Domestic Superhero

Simple recipes packing a PUNCH of flavor that any home cook can recreate!

Caprese Grilled Cheese

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Caprese Grilled Cheese is stuffed with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese & fresh pesto! Grilled to perfection & served pipping hot; the BEST fresh lunch!

Caprese Grilled Cheese is stuffed with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese & fresh pesto! Grilled to perfection & served pipping hot; the BEST fresh lunch!

If you need a new lunch or dinner idea, Caprese Grilled Cheese is the answer! It’s a super simple sandwich that takes barely any time to make, and is majorly delicious! There’s only a handful of ingredients, so it doesn’t take a lot to groceries as well. Caprese Grilled Cheese is going to be your new meal staple!

Caprese Grilled Cheese is stuffed with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese & fresh pesto! Grilled to perfection & served pipping hot; the BEST fresh lunch!

Making this sandwich couldn’t be easier! Here’s how:

How to make Caprese Grilled Cheese:

**Scroll down to see full ingredient list and printable recipe**

  • Prep the ingredients: slice the tomatoes and let them sit in some balsamic vinegar.
  • Start the sandwich assembly line. 
    • Butter both sides of bread (you need a CRUSTY BREAD for these sandwiches). Turn it over, so the butter is facing down. Top 1 slice with pesto, add 1 slice of cheese, 3 tomatoes, and then another slice of cheese. If you like it really pesto-y, add some more pesto to top slice. Place top bread slice butter side out.
  • Now cook them: Heat skillet or panini press, and put sandwich on to cook. If using a skillet, flip when golden brown on one side. I cooked on a skillet for about 3 minutes on medium on each side.
    • I cooked 2 sandwiches at a time and was easily able to flip with enough room in the pan. Repeat until the sandwiches are all done!

Want fresh pesto for your sandwiches? Here’s how to make it:

How to make fresh pesto:

  • Ingredients
    • 1 cup loose basil leaves
    • 1 TBS olive oil
    • 2 TBS pine nuts, walnuts, or almonds (all work)
    • 2 TBS freshly grated parmesan cheese
    • pinch of salt and pepper
  • Add all ingredients in a Food Processor or blender, blend until smooth, scraping sides down if needed. Set aside.

If you like grilled cheese as much as I do, be sure to check out these other sandwiches from Domestic Superhero:

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5 from 12 votes
Print
Caprese Grilled Cheese
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
 

Caprese Grilled Cheese is stuffed with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese & fresh pesto! Grilled to perfection & served pipping hot; the BEST fresh lunch!

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: caprese grilled cheese
Servings: 4 Sandwiches
Ingredients
  • 8 slices crusty bread
  • 4 TBS fresh pesto
  • 8 slices mozzarella cheese (I used pre-sliced, you could also use fresh)
  • 3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
  • 2 TBS balsamic vinegar
  • butter
Instructions

  1. Slice tomatoes in medium slices (should have about 12 slices for 4 sandwiches, or 3 slices per sandwich), and place them in a shallow dish. Pour 2 TBS balsamic vinegar over tomatoes. Let sit while preparing the rest.

  2. Instructions to make 1 sandwich, repeat until you have desired number of sandwiches (recipe is for 4):

  3. Butter both sides of bread lightly. Turn over, so butter is facing down. Top 1 slice of bread with 1 TBS of pesto, add 1 slice of cheese, 3 tomatoes, and then another slice of cheese. If you like it really pesto-y, add some more pesto to top slice. Place top bread slice butter side out.

  4. Heat skillet or panini press, and put sandwich on to cook. If using a skillet, flip when golden brown on one side. I cooked on a skillet for about 3 minutes on medium on each side. I cooked 2 sandwiches at a time and was easily able to flip with enough room in the pan. Repeat until all sandwiches are cooked.

  5. Cut in half with bread knife and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Recipe first published in June 2015. Updated post August 2019.

Caprese Grilled Cheese is stuffed with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese & fresh pesto! Grilled to perfection & served pipping hot; the BEST fresh lunch!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  7. Lizzie says

    Good idea to use balsamic to season the tomatoes which always seem to end up tasteless & wimpy when used in a grilled sandwich… Thanks!!!

    Reply

    • Allyson says

      Thanks, Lizzie! I totally agree with the limp tomatoes, no good! I also wanted the flavor of the balsamic, but I didn’t want to overpower by pouring on later, and also risk having the crunchy bread get soggy! This was a great compromise! Thanks for coming by!

      Reply

  10. Candace says

    This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing the sandwich and the pesto recipe above it. I have always wanted to make homemade pesto. I didn’t realize how easy it is! Pinning for later.

    Reply

  14. Diana says

    I am diabetic so have to watch my butter intake, my trick is to use a pastry brush and coat both sides of the bread lightly. This works in a pan or a panini press. Thank you for the great sandwiches!

    Reply

  16. Abbey says

    Just made this! So yummy and filling! I loved the
    Balsamic tomato touch. My fiancé didn’t even notice there wasn’t any meat 🙂

    Reply

  28. Jacque Hastert says

    5 stars
    I just made a couple of these sandwiches for my husband and I. The addition of tomatoes, pesto, mozzarella cheese, and balsamic really take it to the next level.

    Reply

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