Recipe: The Best Panini – Inspired by Starbucks, Made With Aldi

Recipe: The Best Panini – Inspired by Starbucks, Made With Aldi

Around Christmas time, Starbucks always have a panini with brie, cranberry sauce and rocket that I absolutely love and always choose when having a Starbucks lunch in winter. I found myself really craving this panini recently but it’s not right season for it so it’s not available yet. The only choice I had was to make something similar myself to fulfill my cravings!

I headed to my local ALDI for supplies. I picked up a packet of paninis, brie, some greens and some blackcurrant preserve as they didn’t have any cranberry sauce. This turned out to be even better! Getting all the supplies cost less than a lunch in Starbucks and I made two much more well-filled paninis that were even more scrumptious than their inspiration. I also had leftover greens, lots of preserve and a bit of brie to be used for other things.

For two paninis you’ll need:

• 2 paninis (49p from ALDI)
• 2-4 generously heaped tablespoons of blackcurrant preserve (a jar costs 99p from ALDI)
• Two thirds of a French Brie wedge (99p from ALDI)
• 2 handfuls of mixed leaves of your choice (I went for one with pea shoots, rocket and spinach from ALDI — £1 something)
• Butter for frying

Method:

• Slice the brie thickly and put on the bottom half of the paninis. Spread the preserve on the top half and put the greens inbetween. *The order is different in the photos but they hold together better if the greens are in the middle.*
• Heat some butter in a frying pan (or heat your panini machine if you have one).
• Fry the the paninis for a couple of minutes and press down on it with a spatula. Turn them over. When the bread is golden and the cheese is melted they’re done and ready to be enjoyed.

These are so good! I’m so glad I decided to make them at home and the blackcurrant version is even better than cranberry one.

It was the first time I tried the brie from ALDI and it was so creamy and yummy. I will definitely buy it again and these paninis will be a staple dish in our house!