Caprese Grilled Cheese is stuffed with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese & fresh pesto! Grilled to perfection & served pipping hot; the BEST fresh lunch!
This Caprese Grilled Cheese Panini sandwich is seriously delicious. Not even going to sugar coat it or build it up, it is to.die.for. Make this for lunch, make it for dinner. Don’t wait, do it now.
I was picking up my usual at Costco last week: quinoa, lettuce, and some pictures I had ordered, and while making my way back to the produce section, I passed by a ‘bread roadshow’. Basically someone was in the store, slicing up pieces of crusty bread and giving them out as samples. I noticed there was a huge crowd of people around them but why all the commotion? After I grabbed my huge bag of lettuce, I stopped by for a sample. OMG. This bread!!! This Rosemary Garlic Crusty Bread….holy moly! It was so so so good. I grabbed the required 2 loaves (2 for $5, yo!) and hurried to the checkout. Driving home I brainstormed what I could do with this bread…garlic bread? bread with cheese and wine? crusty sandwiches? grilled cheese? ding ding ding! I recalled having some basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella at home, and in that instant I knew that had to make a caprese grilled cheese!!
I went home and made some pesto (just throw basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, lemon juice, salt & pepper, and olive oil into a Food Processor
Caprese Grilled Cheese is stuffed with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese & fresh pesto! Grilled to perfection & served pipping hot; the BEST fresh lunch!
- 1 crusty loaf of bread , sliced
- 4 TBS fresh pesto
- 8 slices mozzarella cheese (I used pre-sliced, you could also use fresh)
- 3 large ripe tomatoes
- 2 TBS balsamic vinegar
- butter
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Slice up your 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.
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Instructions to make 1 sandwich, repeat until you have desired number of sandwiches (recipe is for 4)
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Butter both sides of bread lightly. Turn over, so butter is facing down. Top 1 slice 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 break slice butter side out.
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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.
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Cut in half with bread knife and enjoy!
Liked Grilled Cheese as much as I do?! Checkout these other grilled cheese recipes!
Broccoli Cheddar Grilled Cheese
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– Allyson
JoAnn @ SweetPepperRose says
This really does look seriously good!
Allyson says
It so sooo drool worthy! Thanks for stopping by!
Katherine says
This looks delicious – simplicity is good!
Allyson says
It’s amazing how the best things are made with the simplest ingredients! Thanks for stopping by, Katherine!
Carolina Little says
It looks so yummy!
Erin @ DIY on the Cheap says
This looks amazing, Allyson!
Zenda says
This sounds like the perfect way to enjoy my end-of-the-season tomatoes! Thanks for the great idea!!!
Erica @ Spoonful of Imagination says
THis totally just made me want a second dinner! AMAZING! XOXO, Erica
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!!!
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!
DesignedByBH says
This looks delicious…and reminds me that I need to get up and make dinner…
Lindsey says
oooh, golly that looks good. You had me at tomato.
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.
Allyson says
It is super easy! Thanks for stopping by, Candace!
Kelley says
This looks fabulous! Found you on the linky party 🙂 Great photos and I love that you also keep your recipes separate so it’s easy to follow!
Allyson says
Thanks Kelley! I love having the recipes separate so they are easier to print!
Kelli says
All these sandwiches sound delish! I’m definitely going to try them!
Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today says
I had it today and it’s amazing, so simple and super yummy.
Allyson says
Yay! I am so happy you tried it out and loved it! We definitely adore this sandwich at my house!
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!
Allyson says
That is a great idea! Sometimes I find I dont even need butter, just a little olive oil spray!
Mary Frances says
So simple, so delicious! I try to eat very healthy, but my first thought upon seeing this was, we gotta add some bacon!
Allyson says
Oh yeah, bacon would be great!
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 🙂
Allyson says
Oh I am so happy you loved it! It’s one of my FAVORITE recipes FOR SURE!
Allyson says
Sorry I just saw this, you can cover or not, it doesn’t matter and shouldn’t effect the outcome!