Picnic season is here! We’re enjoying a lovely spring here in Kansas City. Our homegrown tomatoes won’t be ready for a while, but I’m sharing my favorite picnic sandwich with you since I can find great tomatoes at the store now.
This Caprese sandwich recipe is inspired by the classic Caprese salad. It features ripe red tomatoes and sliced fresh mozzarella with the most irresistible creamy basil sauce. For extra flavor, I also added a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a small handful of arugula.
Sandwich all of that inside a crusty loaf of French baguette, and you will have a perfectly portable sandwich for picnics or road trips. Or, enjoy it at home for a quick meal from now through the end of tomato season this fall.
This tomato and mozzarella sandwich is a terrific vegetarian sandwich that offers a surprising amount of protein, thanks to the cheese. This recipe is my homemade rendition of my go-to sandwich at our local French café. They’ve just added it back to the menu, so I’m excited that I can order it there or make one at home. Now you can, too.
Caprese Sandwich Ingredients
Just remember—the better the bread and the tomatoes, the better the sandwich! Here’s what you’ll need:
Baguette
French baguette is perfect for this sandwich, or you can use any high-quality bread you have at home already.
Homemade Creamy Basil Sauce
You’re going to fall in love with this sauce! It’s easy to whip together in the food processor, or by hand if you’d rather. You’ll need mayonnaise, fresh basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Leftover sauce makes a lovely veggie dip.
Thick Balsamic Vinegar
Tangy balsamic vinegar provides some irresistible contrast to the creaminess of the sauce and the mozzarella. We need to use a thick balsamic vinegar here (the regular runny kind will make your sandwich wet).
I love Napa Valley Naturals’ Grand Reserve Balsamic Vinegar—make sure you get the bottle with “25 stars” on it. It’s under $10 and typically available at Natural Grocers and other well-stocked grocery stores. Or, buy balsamic glaze (DeLallo makes one) or make your own balsamic glaze by gently simmering runny vinegar on the stovetop until it is reduced by half.
Arugula
Arugula offers a light crunch and fresh, peppery flavor. I love it, but you can skip it if you don’t.
Mozzarella
Use one ball of mozzarella, which is different from the part-skim block of mozzarella that you buy for pizza. For best flavor, opt for a mozzarella ball that is packed in water, rather than vacuum-sealed.
Ripe Tomatoes
Specifically, look for medium-sized, juicy, red tomatoes. They will really shine in this sandwich.
Watch How to Make Caprese Sandwich
Caprese Sandwich Serving Suggestions
Serve this sandwich with a side salad or simply some fresh fruit. Here are some complimentary salad options that also travel well:
- Farro and Kale Salad with Goat Cheese
- Favorite Quinoa Salad
- French Carrot Salad
- Tangy Lentil Salad with Dill & Pepperoncini
- Tabbouleh
More Vegetarian Sandwiches to Enjoy
- Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Green Goddess Hummus Sandwich
- Tomato Jam and Mozzarella Panini
- Vegetarian “BLT” Sandwich
- Veggie Breakfast Sandwich
Please let me know how your sandwiches turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Caprese Sandwich
- Author:
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 sandwiches
- Category: Sandwich
- Method: Toasted
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
This Caprese sandwich recipe is perfect for picnics! This vegetarian sandwich features tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and creamy basil sauce. Recipe yields 2 large (as shown) or 4 medium sandwiches.
Ingredients
Two large or 4 smaller sandwiches
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1 baguette (16 ounces)
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1 tablespoon thick balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze*
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1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
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1 ½ cups baby arugula
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1 mozzarella ball (8 ounces)
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2 medium ripe tomatoes, sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds
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Flaky sea salt or kosher salt
Creamy basil sauce (this makes extra**)
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1 small or ½ medium clove garlic, roughly chopped
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½ cup mayonnaise
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½ cup (1 ounce) lightly packed fresh basil
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¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
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Lots of freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice the bread in half lengthwise, then stack it back together and slice it down the middle to form two large sandwiches, or again to make 4 small. Place the sliced bread on a baking sheet with the cut sides facing up. Bake for 5 minutes, or until warmed through and turning lightly golden around the edges.
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In the meantime, prepare the creamy basil sauce*: In a food processor, blitz the roughly chopped garlic to chop it more finely. Scrape down the sides, then add the mayo, basil, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, then set aside.
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To assemble the sandwiches, lightly drizzle balsamic and olive oil over half of the cut sides of bread. Layer some arugula on top, then weigh it down with rounds of mozzarella. Top with the sliced tomato, then sprinkle the tomato lightly with flaky salt.
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Spread the basil sauce generously over the cut side of the remaining slices of bread. Place them face down over the tomatoes. Enjoy.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Stacie Pendleton
I am not a mayo fan – is there anything you can substitute for the mayo? Thank you! (I LOVE your recipes!!)
Kate
Hey Stacie! Thank you. I bet Greek yogurt would work nicely.
Hayley
This looks SO delicious. I know this isn’t intended to be a vegan recipe, but I will try it without the cheese or with some vegan mozzarella instead. Thanks Kate for the heat free dinner idea!
Kate
Thanks Hayley! Let me know how it turns out! I know I tried doctoring up my vegan sour cream and blending in the basil, etc. It was very nice, just rather messy. Not sure how to replace the mozzarella!
Hayley
Made this today and it was great! Used a good vegan mozzarella and mayo which worked out well. It was slices of vegan mozzarella which isn’t traditional but I think the richness of the sauce made up for it. Thanks Kate for such a great and easy summer dish.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Hayley! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Antonina
This is delicious!! My kids love it eat these! Big hit for our family and has become our favorite summer dish!!
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Antonina! I appreciate your review.
Norma
Another great way to make and add to my collected recipes for making a Caprese sandwich. This one looks good for picnics. I also love the Closet Cooking site’s one for making at home, which is excellent. That one uses a regular pesto sauce in it. I will definitely try this one.
Kate
Thanks, Norma! Love that you’re collecting sandwich recipes. :) Hope to hear how this one turns out for you!
Chris
Made it immediately! Delicious…all of my favorites in a perfect portable sandwich!
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! Thank you, Chris!
Mon
Love, love your recipes. I make caprese sandwich with ciabatta bread in my panini maker. I like your style. Can’t wait to try. Would you’ve a healthy alternative to Mayo? Thanks.
★★★★★
Kate
Hey Mon, thank you! Greek yogurt works well. The sauce just isn’t as thick so it gets a little more messy.
Marcy
Looks great, but how many pine nuts does the recipe require?
★★★★★
Kate
Hey Marcy, the sandwich doesn’t use any pine nuts. The broccoli pesto calls for 3 tablespoons pine nuts.
Gaby
I’m in love with this sandwich, my whole family loves it! The Mayo, garlic, basil mix is to die for! I pressed the sandwich together with a little bit of butter to get all incorporated and toasty. Beautiful!
Kate
So glad to hear it, Gaby!
Craig
Just made this. Truly amazing!!
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful! I’m delighted you enjoyed it, Craig.
mary thomas
This looks great! Could you suggest a substitution for the mayo?
Thank you,
Mary
Kate
Hi Mary, I bet Greek Yogurt would work nicely. Let me know what you think!
Ashley D
My whole family devoured these! So yummy. I usually don’t like Mayo but made the sauce for my boys. It smelled so good I put it on my sandwich as well and it was so delicious! Very herby, not mayonnaise-y.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Ashley! Glad you enjoyed the sauce after all. :)
mangomama
Thanks so much for another yummy recipe– made a perfect Sunday night supper even if I adapted it a bit to use what I had here (no baguette on hand so toasted some Dave’s Killer Bread) and used 1/2 mayo and 1/2 plain Greek yogurt in the sauce/spread- delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
Sounds great! Thanks so much for your feedback!
Eva
DELICIOUS! Paired it with a salad and it was the perfect sandwich to make on a hot summer day. Any day for that matter ;-). Only problem now is my husband is going to ask me to make it for him all the time.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Eva! Happy to hear it. My husband loves this one, too. :)
Janice
Do you think the pesto sauce could be made ahead of time? A couple of days? I want to take this out of town with me and won’t have access to a food processor nor much kitchen space.
★★★★★
Kate
Yes, I remember that it kept well for several days!
Cathy
This was an excellent sandwich! The combination of basil sauce with balsamic glaze was perfect. I added an extra layer of tomatoes (no sub for mozzarella needed!) for my vegan daughter and she loved it!
★★★★★
Kate
So glad to hear it! Thanks, Cathy!
Dean
This looks heavenly! I think I’ll try it with fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden once my garden really gets going – i love fresh tomatoes and I bet it will be wonderful!
thanks for posting
Kate
Hooray for garden-fresh ingredients! Hope you love this one.
Sherry Hammond
I absolutely love your recipes!!! I am planning a graduation luncheon party for 12 people. I’m thinking of making your caprese sandwich. What soup and salad would you recommend to add or any other suggestions might you offer?
We’ll have cake and ice cream for dessert. Thank you!!!
Kate
Thank you so much, Sherry! Congrats to the grad. I think this sandwich is a great pick. I’d probably do a couple of salads on the side, maybe Farro and Kale Salad with Goat Cheese and French Carrot Salad?
Cassie
I made this for lunch today-incredible! Your recipes never fail! You make my veggie lifestyle 10x easier! Thanks!
★★★★★
Kristin
We had this for dinner last night, and it is amazing!! There was enough bread left for one sandwich, and I was gone all morning hoping my husband wasn’t going to eat it for lunch. Thank goodness he didn’t, so I had another sandwich. The basil sauce is fantastic, and I plan to use it on BLTs asap! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray for two sandwiches! Thanks so much for your feedback, Kristin.
Jenny
I just made this and it is amazing. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! Thank you, Jenny.
Kris
Kate, I loved this sandwich! I used spinach, and substituted dried basil for fresh, as we couldn’t get the fresh when shopping today. Each flavor layer was perfection! My husband wondered where the meat was, so I guess this will be my go-to meal when he’s having salmon which I cannot eat!! Thanks so much for another great recipe.
Kate
I’m so glad to hear it! Thank you, Kris! Fresh fruit sounds like the perfect side.
Kris
Oh, Kate, I forgot to say that I served the sandwich with fresh strawberries and blueberries!
★★★★★
Kat
These turned out so delicious, my friends still rave about them! The addition of arugula is genius.
If you’re lazy like I am, fresh basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic glaze are quicker than making the basil sauce. I will try the sauce next time though since it sounds amazing!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Kat! I’m happy you love it.
Lauren W
That sauce is bonkers! I want to put it on everything I eat. Used cashew mozzarella and it was delicious.
Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Lauren! Thank you for your review.
Janet T
Hi Kate! I love Caprese salad/appetizer, so HAD to try this! I made the mayo spread the day before, and assembled the sandwich last night. Sooooo good!! One question…the mayo spread did not come out the light green as shown in your pictures, so not sure what went wrong? It was still yummy, but a bit mayonnaise-y. I actually have a 7 cup food processor, and carefully measured the ingredients as called for. I’m not a food processor pro (yet!), but did use the same blade as shown in your example. I know color probably doesn’t matter as long as it tasted right, but thinking it may be even better if more accurate? I’m guessing I need to use more basil, but would appreciate your thoughts. I also want to try the spread with the Greek yogurt, or half and half as another fan suggested.
I’m a fairly new fan, and have only had chance to try about a handful of your recipes, but can’t wait till I can try many more! Each and every one has been easy to follow, and comes out AMAZING!! I often share your recipes, and recommend your site to family and friends. You are so talented, and thank you for sharing your gift!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Janet! I’m glad you enjoyed this sandwich. It could be you needed more basil. If you can weigh it next time, maybe try that. Be sure to let me know as you try other recipes, Janet!
LAURA
Kate, this is my family’s favorite. I always order caprese sandwiches at restaurants and this one is far superior. Thank you for your delicious recipes.
★★★★★
Kate
I love that this is a favorite for your family, Laura! Thank you for sharing.
Jim
Excellent recipe. We substituted spinach and added a bit of dijon mustard to basal mayo sauce. Everyone enjoyed this. Thanks.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Jim! I’m happy it was a hit.
Karin
This was so good and easy! Thank you!!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Karin!
Sheri
So yummy! Love the creamy-basil sauce!!! Thank you!!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Sheri! Thank you for your review.
Deborah Araki
Made this and making it again today!
Came out so good!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you enjoyed it that you are already making it again! Thank you for sharing, Deborah.
Marcia
I have been perusing this website for many hours the past couple of weeks and just made my first recipe from here… the Caprese Sandwich. Oh my gosh!! This was absolutely delicious!!! I made it per the recipe ingredients, no substitutions. The creamy basil sauce is amazing and using thick balsamic sauce makes a huge difference. Thank you for this amazing recipe… I am excited to try many other recipes from this awesome site!
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Marcia.
Billy
This is the second recipe from your site I made today and both were delicious. The basil mayo is so simple don’t know why I never thought of it lol. I used low carb wraps to keep the calories down but it was still great. I’m not a vegetarian but I’m not really a meat fan either. So many great recipes here I can’t wait to try. Thanks.
Nichole
One of my favorite go-to meals!!
★★★★★
Kate
Love to hear that, Nichole!
Anna
I love a good sandwich for lunch and am really excited to try this recipe sometime soon! Lately, I have really been into buying the “fancier” bread from the bakery section in the grocery store. It makes all sandwiches 1000% tastier. Thank you for the recipe – I look forward to trying more of your recipes in the future!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m excited you loved it! I appreciate it, Anna.
Leah Littlefield
Thank you so much Kate! I made this sandwich for my lunch today. It was so refreshing and delicious! I didn’t have any fresh basil so I just used some dried basil. It was still better than I ever could have imagined, but I can’t wait to try it with fresh basil. Can’t wait to have it again tomorrow and try even more healthy vegetarian meals!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Leah! Thank you for your review.
Paris
such a yummy and fresh sammie for the summer! My hubby and I love this sandwich, especially the creamy basil spread.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Paris!
Cora
Yum, so tasty and easy. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Cora! I appreciate your review.
Mary Grace
This was great! I doubled the creamy basil spread but used half mayo/half sour cream and then I added about a tsp of olive oil. Also I love your cookbook!!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Mary! I’m glad you loved it.
Sarah
Hey Kate! Thanks for the recipe, I think I’m going to make this next week! If I make a big batch of glaze, how long will it hold for?
Kate
Hi! It should keep well for a few days. Just used your best judgement. Basil can go bad quickly.
Kathi
I’m planning a picnic bridal shower. Would this keep overnight?
Kate
Hi! I don’t know about overnight, but you can assemble the components that day and prep them the night before.
Jaime
Amazing- one of my new favorite meatless monday options!
★★★★★
Cierra
Hi! Can I use mozzarella shreds instead of slices? Thanks!
★★★★★
Kate
Sure, but fresh is best here. Thank you for your review, Cierra!
R Miller
I like caprese salads so this recipe caught my eye. The sandwich was delicious and easy to make.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you enjoyed it, R!
Louisa Dell'Amico
Hi. I’m making a vegan version with vegan mayo, but I’m wondering what type of food processor people are using? I tried it in my Ninja mini processor, but there isn’t enough of this basil mixture for the blades to catch it. Thank you.
Kate
Hi! I have a Cuisinart. You can find all my kitchen essentials on my shop page
Karin
Hi! I used to make these sandwiches on a French baguette for Balducci’s (NY). Boring compared to your’s.. look forward to making them your way!
Kate
Great to hear, Karin!
Megan
If you are reading this, make these sandwiches!! They are SO good and so incredibly easy to make. The basil sauce is phenomenal. Best part? So easy and quick to make! Thanks for yet another amazing recipe Kate!