Caprese Sandwich with Parsley Pesto

This plant-based Caprese sandwich is full of big, bold, bright flavours, and you don’t need a million ingredients to achieve that. All you need are tomatoes, pesto, vegan mozzarella, and sandwich bread!

Traditionally, Caprese is an Italian salad made with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil, then drizzled with olive oil. If you like to stick with tradition, you can layer your sandwich with basil leaves or basil pesto, but I highly recommend breaking with tradition and trying parsley pesto instead.

About This Vegan Sandwich Caprese

• Only 4 ingredients. There’s a time and a place for an over-the-top sandwich piled high with toppings (like this vegan grinder), and there’s also a time to keep it simple, like today’s vegan Caprese sandwich.
• Bright, fresh flavors. Parsley pesto isn’t the classic choice for Caprese recipes, but I love it in this sandwich. It’s nutty, garlicky, and brings a bright herbal note to the sandwich.
• Melty mozzarella. Also not traditional? The vegan mozzarella, but there are plenty of great options on the market these days that work deliciously in this sandwich. See below.

Notes on Ingredients 

Please note that this is important information on the ingredients and instructions, and the full recipe with amounts and details can be found below (scroll to it) in the recipe card.

• French bread – Choose your favourite sandwich bread, mine is this homemade French bread.
• Tomato – Choose a medium tomato that fits the width of your bread without a lot of overhang. Heirloom tomatoes are great for this recipe! Roma tomatoes are also good for sandwiches.
• Vegan mozzarella cheese slices – In this recipe, I used slices of vegan mozzarella, but if you can’t find them locally, you can use more readily-available mozzarella shreds instead, or substitute slabs of homemade tofu feta. 
• Parsley pesto – Make my parsley pesto recipe, or you can substitute another vegan pesto that you enjoy.

How to Make a Caprese Sandwich

Although these instructions are for a warm vegan Caprese sandwich, you can also serve this cold and skip the panini press! Of course, if you aren’t making it vegan, you can replace the plant-based mozzarella with regular mozzarella instead.

• Assemble. Layer the mozzarella and tomato slices on one slice of bread, then spread the pesto onto another. Place the slice with the pesto on top, with the pesto side facing in.
• Cook. Place the sandwich on a panini press and cook on medium for about 5 minutes, or until the bread is toasty and the cheese has melted.
• Serve. Remove the sandwich from the panini press, then cut it in half before serving.

Butter the Panini Press For a Crispier Sandwich

You can spread vegan butter (or oil) on the outside of your sandwich before placing it in the panini press for a crispier exterior. It’s not necessary, but it does add crunch.

Tips for the Best Caprese Sandwich

• No panini press? No worries! You can cook the sandwich on a griddle or in a skillet, then place a smaller skillet on top to press it down.
• A note on the bread. French bread isn’t the same as a baguette; while both are crusty, a baguette is much crispier on the outside and not well-suited for making a panini.
• Making it your own. You can substitute the fresh tomatoes for sun-dried or roasted tomatoes, or if you’re not a tomato fan, you can use roasted red peppers.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this sandwich alone or with a bowl of creamy tomato soup for a satisfying vegan lunch. A Caprese sandwich is also great with a Greek salad or vegan Caesar salad on the side.

How to Store Leftovers

• Refrigerate. You can store any leftover sandwiches wrapped in the refrigerator for about 2 days. This recipe isn’t ideal for freezing; after freezing and thawing, the tomatoes will release a lot of liquid into the bread, resulting in a mushy sandwich. If you’re looking for a freezer-friendly lunch idea, try my vegan burritos instead!
• Reheat. Reheat them in a 350ºF oven until they’re warmed through. (The microwave will work too, but an oven will restore some of the sandwich’s crispiness.)

More Vegan Sandwich Recipes

• Vegan BLT Sandwich
• Smashed Chickpea Avocado Salad Sandwich
• Pinwheel Sandwiches
• Chopped Cheese Sandwich
• Vegan Tempeh Gyros 

Enjoy friends! If you make this vegan Caprese Sandwich recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!