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Up your sandwich game with this delicious Caprese Grilled Cheese sandwich. It's made with fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and a simple basil mayonnaise that's out of this world!Â
I love a good grilled cheese sandwich, and this caprese grilled cheese is no exception! If and when I'm feeling "fancy" I tend to opt for my avocado grilled cheese, but this recipe might be even better.
The best part is definitely the basil mayonnaise! Just so you know, you'll definitely have some leftover, which you can (and should!) use with my kale pesto pizza, stone fruit panzanella salad and/or these mediterranean stuffed zucchini boats.
Recipe features
- Made with fresh mozzarella and sliced tomatoes, making this sandwich taste like summer
- The basil mayonnaise is SO good, and it's ready in under 5 minutes
- A great way to switch up your normal sandwich routine
Ingredient notes:
Bread: Use your favorite kind! I opted for sourdough and it was perfect.
Cheese: Fresh mozzarella; can substitute burrata if needed, though it'll be a bit messier.
Tomato: Heirloom, vine ripe or roma will all work.
Mayo: Store-bought or my favorite homemade avocado oil mayonnaise
Spinach: Optional; spinach will make the basil mayonnaise a little more green in color
Method
First: Make the basil mayo. First, add all of the mayo ingredients -- mayo, basil, lemon juice, and garlic -- to a small blender and pulse until smooth.
Second: Assemble the sandwich. Butter one side of each slice of bread, and add the basil mayo on the second side. Place the sliced tomato and mozzarella on one slice of bread, then cook the sandwich for 3-5 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and the cheese has melted.
Tips and tricks
-It's easiest to make the mayo in a small blender. If you don't have one, a food processor will work.
-I like to place a lid on the skillet, which helps the cheese melt a little more quickly.
Is there anything else that I could add to this sandwich?
If you want to take this sandwich to the next level, you could always add some prosciutto and/or
Can this caprese grilled cheese be made dairy-free?
Surprisingly yes, but with a few modifications. You'll want to use vegan butter, vegan mozzarella cheese and vegan mayo, which will make the sandwich completely dairy-free!
More tasty sandwich recipes:
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Caprese Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
for the mayo:
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- juice from 1 lemon
- handful of spinach optional
Instructions
- Before you can make the sandwich, you'll need to make the mayonnaise. Add all mayo ingredients to a small blender or food processor and pulse until smooth; set aside.
- For the sandwich: butter 1 side of each piece of bread. Place one piece of bread, butter side down, in a nonstick skillet.
- Put sliced tomato and mozzarella overtop of that piece of bread.
- Spread basil mayo on the other side of the second piece of bread before placing it, mayo side down and butter side up, overtop of the tomato and cheese.
- Cook the sandwich for 3-4 minutes on the first side over medium heat, then carefully flip it over and cook it for 1-2 more minutes until the bread is golden brown. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in March 2016. It was updated with new text and photos in May 2021.
Jess @hellotofit says
LOVED seeing your adventures via Snapchat!! So cool. Umm love me some mayo, especially if it's flavored!!
Erin says
Thank you Jess!! Glad you liked my mass amount of snaps 😀
Alysia at Slim Sanity says
Grilled cheese is the beeeest! And so is pesto 🙂 what kinda mayo do you use?
Erin says
Hampton Creek!
Donna Lotz (your favorite aunt) haha says
Hey Erin, Congratulations on being asked to attend Michelle Obama's Let's Move event. That was certainly a nice honor. As far as your grilled cheese, I've always added tomatoes and romaine lettuce to my grilled cheese, but I've never tried it with basil mayo. I love basil pesto, so this will be scrumptious.
Erin says
Haha!! Favorite aunt--I like it. Thanks for the kind words, and you gotta try the basil mayo 🙂
Catherine @ foodiecology says
I am still mega jealous of you bloggers who got to go to the White House. I love the FLOTUS and think the Let's Move program is so important.
And...this sandwich!!!! I love caprese salad and while I'm squeamish towards mayo, I can totally do flavored ones. Grilled cheese is the best!
Erin says
Thanks Catherine--it really is important and I hope everyone else thinks so too 🙂
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday says
It's so cool you got to go to that event! And um, grilled cheese is always (ALWAYS) a good idea. I love tomatoes in grilled cheese, and the addition of the basil mayo sounds incredible!
Erin says
You really can't go wrong with grilled cheese!
Kelly @ Kelly Runs For Food says
This sandwich looks amazing. I love caprese anything, but this just takes it to a whole different level. Plus, I'm SO jealous about all the bloggers who got to go to the white house. I think Michelle Obama is awesome and love the cause too.
Erin says
She really is--thanks Kelly!