Chicken Pesto Toastie

By toastiemaker.com · Updated 16 Oct 2026

Pesto is mostly oil. Spread it on bread in a sealed toastie maker and the oil soaks into the crumb, then seeps out of the edges and smokes on the plates. The fix is to stir the pesto into the grated cheese so the cheese takes up the oil, use shredded cooked chicken rather than thick slices, and dry the mozzarella before it goes in. The result is a green, stretchy, garlicky filling that stays inside the bread.

Why mix the pesto into the cheese?

Jarred pesto is usually based on sunflower or olive oil. As it heats, the oil thins and flows, and in a sealed machine it has two places to go: into the bread, which makes it greasy, or out through the seal, which leaves smoking oil on the plates and leads to sticking. Coating the grated cheese with pesto spreads the oil over a large surface. As the cheese melts, the oil blends into it rather than collecting in a pool.

Leaving pesto off the bread also keeps the outside crisp. If you want stronger flavour, add a teaspoon more to the mixture rather than spreading it.

Low-moisture mozzarella only

Fresh mozzarella balls are packed in water and full of moisture. In a sealed toastie they release water and the bread goes soggy. Block or pre-grated pizza mozzarella is much drier, melts into a stretchy layer and is made for heating. The small amount of cheddar or parmesan adds the salty, savoury flavour that mozzarella doesn't have. For the full comparison, see best cheese for toasties. If you love fresh mozzarella, our caprese toastie shows how to drain it.

Shred the chicken, don't slice it

Strands of chicken mix through the cheese and heat evenly, and they don't pull out in one piece when you bite. Thick slices form a barrier, just like flat ham does (see the layering logic in our ham and cheese toastie). Leftover roast chicken, shop-bought cooked chicken pieces or rotisserie chicken all work. Make sure it's been chilled and is within its use-by date.

Other appliances

A panini press suits this Italian-style filling well. Use ciabatta and cook for 5–6 minutes, keeping the filling well inside the edges. In a frying pan, cook on medium-low with a lid for 3–4 minutes per side (see frying pan toastie). In an air fryer, cook at 180°C for 8 minutes, turning halfway.

Variations

• Chicken, pesto and sun-dried tomato: add 2 chopped sun-dried tomatoes with the oil blotted off.
• Red pesto: use sun-dried tomato pesto instead. It's sweeter, so keep it away from the edges, where it can catch.
• Chicken, pesto and spinach: wilt 20g of spinach, squeeze it bone dry and mix it in.
• Pesto, mozzarella and tomato: the veggie version. Use the tomato prep from the cheese and tomato toastie.
• Chicken and coronation sauce: a completely different flavour. See the coronation chicken toastie.

Mistakes to avoid

• Spreading pesto on the bread: greasy bread and oil leaking from the edges.
• Using fresh mozzarella balls: soggy, watery filling.
• Cold, thick chicken pieces: they stay cool in the centre. Shred it finely.
• Leaving oil on the plates: burnt-on oil makes later toasties stick. See why is my toastie sticking and how to clean a toastie maker.

For more ideas, browse our toastie filling ideas, or start with the classic cheese toastie.