delicious lunch or dinner! I cannot get enough of them!
I first discovered Pizza Sandwiches about a month ago. I was browsing Pinterest, saw an Italian layering delicious fillings into a folded pizza base and had two thoughts: 1. Why have I only stumbled across this during mid-life? and 2. I’m hungry. The recipe was sitting prettily behind a pay wall which was a wonderful incentive to experiment and eat pizza sandwiches for the month of August.
My friend Catherine and I used to always make basil pesto, cream cheese and salami sandwiches for each other when either one of us were hosting a kids’ party. A tray of those sandwiches were inhaled every single time. Guests would bypass homemade vanilla cake for those sarmies. The point is – that combination of flavours ROCKED, so I decided to use them as the filling for my pizza sandwiches. And then of course, in order to unlock Italy level 1000, I added jammy, slightly charred cherry tomatoes, baby spinach leaves and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. SO GOOD!
Guys, if you don’t have balsamic glaze in your pantry, you need to add to cart! You can find it at pretty much any supermarket, and it really is the finishing touch that brings all these flavours together. It’s kind of critical, actually!
The pizza dough is quick and easy to make, BUT if you’re feeling lazy, short on time or simply don’t have all the ingredients, you can absolutely use store-bought bread dough instead. I bought some from Checkers the other day, rolled it out nice and thin, and it worked perfectly! Perhaps the sandwiches were a little more on the inflated, bready side, but it’s a fantastic shortcut if you’re after something quick and convenient.
You’ll need approximately 150–160 g of dough per person, so if you have a kitchen scale, and you’re going with the store- bought dough (usually comes in a 1kg bag), I’d recommend weighing out your portions to get the right proportions. Roll the dough out nice and thin, brush with olive oil, fold in half and bake at 200°C for approximately 10 minutes, or until lightly golden.
Once baked, simply open up those lovely little pizza pockets, pile in your fillings and enjoy!
Ingredients Needed to Make Pizza Sandwiches
Pizza Dough: Made with flour, warm water, yeast, salt, olive oil and brown sugar. You can also use store-bought bread dough for a quick and convenient alternative.
Cream Cheese & Basil Pesto: Mixed together to create a deliciously creamy, flavour-packed spread for the inside of your pizza sandwiches.
Salami: Thinly sliced salami adds a lovely smoky salty flavour that works beautifully with the creamy pesto filling.
Cherry Tomatoes: Halved and pan-fried with olive oil, salt and pepper until slightly charred, softened and jammy.
Baby Spinach: Adds a little freshness, colour and crunch to the filling.
Balsamic Glaze: The finishing touch and like I’ve said before probably the most important part! A drizzle of sweet, tangy balsamic glaze brings all the flavours together. You can find ready-made balsamic glaze at most supermarkets.
Fresh Basil: Optional, but great for garnishing and adding an extra burst of fresh basil flavour.
Make It Your Own – Other Pizza Sandwich Filling Ideas
The wonderful thing about these pizza sandwiches is that you can fill them with pretty much anything you like! Once you’ve baked the dough, the filling possibilities are endless. Here are a few delicious combinations to try:
- Caprese Pizza Sandwich: Swap the salami and cream cheese for fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes and basil leaves. Add a little pesto and finish with balsamic glaze.
- Chicken & Pesto Pizza Sandwich: Use leftover roast chicken or cooked chicken breast with basil pesto, mozzarella and baby spinach. A fantastic way to use up leftover chicken!
- Ham & Cheese Pizza Sandwich: Keep it simple with sliced ham, cheddar or mozzarella, a little mayonnaise or mustard, and fresh rocket.
- Mediterranean Veggie Pizza Sandwich: For a vegetarian version, fill your pizza sandwiches with hummus, roasted peppers, grilled courgettes, feta cheese and rocket. Finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
- Classic Pizza Sandwich: For a more traditional pizza flavour, spread a little pizza sauce inside the sandwich and fill with mozzarella, pepperoni and fresh basil. Pop it back into the oven for a few minutes until the cheese has melted.
Just look at that filling? Are you hungry yet?
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Easy Pizza Sandwiches with Cream Cheese Pesto, Salami & Cherry Tomatoes
Prep Time: 30 mins (plus 30 mins for dough to rest)- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
Yield: 4 pizza sandwiches 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
These delicious pizza sandwiches are made with homemade pizza dough, baked until lightly golden, and filled with a creamy basil pesto spread, baby spinach, salami and beautifully charred cherry tomatoes. And don’t forget the Balsamic Glaze you guys!! The best part!!
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 1/2 teasponn salt
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
- Olive oil, for brushing
- For the Filling
- 600 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 250 g cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup basil pesto
- 100 g baby spinach leaves
- 100 g salami
- Olive oil, for frying
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Balsamic glaze, for drizzling
- Fresh basil leaves, for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the pizza dough: Prepare your pizza dough by adding all ingredients together and mixing in the bowl of an electric mixer until all ingredients are well combined. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 30–60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Add the cherry tomatoes to a frying pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and cook over high heat for approximately 10 minutes, until a little charred. Avoid stirring too much in the first ten minutes – this helps get the tomato skins nicely blistered. Reduce heat and cook another 5 minutes to soften even further. Remove from the heat, cover and set aside.
- Divide the risen dough into four equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a thin circle.
- Lightly brush the surface of each circle with olive oil, then fold in half to create a semicircle. Place on the prepared baking trays and bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until the tops and edges are lightly golden brown. You may need to do this in 2 batches.
- Whilst the dough is in the oven, prepare the cream cheese and basil pesto filling by mixing the two ingredients together until smooth, creamy and spreadable.
- Remove the cooked pizza dough from the oven and add the fillings. Carefully open each baked pizza sandwich and generously spread the basil pesto cream cheese mixture over the inside, Add a layer of baby spinach leaves, followed by the salami slices. Spoon the charred cherry tomatoes over the salami and finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze (The BEST part)
- Cut each one in half if desired, and garnish with fresh basil leaves (or leftover baby spinach leaves). Serve immediately. Enjoy!Recipe Tip: Brushing the dough with olive oil before folding helps prevent the two halves from sticking together during baking, so don’t skip this part!
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