Caprese Sandwich

Caprese Sandwich is one of our ABSOLUTE Summer sandwiches for picnics, beach trips, light lunches and more! We love everything Caprese here and everything Burrata, and today we merged those together once again with bright flavors of Basil Pesto, summer heirloom tomatoes and more! 

Can we talk for a minute about the simple yet GENIUS combination of flavors that make a Caprese? As basic as it is, Tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella and Basil along with salt, Olive oil and Balsamic. These make some of the BEST recipes you’ll ever have!

Today’s Caprese Sandwich is another addition to some of our HIT Caprese Recipes and Burrata Recipes on the website.

Caprese Recipes we can’t get enough of:

• Caprese Salad
• Chicken Caprese
• Burrata Caprese — A personal FAVORITE!
• Caprese Skewers 
• Caprese Pizza

Burrata Recipes we can’t get enough of:

• Burrata Caprese
• Burrata Pizza
• Burrata Salad
• Burrata Pasta
• Burrata Cheese
• Roasted Acorn Squash with Burrata!

Caprese Sandwich Recipe

Inspired by the gorgeous bright flavors of the classic salad, we have used the same ingredients  and added extra like Burrata cheese, a Basil Pesto Mayo to slather the bread, and lots of fresh basil leaves! A final drizzle of Balsamic syrup is like the icing on the cake! 

For the bread, we used an Italian herb focaccia bread that was store-bought. You need to pay attention to the bread you start with as it will determine the final texture of your Caprese sandwich recipe. So if you’re all for crunch, start with a crusty loaf of Italian ciabatta instead. And if you’re a baguette person, go for that too. 

The best thing is to choose bread that’s intact and makes a good portable sandwich. 

Caprese Sandwich Ingredients

1. Heirloom Tomatoes. It’s summer and they’re perfectly in season, sweet and rich in flavor! You can opt for your favorite type of tomatoes instead.
2. Fresh Mozzarella. Use lactose free mozzarella if you need to like I do.
3. Fresh Basil Leaves. Lots and lots of that!
4. Arugula. optional, but we love adding greens to our sandiwches! 
5. Basil Pesto. It adds a richer basil flavor to the sandwich
6. Olive oil. Quality Moroccan Olive oil from Mina is what we use all the time!
7. Balsamic Syrup. For the sweetness and taste of balsmic.
8. Bread. Focaccia or baguette or ciabatta are our TOP picks.

Basil Mayo Ingredients

Basically two ingredients are the base here:

1. Homemade BEST Basil Pesto.
2. Mayo
3. Extras: Lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic. These are all optional.

How to Make Caprese Sandwich

1. Start with a generous spread of basil mayo over each half of your cut up bread. 
2. Layer some arugula at the bottom of the sandwich along with some fresh basil leaves. And now start with the tomatoes. Slice them into 1/8 inch thickness and start layering them.
3. Now it’s time for the cheese. Thinly sliced fresh mozzarella cheese (sliced to about the same thickness of the tomatoes) goes on top. We love Burrata Cheese and that’s why we’re adding it too! It’s optional , but seriously WHY NOT?
4. Now it’s time to add lots and lots of fresh basil leaves over the cheese and a drizzle of balsamic syrup. You can drizzle as much or as little as you like. A final drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of chilli flakes and salt finish off the filling for this phenomenal caprese sandwich recipe.
5. Now take the other loaf of bread that’s slathered with basil mayo and firmly place it over the filling. Press it down slightly to have all the sandwich components stick together. Then it’s time to slice!
6. SERIOUSLY IRRESISTIBLE!!

What is Caprese?

Caprese is an Italian dish from the island of Capri. It’s made using fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and fresh basil, seasoned with salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. 

What’s the Best Bread for Caprese Sandwiches?

Our favorite bread to use for this recipe is focaccia. But any crusty bread will work like ciabatta or sourdough or baguette. Overall you want to avoid soft white breads as they’re not sturdy enough to handle the toppings.

Do I need Basil Pesto?

We always make large batches of our Basil Pesto and I share a full tutorial on freezing it and storing so you never run out of basil pesto all year round! So while we LOVE our homemade pesto, you can use store bought. Overall YES you need it for the recipe. 

What can I add to Caprese Sandwich?

Aside from the classics, add your favorite meats, roast veggies, and any ingredients you like! keep in mind not to over stuff the sandwich so it’s easier to eat 🙂

Caprese Chicken Sandwich

While we may make this into a separate post, for now you can make this by adding some grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken tossed with basil pesto, or better yet Chicken Caprese cooled and sliced up. Add it over the greens before proceeding with the tomatoes. 

5 from 9 votes

Print

Caprese Sandwich

Caprese Sandwich is one of our ABSOLUTE Summer sandwiches for picnics, beach trips, light lunches and more! We love everything Caprese here and everything Burrata, and today we merged those together once again with bright flavors of Basil Pesto, summer heirloom tomatoes and more! 

Course beach, lunch, main, Picnic, Salad, sandwich

Cuisine American, Italian, Mediterranean

Keyword beach sandwich, caprese, Caprese recipe, Caprese recipes, caprese sandwich, picnic sandwich, sandwich

Prep Time 15 minutes

Servings 6 sandwiches

Calories 380 kcal

Author Mahy

Ingredients

Caprese Sandwich

• 1 Focaccia bread flavored or plain, or your favorite crusty bread
• 1 cup arugula
• 5 Heirloom tomatoes sliced into 1/8 thickness
• 2 balls Fresh Mozzarella sliced into 1/8 inch thickness
• 1 small burrata cheese torn apart
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper more or less to taste
• 2 tablespoons balsamic syrup more or less to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil more or less to tase
• 1/2 teaspoon chillli flakes optional

Basil Mayo

• 2/3 cup Mayonnaise light is better
• 3 tablespoons Basil Pesto recipe here
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice optional
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

1. Choose your bread and slice it in half.

   

2. Mix all ingredients for the basil mayo together and set aside.

   

3. Slather both sides of the bread with the basil mayo generously.

   

4. Start layering the caprese sandwich. Start with the greens.

5. Go over that with the tomatoes.

   

6. Cheeses go next.

   

7. Lots of fresh basil over the cheese, and the seasoning which includes salt, chilli flakes, balsamic and olive oil to your taste. feel free to add more or less of those.

   

8. Place the other half of the bread over the filling and press firmly.

   

9. Slice the sandwich and serve right away!

   

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Caprese Sandwich TIPS, FAQ

• Always use fresh mozzarella for Caprese recipes, it makes a huge difference and it's how originally it's meant to be! Buy the water packed mozzarella.
• You can find lactose free if you need to like I do!
• Similarly buy fresh burrata that can be lactose free. Burrata cheese is optional, but adds SO MUCH to this sandwich!
• Summer seasonal tomatoes and garden fresh basil are idea to make this recipe, however you can use any type of tomatoes for this recipe. And if you can't find fresh basil leaves, add extra of the Basil Pesto drizzled over the tomatoes not just in the mayo.
• This is classically vegetarian, however we've made Chicken Caprese and it was a HIT! You can add some chicken, or meats here too!
• Use your favorite bread--soft focaccia or crusty baguette or ciabatta or sourdough. 

What is Caprese?

Caprese is an Italian dish from the island of Capri. It's made using fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and fresh basil, seasoned with salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. 

What’s the Best Bread for Caprese Sandwiches?

Our favorite bread to use for this recipe is focaccia. But any crusty bread will work like ciabatta or sourdough or baguette. Overall you want to avoid soft white breads as they're not sturdy enough to handle the toppings.

Do I need Basil Pesto?

We always make large batches of our Basil Pesto and I share a full tutorial on freezing it and storing so you never run out of basil pesto all year round! So while we LOVE our homemade pesto, you can use store bought. Overall YES you need it for the recipe. 

What can I add to Caprese Sandwich?

Aside from the classics, add your favorite meats, roast veggies, and any ingredients you like! keep in mind not to over stuff the sandwich so it's easier to eat 🙂

Caprese Chicken Sandwich

While we may make this into a separate post, for now you can make this by adding some grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken tossed with basil pesto, or better yet Chicken Caprese cooled and sliced up. Add it over the greens before proceeding with the tomatoes. 

Nutrition Facts

Caprese Sandwich

Amount Per Serving

Calories 380 Calories from Fat 288

% Daily Value*

Fat 32g49%

Saturated Fat 4g25%

Trans Fat 0.05g

Polyunsaturated Fat 12g

Monounsaturated Fat 9g

Cholesterol 11mg4%

Sodium 792mg34%

Potassium 273mg8%

Carbohydrates 27g9%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 5g6%

Protein 7g14%

Vitamin A 1315IU26%

Vitamin C 15mg18%

Calcium 40mg4%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Related Posts

Burrata Caprese Chicken Caprese Burrata Pasta Burrata Cheese