Forget boring campfire recipes and canned crap. This foil-wrapped Chicken Panini is everything you need and more as you’re sitting by a roaring campfire surrounded by the wilderness and good company!
Indulge in the ultimate grilled sandwich delight with our flavorful chicken panini recipe. With perfectly grilled chicken, melted cheese, and a variety of savory ingredients, this sandwich is a surefire crowd-pleaser, perfect for a picnic or camping trip.
You know how your parents taught you not to play with fire? Well, that’s exactly what we’re doing in this Chicken Panini recipe. We love a quick meal to whip up while camping, don’t you? Whether whipping up a big pot of Mac and Cheese or rolling some breakfast burritos, there are endless ways to enjoy good food around a fire. For this recipe, we’re making some Chicken Panini Sandwiches which is a great meal, before making a simple chicken jerky recipe for snacks. With simple ingredients like chicken, red pepper, apples, and ciabatta rolls, this panini sandwich recipe will leave you feeling satisfied, so you can worry less about cooking and more about enjoying the great outdoors!
What Is a Chicken Panini?
First, we make the grilled chicken and wrap it in foil to keep it warm, but you can also use leftover chicken if you have it! Next, we cook our veggies and then arrange our paninis how we like them! Serve hot, and enjoy!
Back to our topic at hand… For starters, you’re camping. Which probably means you are in the solitude of nature all by your lonesome, or that you are surrounded by people you’d be willing to share paper thin walls with. Chances are, you like them enough to find out how much they snore.
Second, you are now doing what I pretty much love most – standing outside and cooking. Hard to beat the idea of pitching a tent surrounded by a lush forest, in the desert, or near a roaring river and not finding a momentary bit of zen.
Then chilling with a drink in one hand and tending a fire? Yeah, sign me up.
Chicken Panini Ingredients
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts – You can also use leftover rotisserie chicken.
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- Oil for Grill Grate
- Butter
- Onion
- Red Pepper
- Granny Smith Apple – Or any other kind of apple you like.
- Mayo
- Cheddar Cheese – Or any kind of cheese you prefer.
- Ciabatta Bread Rolls – Or your favorite bread for making paninis.
How to Make a Chicken Panini
- Heat your grill for indirect cooking, and clean and oil the grate.
- When ready to cook (we used charcoal), pat the chicken dry and pound to 1/2″ thick.
- This can be done ahead of time and stored in ziplock bags until ready to cook if hiking in; just make sure to keep the chicken at a safe temperature on ice.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper and toss onto the grill.
- Cover and cook, turning as needed for epic grill marks (and to make sure the heat is evenly distributed) until the chicken reads 160 degrees F on an instant thermometer.
- Wrap in foil and let rest another 5 degrees.
- Meanwhile, toss the sliced peppers and onion in the oil, sprinkle with a little salt, toss onto a campfire-safe pan or griddle, and cook until soft.
- Slice the chicken and toss with the onion and pepper.
- Slather the rolls in mayo, arrange the sliced apples, chicken, onions, peppers, and cheese over the rolls, and top with the other half of the roll.
- Wrap tightly in foil and press onto the campfire until the bread is warmed through and the cheese is melty.
- This can be done by tossing the foil directly onto the campfire if you have a safe means to retrieve your sandwiches; no need to make sacrifices to the camping gods.
- Or make a panini by pressing the wrapped sandwiches with the previously used griddle for some nice grill marks.
- Unwrap and serve hot.
Girl Carnivore Expert Recipe Tips
Pound your chicken and slice your peppers and onions ahead of time, and store in ziplock bags for easy campfire-ready meal prep. Jazz up the recipe by including some bacon you cooked at home or hiked with.
What to Serve With a Chicken Panini
Pair your chicken paninis with a side of chili French fries or save the leftovers for breakfast and lunch and make some chilaquiles or chicken salad!
Leftovers & Reheating
- Store any leftover chicken in the fridge for up to 4 days. Then, when you’re ready to eat it, heat it up in a skillet or the microwave until heated. Then, slap it between a nice toasty ciabatta roll and press it for perfect paninis every time!
Recipe FAQs
Some great options are mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese, pepper jack, Monterey Jack, parmesan cheese, and Swiss cheese!
Italian bread, sourdough bread, French bread, white bread, whole wheat bread – basically, you can slap it between any kind of bread you like! Heck, you can even use bagels if you want!
Absolutely! If you’re not camping, you can totally use a panini maker or press to make your Chicken Paninis!
You can add some smoky bacon, top with some adobo sauce or chipotle mayo, spread a little Dijon mustard or basil pesto, add some fresh basil, or add a drizzle of olive oil!
More Campfire Recipes
Campfire Recipes
Campfire Baked Potatoes
Side Dish Recipes
Grilled Asparagus in Foil
Campfire Recipes
Campfire Potatoes
Campfire Recipes
Dutch Oven Mac and Cheese
Whether you’re going on a camping trip or just want to enjoy a hot sandwich, this Chicken Panini is for you! Now that you have this delicious recipe in your arsenal, you never have to settle for crappy camping food again! This simple recipe is an excellent choice for those who don’t want to waste too much time cooking so they can get back to enjoying the wilderness. So, fire up your grill and take your taste buds on a smoky adventure they won’t forget! Also, please rate the recipe card and leave a comment below to help out the next reader!
Grilled Chicken Panini
Ingredients
- 1 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- Oil for grill grate
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/4 onion sliced
- 1/2 red pepper seeded and sliced
- 1 granny smith apple sliced
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 2-4 oz cheddar cheese sliced thin
- 4 ciabatta rolls
Instructions
- Heat your grill for indirect cooking and clean and oil the grate.
- When ready to cook (I used charcoal), pat the chicken dry and pound to 1/2″ thick.
- This can be done ahead of time, and stored in ziplock bags until ready to cook if hiking in, just make sure to keep the chicken at a safe temperature on ice.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper and toss onto the grill.
- Cover and cook, turning as needed for epic grill marks (and to make sure the heat is evenly distributed) until the chicken reads 160 degrees on an instant thermometer.
- Wrap in foil and let rest another 5 degrees.
- Meanwhile, toss the sliced peppers and onion in the oil, sprinkle with a little salt and toss onto a campfire safe pan or griddle, and cook until soft.
- Slice the chicken and toss with the onion and pepper.
- Slather the rolls in mayo, arrange the sliced apples, chicken, onions, peppers and cheese over the rolls and top with the other half of the roll.
- Wrap tightly in foil and press onto the campfire until the bread is warmed through and the cheese is melty.
- This can be done by tossing the foil directly onto the campfire if you have a safe means to retrieve your sandwiches, no need to make sacrifices to the camping gods. Or make a panini by pressing the wrapped sandwiches with the previously used griddle for pressed delicious grill marks.
- Unwrap and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
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I try to do as much campfire cooking as possible. This recipe looks like a winner!