Pressed Italian Picnic Sandwiches are packed full of flavor and perfect for brunches, parties, baby showers, bridal showers, picnics, and more. Your guests will be impressed!

Pressed Italian Sandwich made of sliced chicken breast, sliced salami, sundried tomatoes, olives, pepperocinis, red bell peppers, and fresh mozzarella with a pesto sauce wrapped in wax paper.

Picnics are a family favorite of ours. Spring, Summer, Fall, we like picnicking during them all! Pressed sandwiches are a perfect picnic item. They are also great for serving at luncheons, and baby/bridal showers. They are easy to put together and require making ahead so it is the perfect party and picnic food. This particular sandwich is bursting with flavor. I used a walnut pesto spread because I enjoy the flavor and slight crunch of the walnuts as opposed to the more traditional pine nuts. Sun-dried tomatoes provide an air of sophistication while pepperocinis provide a little zing.

Can I change up the toppings?

Absolutely! Feel free to adjust the toppings according to your own personal taste preferences, and leave out the items you may not like. As written, this recipe provides a lot of strong and powerful flavors combined together.

How do I press a sandwich?

Your sandwich(es) need to be placed between two flat items and then weighted on top. To achieve this, we recommend simply using two baking sheets and stacking heavy objects like books on top.

A stack of three Pressed Italian Sandwichs made of sliced chicken breast, sliced salami, sundried tomatoes, olives, pepperocinis, red bell peppers, and fresh mozzarella with a pesto sauce\.

What kind of bread should I use?

This recipe uses focaccia. We find that focaccia has the perfect texture for creating a pressed sandwich. If you are unable to find focaccia for purchase you can make it yourself using our recipe, or you can use a similar bread like ciabatta.

If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious picnic recipe ideas: