As a vegetarian, one of my go to sandwich options in many restaurants is the Caprese Grilled Sandwich! It’s such a flavorful and delicious sandwich, yet it involves just a few simple ingredients.
The word “caprese” refers to a simple Italian salad that involves fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. It is often seasoned with olive oil and salt/pepper. Different variations of a Caprese Sandwich includes these basic salad ingredients in addition to other Italian flavors such as balsamic, pesto, oregano, etc.
My version of Caprese Grilled Sandwich involves thinly sliced tomatoes and onions on a bed of spinach sandwiched between two generously buttered slices of sourdough bread. One slice has a creamy layer of pesto and the other has a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Of course, this sandwich also involves a slice of mozzarella cheese and various spices and herbs. Fresh basil would have been ideal, but I used dried basil and dried oregano, as well as a bit of grated parmesan, red chili flakes, and salt/pepper. And don’t forget the olive oil, a key ingredient in every Italian dish!
Keep scrolling for a step by step recipe and a VIDEO TUTORIAL! 🙂
Caprese Grilled Sandwich
Cuisine: Italian1
servings5
minutes5
minutes365
kcalFresh caprese (mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil) combines with spinach, pesto, and balsamic glaze to create a delicious Italian sandwich on toasted sourdough bread
Ingredients
2 slices sourdough bread
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp basil pesto
5 spinach leaves
4 tomato slices (thin half circles)
6 red onion slices (thin crescents)
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp grated Parmesan
1 slice fresh Mozzarella cheese
1 tsp balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Toast 2 slices of sourdough bread (or other bread of choice).
- Spread a thin layer of butter on each slice of bread (about 1 tbsp total).
- Spoon pesto (about 1 tbsp) on one slice. Spread well on top of the butter.
- Layer spinach (5 leaves), tomato (4 thin half circles), and red onion (6 thinly sliced crescents) on top.
- Drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil on the veggies.
- Sprinkle about 1/4 tsp each of dried oregano, dried basil, red chili flakes, salt, black pepper, and grated parmesan. (Note: you could use fresh oregano or basil instead.)
- Top with a slice of mozzarella cheese.
- Spread balsamic glaze (about 1 tsp) on the other slice of bread. Place that slice on top to complete the sandwich.
- Grill your caprese sandwich in a panini press (or on the stove). Enjoy! 🙂
Notes
- You could use any other bread, but I think sour dough bread works great for this sandwich.
- Feel free to use fresh herbs (oregano and basil) instead of dried to add to the flavor!
- Balsamic vinegar is too drippy, so I used balsamic glaze for this recipe.
- There are many versions of this recipe. This is my tried and true version that I came up with. I hope you love it!
- Vegan Option: Use vegan butter, parmesan, and mozzarella.
Did you make this recipe?
I hope you all try this recipe out! I would love to see your own adventures in cooking! Please take a pic and share them with me on Instagram/Facebook @chaitrascreations.
