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A Good Housekeeping Kitchen & Cooking Lab contributor tested nine ways to use a panini press beyond making sandwiches, including hash browns, halloumi, frozen dumplings and chocolate chip cookies. The suggested settings and cooking times are recipe guidance; appliance results can vary, and meat and poultry should reach 165°F internally.
Good Housekeeping Kitchen & Cooking Lab contributor Lizzy Briskin has outlined nine ways to use a panini press beyond sandwiches, based on tests with a GreenPan Elite Multi Grill & Griddle. The ideas range from crisping frozen hash browns to cooking dumplings and chocolate chip cookies, offering home cooks ways to use the countertop appliance for more than pressed bread.
The recommendations use the press’s heated plates on both sides to cook food at once and encourage browning. Briskin gives specific temperatures and times for each item, while noting that some foods should be cooked to a safe internal temperature. For frozen, fully cooked meatballs and chicken nuggets, the guidance is to heat them at 400°F until they reach 165°F internally.
For breakfast and sides, the list includes spreading frozen hash browns on greased plates and cooking them at 450°F for six minutes, and pressing halloumi at 350°F for five to six minutes. Leftover cornbread can be oiled and pressed at 350°F for five minutes. Pineapple rings are cooked at 425°F for three minutes, while thick slices of challah or brioche soaked in an egg, milk and maple syrup mixture are pressed at 350°F for five minutes.
The remaining ideas include frozen chicken nuggets at 400°F for about six minutes, frozen fully cooked meatballs at the same temperature for about five minutes, and frozen dumplings at 400°F for about nine minutes, with the dumplings also directed to reach 165°F internally. For dessert, golf-ball-size portions of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough are cooked on a 350°F press for six to seven minutes. Briskin says a shorter time can produce softer cookies.
A press beyond sandwiches Nine tested ideas
A Good Housekeeping Kitchen & Cooking Lab contributor tested ways to use a panini press for breakfast, sides, snacks and dessert.
More than a meal
The ideas span everyday dishes and sweet treats.
Hash browns and French toast
Frozen hash browns crisp on the plates; thick challah or brioche can be pressed after soaking in an egg, milk and maple syrup mixture.
Halloumi and cornbread
The press can brown halloumi and warm oiled leftover cornbread.
Pineapple rings
A quick press gives pineapple another use beyond serving it fresh.
Chocolate chip cookies
Frozen dough portions cook on the press; a shorter time can make softer cookies.
Frozen foods, straight to the press
The tested ideas include several foods cooked from frozen.
Use the times as guidance
Settings came from tests with a GreenPan Elite Multi Grill & Griddle.
- Suggested temperatures and cooking times
- Ways to crisp, warm and brown food
- Appliance design and heat control
- Food size, thickness and starting temperature
Check safe doneness
Hot plates cook both sides at once, but elapsed time alone does not confirm food is ready.
- Use a food thermometer for meat and poultry.
- Cook meat and poultry to 165°F internally.
- Follow the press maker’s instructions and take care around hot plates.
More Uses for a Countertop Press
The list gives owners of a panini maker practical alternatives to using it only for sandwiches. The suggested foods cover breakfast, snacks, sides and dessert, and some can be cooked directly from frozen. That may make the appliance useful when a cook wants to crisp or warm a small amount of food without switching to a separate cooking method.
There are limits to what the recommendations establish. They are Briskin’s test results with one named appliance, not a guarantee that every press will cook every food in the same time. Plate size, heat control and food thickness can affect results, so the listed times are best treated as guidance rather than universal settings.
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How the Nine Ideas Were Tested
Briskin is identified as a contributing analyst, writer and recipe developer in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen & Cooking Lab. The article says she has a culinary degree from Cambridge School of Culinary Arts and has tested kitchen products, including small appliances. She tested the nine uses described here on a GreenPan Elite Multi Grill & Griddle.
The ideas are presented as a ranking from least to most surprising, but the key practical detail is the cooking method: many items are placed between hot plates, while the instructions call for greasing or oiling the surfaces when needed. The supplied account does not give a publication date, so the timing of the testing and ranking is not specified here.
Results May Vary by Appliance
The available details do not say how many times each item was tested, whether the results were independently reviewed, or how other panini-press models performed. The recommended temperatures and cooking times may vary with appliance design, food size and starting temperature. The article also does not provide full recipes or quantities for every preparation, such as the French toast mixture.
For meat and poultry, the listed endpoint is 165°F internal temperature; the time alone should not be treated as proof that food is safely cooked. The instructions do not specify a method for checking the temperature of every other food, including dumplings, or give details on handling cross-contact between raw ingredients and ready-to-eat foods.
Check Heat and Doneness
Anyone trying the ideas can follow the stated settings as a starting point, then check the food for the intended browning and doneness. Use a food thermometer for meat and poultry and cook them to 165°F internally, rather than relying only on the suggested minutes. Keep the press on a stable surface, follow its manufacturer’s instructions, and take care around hot plates and melted fats or sugars.
The report does not announce a follow-up test or additional findings. Whether the methods work as described across different models remains unreported; the next practical step for readers is to adjust cooking time cautiously for their own appliance while checking safe temperatures where specified.
Source: Good Housekeeping
Key Questions
What foods can a panini press cook besides sandwiches?
The nine ideas include hash browns, halloumi, meatballs, cornbread, chicken nuggets, pineapple, French toast, dumplings and chocolate chip cookies.
Can frozen food go straight onto a panini press?
The listed method starts frozen hash browns, fully cooked meatballs, chicken nuggets and dumplings on the press without thawing. Follow the appliance instructions and check the food’s doneness; meat and poultry should reach 165°F internally.
How long should frozen dumplings cook in a panini press?
The reported guidance is nine minutes at 400°F on a greased press, with the dumplings cooked to 165°F internally. Actual timing may vary by appliance and dumpling size.
Can you bake cookies in a panini press?
The tested idea uses golf-ball-size portions of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough on a press set to 350°F for six to seven minutes. The guidance suggests using less time for softer cookies.
Source: goodhousekeeping.com
