This Caprese Sandwich is the perfect summer meal made with juicy ripe summer tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and flavorful pesto-mayo on a baguette. Make them ahead for picnics, potlucks, and lunches on the go. (Original recipe 2011, updated 2022)
There’s nothing like perfectly ripe summer tomatoes, so juicy and sweet, and so I try not to do too much to them, allowing their amazing flavor to shine through. One of my favorite ways to highlight them is in this Caprese Sandwich.
What I love about this Caprese Sandwich is that it can be made ahead and is totally packable- perfect for outdoor picnics or hikes. The sandwich also keeps a few days in the fridge, a nice treat to come home to.
Over the years, we’ve had many iterations of this sandwich in our catering business- this recipe was first posted in 2011, when I kid you not, we were making 400 of these sandwiches a day for a while!
Crazy to think about! I much prefer the slower pace of my life these days. 😉
Ingredients in Caprese Sandwich
- Fresh Baguette
- pesto – store-bought, Arugula Pesto or Basil Pesto
- mayo
- ripe tomatoes
- mozzarella
- basil
- salt & pepper
- olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette or balsamic glaze
How to make Caprese Baguette Sandwich
Start off with a good crusty baguette. I usually make a whole baguette‘s worth of sandwiches…keeping the leftovers for the next day.
Split the baguette with a serrated knife leaving one side intact (this makes for easier handling when it’s full of goodies) and toast in the oven till warm and just barely browned. Not too toasty or it will scrape the roof of your mouth.
Mix your favorite Pesto with Mayo. I often use this Arugula Pesto here but Basil pesto works great too!
Of course, you can use store-bought pesto!
Generously spread the Pesto-Mayo on both sides of the bread.
Layer the fresh mozzarella cheese.
Add some sliced ripe summer tomatoes. Here are some heirloom varieties from our garden.
Top with more basil, drizzle with olive oil, balsamic, and a little salt and pepper.
Close it up and cut into 5-6 sandwiches!
And enjoy!
TIP: If serving a large group, serve as an appetizer in smaller portions, like “finger sandwiches” – cutting them into 1 to 2-inch slices, skewer, and serve them on a large cutting board like we do in our catering business.
More recipes you may like:
Caprese Sandwich
- Prep Time: 25
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Vegan Lunch, sandwich
- Method: blended
- Cuisine: Northwest
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 20–24 inch baguette
- 3–4 tablespoons pesto- store-bought, arugula pesto or Basil Pesto
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 3–4 ripe tomatoes, medium
- 1–2 large mozzarella balls, sliced
- 10 basil leaves
- salt and pepper
- drizzle of olive oil
- drizzle of balsamic vinegar, or balsamic glaze
Arugula Pesto (makes one cup)
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup smoked almonds (or toasted almonds, or pinenuts)
- 1 cup packed Basil leaves (or flat-leaf parsley)
- 2 cups packed Arugula
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4–1/2 tsp kosher salt (if your almonds are heavily salted, use salt to taste.)
- cracked pepper
Instructions
- Make arugula pesto if using: Place everything in a food processor and pulse repeatedly, until uniformly combined, but not too smooth.
- Slice baguette in half lengthwise, leaving one side intact. Toast it a little if you like.
- Mix the 1/4 cup mayo and 3-4 tablespoons pesto together. Slather over the insides of the baguette.
- Layer with mozzarella and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the fresh basil. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic.
- Close the baguette and cut it into 5- 6 pieces. Tightly wrap any leftovers and keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
Notes
Feel free to sub avocado or goat cheese for the mozzarella.
Turn this into an appetizer ( finger sandwiches) by cutting into 14-16 pieces, using skewers or toothpicks to hold it together (skewer before cutting).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: with 1 cup cheese
- Calories: 303
- Sugar: 8.1 g
- Sodium: 1113.3 mg
- Fat: 12.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 34 g
- Fiber: 4.3 g
- Protein: 14.1 g
- Cholesterol: 5.1 mg
This was so delicious and easy. I made it twice once with your hemp pesto which was so good and once with Kirkland pesto when I did not have enough basil. Perfect picnic sandwich.
Thanks so much Sylvia for all your great recipes!
So glad you are enjoying Dee!
I’m trying this tonight and adding chicken!
Oh good- let us know what you think!
One of my personal favorites!
what gorgeous photos! that bread looks divine, and such gorgeous heirloom tomatoes! can’t wait until summmmerrr!
Thanks! me too. Its still pretty much winter where i live. 🙁
I think i had this same sandwich with Dave’s Killer bread at least 4x a week this summer…veganaise, garden tomatoes, avocado, sea salt/pepper and drizzled with the best olive oil. mmmmm. can’t wait til next summer.