Oh sweet little piece of deliciousness. This grilled cheese sandwich has become one of our absolute favorites. The simplicity of it is what reeled me in years ago when I saw it featured on a popular talk show. There is a secret ingredient that totally makes this sandwich!
The sandwich has a caprese feel which is one of my favorite flavors in case you couldn’t tell by this caprese sandwich, caprese burgers, roasted tomato caprese soup with mini mozzarella grilled cheese bite croutons (seriously to die for), and grilled caprese chicken.
Everyone we’ve ever made these grilled sandwiches for has been so hesitant about the ingredients list, whole wheat bread, havarti cheese, fresh basil, garden tomatoes, and the secret ingredient…HONEY. Yes, honey. And trust me it’s exactly what the sandwich needs. It’s like a little twist on the classic caprese flavors.
Recommended Equipment
Before you Begin…
Get all your ingredients ready…slice the tomatoes, rinse the basil leaves, butter (or use olive oil) the bread. Then assembling the sandwiches is quick and easy!
Ingredients for Havarti Tomato Basil Grilled Cheese
Well, pretty much all the ingredients for this sandwich recipe are listed in the title, so no surprises here! Except for that secret ingredient! Don’t forget that one!
- Havarti
- Tomatoes
- Basil
- Wheat Bread
- Honey
My best tip for choosing ingredients for a grilled cheese sandwich is that high quality ingredients make a high quality sandwich! The details for the ingredients can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Grilled Cheese
Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Prepare the sandwiches by spreading one side of each of the slices of bread with either butter or olive oil and then drizzling the other side of each slice with honey.
Layer the cheese, tomatoes and basil, and then top with the other slice of bread. Place the sandwich on the preheated skillet and cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden and toasty. Flip and let the other side toast as well.
This skillet Italian sausage and peppers with whole-wheat penne is the perfect home cooked meal and it’s all in one pot which makes clean up a breeze!
This dish is a family favorite for us! And it’s weird to say that because I have picky eaters (they are SO much better than they used to be), and usually peppers and onions aren’t on the “yes list” for picky eaters, but in this recipe, they just work! The flavor is bold, and everyone loves sausage and pasta!
When I need to get dinner on the table quickly, this is one of my go-to recipes. All you need is one pan and 30 minutes!
What Do I Need to Make Sausage and Peppers Penne?
Most of the ingredients in this dish are pantry staples, so all you will need at the grocery store are some sausage links, a couple of peppers and an onion. Here is a list of what you will need:
- Whole-wheat Penne Pasta – you can find this right by all the other pasta at the grocery store
- Italian Sausage – I generally go with mild uncooked sausage, but you could use spicy sausage or a sweet sausage depending on what you are craving
- Green Pepper – remove the stem and seeds and slice into thin slices
- Red Pepper – remove the stem and seeds and slice into thin slices, red peppers are a little sweeter than green peppers so they add another dimension of flavor
- Yellow Onion – use a sharp knife to slice the onion in the thin slices
- Red Wine (cooking wine) – we don’t drink alcohol so we cook with cooking wine, but feel free to use whichever you prefer
- Tomato Paste – a 6oz can, any brand works, just choose your favorite
- Tomato Sauce – an 8oz can, any brand works, just choose your favorite
- Water – thins out the sauce a little
- Italian Seasoning – a dried seasoning blend that you can buy at the grocery store that usually includes dried basil, dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried thyme and dried marjoram
- Sugar – enhances the flavors
- Salt – adds flavor
- Parmesan Cheese – great for a garnish to add an extra punch of flavor
The measurements for every ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post. The detailed instructions for how to make this recipe are also in the recipe card.
Reasons You Will Love This Italian Sausage Recipe
Here are a few reasons that you are going to love this recipe:
- Easy: The ingredients are simple and easy to find. The recipe is made in one pot so cleanup is easy. The only techniques you need to know are slicing, sauteing and simmering. Nothing fancy here!
- Quick: I live for dinner recipes that come together in less than a half hour!
- Flavor: By sauteing the sausage in the pan first, it flavors the whole dish. The peppers and onions get flavored by the sausage and add their own flavors and then the tomato pasta and sauce with the Italian seasoning and red wine add all the flavor you need.
- Well rounded: This dish includes veggies, protein and carbs all in one pa
Easy orzo pasta with roasted garlic and tomatoes and fresh basil is just what I crave on a hot summer night. In the summer, I’m all about the quick and easy meals that are light and refreshing.
When Cade and I first started the blog I was whisked off on a fun little business trip where we got to try small servings of an entire menu. During the tasting a roasted garlic pasta was served to us with huge whole garlic cloves that were heavily fragrant.
I carefully ate around them only to notice my seat mate was enjoying the entire dish, full cloves of garlic and all. “Do people really eat garlic?” I thought. I mean, I knew it went in dishes but to be an actual component felt odd.
I sliced a chunk off of a clove, swirled and twisted my noodles up around it and the fork and I’ve been sold ever since. The sweetness of the garlic comes out in the roasting time and no, it doesn’t remove the smell off your breath, but it’s worth it!!
Ingredients in this Orzo Recipe
This orzo recipe may give you garlic breath, but we are going to add a few more flavor to it! Here is what you will need:
- Cherry Tomatoes: black cherry, piccolo or Vittoria varieties are our favorites
- Olive Oil: for roasting the tomatoes and cooking the garlic
- Salt and Pepper: for seasoning the roasted tomatoes and for seasoning the whole dish
- Garlic: flavor, flavor, flavor
- Butter: helps pan roast the orzo and adds loads of flavor
- Orzo: sauteing the pasta beforehand adds a delicious nutty flavor
- Lemon Juice: fresh is best
- White Wine: we use cooking wine, but feel free to use whatever brand you want
- Chicken Stock: could easily swap this out for vegetable broth to make this dish vegetarian
- Water: helps cook the orzo
- Basil Leaves: I highly suggest using fresh basil only.
- Parmesan Cheese: freshly grated parm on top is the best
- Red Pepper Flakes: adds heat, add as much as you want!
- Pine Nuts: adds texture and flavor
The measurements for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Roasted Garlic Tomato Basil Orzo
This recipe comes together so easily and most of the time is spent waiting for the tomatoes to roast and the orzo to cook. Here are the basic steps:
- Roast the tomatoes.
- Pan roast the garlic and then the orzo.
- Let the orzo simmer in all the flavors.
- Add the liquids to cook the pasta.
- Season to taste and top with the pine nuts, basil and parmesan.
All the details can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post. You can also save or print the recipe from there.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
We have so many recipes that use garlic, tomatoes and basil. It is a classic combination of simple flavors that you can just never go wrong wi