The Best Chicken Caprese Sandwich

This incredibly delicious Chicken Caprese Sandwich brings the classic zesty taste of your favorite Caprese salad to a handy sandwich perfect for on the go.

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A Perfect Caprese Sandwich with Chicken

Caprese is a classic Italian flavor with the perfect pairing of tomato, basil, and mozzarella that makes for the perfect summer dish right out of your garden on a hot summer day. This sandwich is a great way to use some of your tomato harvest or to make use of some grilled chicken.

Ingredients Needed

Chicken breast – I used a fresh chicken breast that I simply pan-fried after seasoning. However, if you have leftover rotisserie chicken or some previously grilled chicken strips, those will also work perfectly for this chicken sandwich recipe. **Check the recipe card below on how to use different types of chicken.
Fresh mozzarella – It’s important that you use FRESH mozzarella here. Using pizza mozzarella or the block type of mozzarella will not give you that same, fresh and creamy flavor that fresh mozzarella does. Most grocery stores sell it now so it’s not hard to find.
Ripe tomatoes – The best tomato to use it the one out of your garden! The second best is a nice slicing tomato from the grocery store.
Lettuce – I used romaine, but you can use butter lettuce, Boston, green leaf, or even iceberg if you wanted a stronger crunch.
Pesto – I have a delicious recipe for Homemade Garlic Scape Pesto on the blog, but because I’ve completely used it all, I got a store-bought variety.
Seasonings – I dusted the chicken breast with Salt, Pepper, Garlic powder, and Smoked Paprika. However, use your favorite seasoning collection if you’d like.
Buns – Use a nice crusty, but fluffy inside, bun. Artisan, torpedo, or submarine buns work best here.

How to make this Grilled Chicken Caprese Sandwich

Start by cutting your chicken breast horizontally to make it thinner. This helps so you don’t have a big huge chunk of chicken in the sandwich, and it also helps speed up the cooking process.

Season your chicken before grilling/frying or season ahead of time and allow it to marinate until you are ready to cook. This is a great way to prep your lunch or dinner the night before.

I’ve listed the seasonings I used, but feel free to make it your own. You can even marinate your chicken in Italian dressing or balsamic vinaigrette to really enhance the flavor.

While the chicken is cooking you can begin to assemble your sandwiches. On a large buttered and warmed bun (we use torpedo buns), layer the lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella.

When the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the heat and carefully slice the breast into strips.

Drizzle the pesto on the cheese and then lay down the chicken slices. You can sprinkle a few drops of balsamic dressing if desired on the chicken. Cover with the top of the bun.

Make it your own

There is a lot you can do to this simple sandwich to give it your own flare and make this Caprese sandwich truly unique.

You could add fresh basil leaves or use spinach in place of the romaine lettuce. Switch out the pesto for a smoked red pepper spread.

Switch up the buns and use some artisan bread. Butter both sides and give them a light toasting in the skillet before you cook the chicken. The added crunch from the bread would give an awesome texture.

How can I make this sandwich ahead of time?

Absolutely. You can grill your chicken ahead of time and keep it chilled until you assemble the sandwiches. You can even use leftover chicken from the previous night. Simply assemble when you are ready to eat to keep the bun from becoming soggy.

If you do not finish your sandwich or would like to pack it for lunch and serve cold, wrap the sandwich really well in plastic wrap and keep it chilled. You’ll want to eat it within 2 days.

The importance of fresh ingredients

To get the most out of this sandwich you need to have the freshest ingredients available. Similar to my Open Faced Caprese Steak Sandwich, (which is INSANELY delicious as well), these sandwiches are the perfect way for a dish right out of your garden where you grow fresh tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and basil. These fresh ingredients are available for a great price at the local farmers’ market this time of year if you don’t have your own garden.

Fresh mozzarella is easy to make at home or can be found at your local farmers’ market, Italian specialty store, or regular grocery store. The flavor and texture of fresh mozzarella is so superior to use in this Caprese sandwich. It honestly wouldn’t be the same if you didn’t use the fresh version.

Have you made Caprese sandwiches before? What type of ingredients did you use? Let me know below in the comments, I’d love to hear about it!