Good bread, slathered with pesto and mayo, stacked with juicy tomatoes and slabs of fresh mozzarella cheese — does it get any better than a homemade caprese sandwich? It’s our favorite vegetarian lunch to pack for pool days, beach days, and last-minute picnics. Plus, you can adjust the ingredients to suit your mood. Want extra protein? Double up on the mozz or add cooked chicken! Got a plethora of summer tomatoes? Make it extra tomato-y. For more caprese goodness, try our Caprese Salad, Chicken Caprese or Grilled Pork Chop Caprese.
Homemade Caprese Sandwich Ingredients
Tomatoes
Fresh mozzarella
Pesto. Homemade Pesto is great, but store-bought is fine, too.
Good bread! Ciabatta, baguette or even Homemade Focaccia if you really want to go big.
Mayonnaise
Arugula
Basil leaves
Balsamic glaze. You can easily make a balsamic glaze yourself, or use store-bought.
How To Make The Best Caprese Sandwich
Make a creamy pesto sauce by combining the mayo and pesto. Literally just stir them together in a cute little bowl, it’s that easy!
Slice the bread. A really good, serrated bread knife is key — did you know that it’s actually more dangerous to use a dull knife than a super sharp one?
Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella. Once again, a super sharp knife is really essential for slicing super ripe tomatoes. A dull knife will just squash your beautiful ripe-to-bursting tomato, but a super sharp tomato knife (or whatever nice, sharp chef’s knife you have handy) will cut through that tomato like butter on a hot day.
Assemble the caprese sandwiches. Spread the pesto mayonnaise on both sides of the bread. Top with fresh mozzarella, tomato slices, and little heaps of the fresh arugula and basil.
Get fancy! Drizzle the tomatoes and mozz and greens with balsamic glaze, olive oil and a little sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Serve with even more freshness. Caprese sandwiches make great partners for fruity sides. We love to serve them with Fruit Salad, Avocado and Melon Salad or Watermelon Salad.
Tips For The Best Caprese Sandwich
If you’re serving caprese sandwiches to company, it can be nice to let your guests assemble their own sandwiches to suit their tastes. Just lay out a spread of caprese sandwich ingredients all prepped and ready, and let everyone build their own.
To pack these caprese sandwiches for picnics, day-hikes and summer days on the go: Depending on how long you’ll be out and where you’re going, you could approach bringing these sandwiches with you in a few ways. If you need to pack light — we see you, backpackers! — just prep the sandwiches, wrap them tightly and keep them cool however you can. But, if you don’t have to worry about packing light, you could bring the main caprese sandwich ingredients in separate containers — sliced tomatoes in one, a little jar of the pesto mayo, some salt and pepper, some sliced fresh mozzarella, sliced bread. Then, just assemble the sandwiches when you’re ready to eat.
More Pesto-Slathered Sandwich Recipes
More Picnic Season Inspo Here!
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