Our buffalo chicken panini recipe is like gourmet grilled cheese for grown ups. Spicy buffalo flavor and creamy feta cheese are the perfect match and this recipe will show you how to make this ideal lunch quickly and with perfect results.
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Buffalo Chicken Sandwich Recipe
Everyone loves a good grilled cheese sandwich but some basic bread with cheddar cheese isn’t always filling enough. When you are craving a grilled cheese sandwich but looking for something with a little more flavor and a few more hearty ingredients, this is the recipe you should use!
Some buffalo wing sauce and chicken will add so much to your sandwich, taking a regular old grilled cheese to a whole new level. Our buffalo chicken sandwich recipe is not hard to make and also makes quite a few servings so you can whip up paninis for everyone! Keep reading to learn a little more about this dish or jump right down to the recipe to start cooking!
How to Make Panini Sandwiches
Paninis are essentially fancy grilled cheese. They are typically made with flatbread like ciabatta, flat rolls, or pieces of gourmet bread like sourdough or baguettes. Once you have your panini bread slices, the sandwich is stuffed and cooked in a panini maker (our favorite is the Hamilton Beach Panini Press which cooks perfect, golden brown sandwiches every time). The press will seal the bread slices together, toast the bread to be a crispy, golden brown, and heat the filling to perfection.
Paninis are great because they are nice and compact, making it easy to take a big bite without your sandwich falling apart. They are also very versatile and can be filled with almost anything! However, we are partial to this recipe which is a perfect combination of spice and creamy cheese…
How to Make a Buffalo Chicken Panini
Our recipe for a perfect panini, buffalo chicken style, is super simple. Take a quick look at these easy to follow steps to get an idea of how to make a tasty, fresh chicken panini in just a few minutes:
- Cut the chicken breast into strips and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the buffalo hot sauce to a large skillet along with the chicken breast and cook over medium-high heat. When the hot sauce begins to boil, cover the pan and continue to cook. Covering the pan will prevent the sauce from splattering or evaporating too much.
- Place the cooked chicken on the panini bread slices and top with the feta cheese (and also any additional ingredients you are adding to your sandwich).
- Place the top bread on the sandwich and cook the buffalo chicken panini in a preheated panini maker, sprayed with cooking spray if needed.
- Once golden brown, remove from the panini press and serve while warm.
This is such a simple recipe that gives you so much as far as quantity and taste. Easy recipes are definitely my go-to when it comes to lunch and hopefully, this one will be on your top list as well!
Buffalo Chicken Panini Sandwich Fillings
While our recipe sticks to the basic, delicious flavors of chicken, feta cheese and buffalo hot sauce, there are a few other ingredients that we have added which make this sandwich even more amazing. Give these sandwich filling options a try and let us know what you think:
- Use Monterey Jack cheese instead of feta
- Replace the feta with blue cheese crumbles
- Add thinly sliced red onion to the sandwiches.
- Use shredded rotisserie chicken and toss with the hot sauce- no need to cook the chicken!
- Try different kinds of bread slices like ciabatta, sourdough or whole-grain bread
- Mix in some blue cheese dressing with the cooked hot sauce chicken.
Let us know your favorite panini recipes by sending them to our email address or leaving a comment below- we always love to hear ideas about how to make our recipes even better and this buffalo chicken panini is the perfect recipe to customize.
Make-Ahead Sandwiches
When lunchtime comes around, I always wish that I had made food ahead of time to make lunch faster and easier. I have found that this chicken panini buffalo chicken sandwich recipe is ideal to make ahead of time. There are a few ways you can prep these sandwiches in advance to give you an easy, super fast lunch option:
- Cook the buffalo chicken in advance. Slice the cooked chicken and store in containers in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for about 2 months. Anytime you want these sandwiches, you can just pull out the pre-cooked, perfectly seasoned chicken!
- Make the sandwiches in full, toasting them in the panini press as directed. Let the sandwiches cool to room temperature and then wrap each one individually in plastic wrap. Place all the wrapped sandwiches in a large freezer bag and freeze. When you need a fast, homemade lunch, pull out a sandwich and reheat it in a toaster oven for a crispy, fresh panini! You can also heat them in the microwave but they won’t be quite as crisp.
- Toss the cooked buffalo chicken breast along with the cheese in a big bowl (use feta cheese, blue cheese or spicy jack cheese!). Keep the sandwich filling in the fridge. It will also grow in flavor as everything marinates together in the sauce. Put the filling on the bread slices when you are ready to eat.
As you can see, our buffalo chicken panini recipe is versatile, simple and full of incredible flavor. So whip up this recipe today and give everyone in your family a lunch they will enjoy. Adult grilled cheese recipes are the best and this one is no exception!
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Buffalo Chicken Panini
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This is the perfect lunch recipe to take to work or just enjoy at home.
Ingredients
- 4–6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup Frank’s Buffalo wings sauce
- 1 cup feta cheese
- sea salt + black pepper (to taste)
- sandwich buns (we used flatbread)
Instructions
- Cut chicken breasts into thin strips then season with salt and pepper. Cook chicken and buffalo wing sauce in a skillet over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let simmer until chicken is fully cooked (about 5-7 minutes).
- Once the chicken is done, fill each sandwich bun with chicken and any other toppings of choice (like onions, cheese, etc). Place in Panini grill for about 4 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is toasted.
- Serve immediately with your choice of toppings and/or extra wing sauce!
Notes
If you don’t have a Panini maker, you can wrap the sandwiches in aluminum foil and toast them in the oven.
Pro Tips:
- Some panini machines do not require cooking spray and actually have non stick plates which work best without cooking spray. Check the directions of your machine and see what is recommended.
- While we love Franks buffalo wing hot sauce for this recipe, you can really use any hot sauce or wing sauce that you love. You may even want to look at some recipes to make your own wing sauce to give this meal and even more personalized touch!
- Add some veggies to your dish by putting sliced tomato, shredded carrots or just a few pieces of chopped celery inside your paninis.
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