Do you love the Panera Bread Steak & White Cheddar Panini? You can make it at home. Pickled purple onions are the secret ingredient to this delicious Panera Bread menu item.
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Steak and Cheese Panini
When you go to Panera Bread what are some of your favorite menu items? One of my hands-down is the Steak and White Cheddar Panini.
The pickled onions on this sandwich make it unique. It is super easy to make pickled onions at home. They can be used on all sorts of sandwiches or they can be eaten with your favorite meal.
Ingredients
This sandwich is made from ingredients you are going to find at your local grocery store.
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Red onions
- White vinegar
- Sugar
- Salt
- Water
- Ciabatta bread
- Horseradish sauce
- Sliced roast beef
- White Cheddar cheese
- Cooking spray for pan
How to Make Panera Steak and White Cheddar Panini
- Slice onions as thin as possible.
- Place the onions in a glass jar.
- In a small bowl, combine white vinegar, sugar, salt, and warm water. Stir until dissolved.
- Pour liquid into the jar with onions. Allow onions to pickle for at least 30 minutes.
- Cut the ciabatta loaf in half horizontally.
- Spread the horseradish sauce onto the inside of the top half.
- Place roast beef on the bottom half.
- Place pickled onions and cheese on top of the roast beef.
- Place the top half on the sandwich.
- Lightly coat the inside of a panini press with cooking spray and heat the press.
- Place the sandwich in the press and cook until the sandwich is heated through and the cheese has melted, about 3 to 5 minutes.
If you do not have a panini press, you can use a grill pan and a heavy object to press the sandwich into the pan.
How to Make Pickled Red Onions
Pickled red onions take almost 2 minutes to make, and they can be used in oh so many ways. You can enjoy these as a side with grilled meats, on sandwiches, or even in the place of pickles.
I like to slice my onions on a mandolin, but you can use a knife to slice a red onion super thin. Then you will need some vinegar, water, and spices.
You literally combine all of these and let them rest for about 15 minutes before you serve them. They taste better with age, so you may even want to keep these on hand all of the time.
Can’t get enough of Panera Bread? Try these copycat recipes!
- Panera Apple Crunch Muffin
- Panera Autumn Squash Soup
- Panera Baja Bowl
- Panera Black Bean Soup
- Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Panera Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt
- Panera Frontega Chicken Sandwich
- Panera Mac and Cheese Recipe
Favorite Sandwich Recipes
- Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
- Chick Fil A Sandwich
- Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich
- Ham Salad Sandwich
- Homemade Sloppy Joes
- Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwich
- Monte Cristo Sandwich
Check out more of my easy sandwich recipes and the best Panera Bread recipes here on CopyKat!
Panera Bread Steak & White Cheddar Panini
Ingredients
Pickled Red Onions
- 1 cup sliced red onions (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup warm water
Sandwich Ingredients
- 1 loaf ciabatta bread
- 2 tablespoons pickled red onions
- 2 tablespoons horseradish sauce
- 6 ounces sliced roast beef
- 4 slices white Cheddar cheese
- cooking spray for pan
Instructions
Pickled White Onions
- Slice onions as thin as possible, I like to use the 1/8 inch setting on my mandolin. Place the onions in a glass jar. In a small bowl combine white vinegar, sugar, salt, and warm water. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Pour liquid into the jar with onions. These should rest about 30 minutes for using.
Sandwich instructions
- Split the ciabatta loaf open, spread the horseradish sauce onto the top inside of the split loaf. Add roast beef to the bottom. Add the pickled onions, and cheese.
- Place the sandwich in the press, and cook about 3 minutes or until the sandwich is heated through.
- Heat the Panini press. If you do not have a panini press you may want to use a grill pan, and a heavy object to press the sandwich into the pan. Some people like to wrap a brick with foil and use this as a press.
Kim
Use this recipe and made it for Mother’s Day. It was a hit!
dulupoka
how can I make horseradish sauce? Could you give the horseradish sauce recipe?
Nancy
Hi; I would like to make this Panini. However,Sodium is listed @ 190 %.Is this an error? Tks
Stephanie
You may want to switch to some lower sodium ingredients or read your labels very carefully.
Chris
The total amount of sodium probably includes the salt used to pickle the onions. Obviously all of this salt is not included in one sandwich so, like you, I suspect the sodium calculation is incorrect.
Stephanie
Yes Chris, the sodium involved in pickling threw the sodium off. I don’t know how to account for the actual final sodium intake at this time.
JANE J. LANLENSHIP
These pickled onions are great. You stated they would get better with time & I’m certain they will. Am looking forward to including them in other dishes/salads/sandwiches.
Stephanie
I hope you enjoy them!
Backliner
I will definitely try this recipe! It looks so good. I will make a big jar of pickled onions and use it for other dishes.