This Chicken Caprese Sandwich is packed with all of your favorite Italian flavors and the best grilled chicken breast. Served on a parmesan crusted, fresh sliced loaf bread, this gourmet griddle sandwich recipe would fit right in on any restaurant menu.
We found a new favorite sandwich.
With juicy grilled chicken, jarred pesto, crusty loaf bread, roasted red peppers, fresh roma tomatoes, and our favorite balsamic drizzle, what’s not to love? And we loved this Caprese Sandwich so much that when we finished filming the YouTube video for this awesome flat top grill sandwich, we immediately ran to the grocery store to buy more chicken breasts so we could make it again for my in-laws.
It’s that good.
And if you need further proof that this epic Italian sandwich is worthy of a spot on your list of must-make flat top grill sandwich recipes, then I’ll say this… my wife ate the entire thing, bread and all! If you’ve watched any of our YouTube videos, you know that she avoids eating carbs from bread… she’d rather save her carbs for desserts.
So if it’s wife-approved, you know it’s good!
Here’s how to make this awesome Chicken Caprese Sanwich on the Blackstone griddle (or any flat top grill or even a skillet):
What is a Chicken Caprese Sandwich?
You may have heard of a Caprese Salad, which consists of mozzarella slices, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil or Italian dressing (according to Merriam-Webster).
So this Chicken Caprese Sandwich combines all of those flavors plus grilled chicken in sandwich form. If you love pesto, Italian flavors, and making awesome flavorful sandwiches on the Blackstone griddle, then you’ve got to try this grilled Chicken Caprese sandwich!
Chicken Caprese Sandwich Ingredients
Traditionally, Caprese includes mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil, but if you’ve followed my YouTube channel, then you know that I like to up the flavor factor in my dishes. Here’s what I used for my Chicken Caprese Sandwich:
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- thin sliced chicken breasts
- Cavendar’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning – Or you can use your favorite all purpose or Italian seasoning to season your chicken.
- sliced tomatoes
- fresh sliced mozzarella
- pesto – You can definitely make your own pesto, but we chose to use a jarred, store-bought pesto to keep this sandwich recipe quick and easy!
- rosemary olive oil loaf bread
- pecorino romano cheese – That’s what I already had in the fridge, but you can substitute shredded parmesan.
- jarred roasted red peppers
- balsamic glaze – We used Nonna Pia’s Balsamic Glaze (our favorite!).
- butter
- avocado oil – My oil of choice for seasoning and cooking!
You can also use a bacon or sandwich press, but it’s not necessary. If you don’t have a press, you can press your sandwich down panini-style using the bottom of a heavy pot or pan like a cast iron skillet. Or, you can skip pressing your sandwich down altogether.
How to Make the BEST Chicken Caprese Sandwich on the Flat Top Grill
This flavorful Italian style sandwich is super easy to make on your flat top grill or outdoor griddle. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Cook your thinly sliced chicken breasts.
I bought boneless skinless chicken breasts that were already pre-sliced thin, because they just happened to be on sale at my grocery store. But you can definitely slice your own in half and/or pound out the breasts to make your own thinly sliced chicken breasts.
Then, season your chicken with your favorite seasoning. We used Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning (a personal favorite) and a squeeze of lemon juice, and we only seasoned one side of the chicken. The chicken breasts are so thin and we didn’t want to overpower the other flavorful ingredients in this sandwich recipe.
Once your chicken is seasoned and your flat top grill is preheated, add some avocado oil (or your favorite cooking oil) to the griddle surface. Then, cook your chicken breasts until done, flipping them to the second side halfway through.
Once the chicken is done, let it rest on a cutting board for about 5 minutes before adding it to the sandwich.
CHEF’S NOTE – I HIGHLY recommend that you get a good instant read digital probe thermometer to check for the doneness of your chicken — This type of thermometer is the KEY to making juicy, perfectly cooked chicken breasts every time! Check out this post for my favorite instant read thermometer: 6 Flat Top Grill Accessories You Must Have for Your Outdoor Griddle – We’ve had our thermometer for about 2 years now, and we love it!
Step 2: Prep the other ingredients for your Caprese Sandwich.
While your chicken is cooking on the flat top grill, you can start prepping the other ingredients for your Chicken Caprese Sandwich.
Just slapping a ciabatta roll on this sandwich and calling it a day is fine… but you know we’re all about adding flavor whenever possible. So for our version of the Chicken Caprese Sandwich we used a store-bought rosemary olive oil loaf and made our own parmesan crusted bread.
Just slice your loaf in thick slices, about 1/2 – 3/4″ thick. Then, butter one side of each slice and grate parmesan or pecorino romano cheese directly on top of the butter. The butter will help the cheese stick to the bread slices and create an awesome flavorful crust on your sandwich.
And don’t forget about the other ingredients for you epic flat top grill sandwich – Go ahead and slice your roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella also.
Step 3: Build and press your Chicken Caprese Sandwich, panini style.
Once your grilled chicken is cooked and your Caprese ingredients are prepped it’s time to build your chicken sandwich on the flat top grill (or in your skillet).
First, add your buttered bread slices to the griddle, cheese side down. Then, add the other caprese ingredients on top of the bread, including the pesto, roasted red peppers, sliced mozzarella, and tomatoes. Your sandwich should look something like this:
Notice how I added the sliced mozzarella directly to the bread so that it was closer to the heat source to melt. The jarred pesto was spread on the other slice of the bread first, before adding the sliced tomatoes on top.
Add one piece of chicken to each sandwich, and use a press or the bottom of a heavy pan to press the Chicken Caprese Sandwich down on the griddle. You don’t want to press too hard, because you don’t want all of the juicy goodness of this sandwich to leak out on your griddle.
Your sandwiches are done cooking when the bread is slightly golden brown… it doesn’t take long.
Then remove the sandwiches from the Blackstone griddle and let them rest for just a few minutes on a cutting board. Then slice to serve! (And try not to immediately head to the grocery store to get more chicken to make even more of these sandwiches like we did!)
FAQ’s about the Chicken Caprese Sandwich Recipe
Have more questions about making this awesome chicken caprese sandwich? Leave me a comment or check out some of these FAQ’s:
Can I make this sandwich without a griddle?
Yes, absolutely! In fact, pretty much anything that you make on your outdoor griddle or flat top grill can also be made in a skillet on your stovetop.
What kind of balsamic glaze should I use on my Caprese Sandwich?
We used the Nonna Pia’s Balsamic Glaze… it’s our favorite store-bought balsamic glaze for sure, and we always have it on hand for adding to Italian chopped salads and my wife’s favorite Hummus Veggie Flatbread.
We get the larger bottle from Costco, but you should also be able to find the smaller bottles at most grocery stores… Or use your favorite balsamic glaze!
Do I have to use fresh basil on my Caprese sandwich?
You may have noticed that I mentioned that traditional Caprese is made with basil… and you may have also noticed that fresh basil was absent from my Chicken Caprese Sandwich recipe. I chose to leave out the basil, because I used pesto instead. One of the main ingredients in pesto is basil, so I didn’t want the basil flavor of my sandwich to be too overpowering. But if you want to add a few fresh basil leaves or even a sprinkling of Italian seasoning to your sandwich, by all means go for it.
What kind of basil pesto do you recommend?
Rao’s makes our favorite jarred marinara sauce, so we used the Rao’s brand of pesto also. However, if you look at the labels of a few different store-bought pestos, you’ll find that most of them contain the exact same ingredients. Of course, you can definitely make your own pesto from scratch, but our food processor just recently bit the dust, and we wanted to keep this Chicken Caprese Sandwich recipe super quick and easy to make, so store-bought pesto to the rescue!
The BEST Easy Chicken Caprese Sandwich Recipe
If you’re wanting to try a new sandwich recipe on your Blackstone griddle (because you can only eat cheesesteaks for so many consecutive days!), then I HIGHLY recommend printing this easy Caprese sandwich recipe! And if you make it, be sure to come back and leave me a comment to tell me what you think!
Chicken Caprese Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 large boneless skinless breast sliced in half length ways to create two thinly sliced chicken breast pieces
- Italian seasoning of your choice
- avocado oil or cooking oil of your choice
- rosemary olive oil loaf bread
- parmesan or pecorino romano cheese shredded, enough to cover one side of 4 bread slices
- mozzarella freshly sliced
- store bought pesto
- sliced tomatoes
- roasted red peppers
- balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Preheat griddle or skillet on low heat.
- Season one side of the thinly sliced chicken breasts with your favorite Italian seasoning.
- Add a bit of avocado oil (or other cooking oil) to your cooking surface. Cook the chicken breasts in the oil until cooked through, flipping halfway through cooking to the second side.
- While the chicken is cooking, prep the other ingredients. Cut the bread loaf into 4 thick slices, about 1/2" – 3/4" thick. Slice the mozzarella, tomatoes, and roasted red peppers.
- Butter one side of each of the bread slices. Then, grate parmesan or pecorino romano cheese directly on top of the butter. Pat the shredded cheese down a bit so it sticks to the butter.
- When the chicken is done cooking, remove it from the griddle and allow it to rest for about 5 minutes.
- Build the Chicken Caprese Sandwich. Add the bread slices to the griddle, cheese side down. For one side of the sandwich, add the freshly sliced mozzarella cheese and the sliced roasted red peppers. On the other side of the sandwich, spread pesto end to end and add sliced tomatoes.
- Allow the cheese crusted sandwich bread to cook for a few minutes so the cheese can melt.
- Then, add the cooked chicken breast to the top of the mozzarella and roasted red peppers. Add the other side of the bread on top to form a sandwich.
- Use a press to gently press the Chicken Caprese Sandwich down on the griddle.
- When the bread is slightly golden brown, transfer to a cutting board. Allow the sandwich to cool down a few minutes and slice to serve.
Notes
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Comments & Reviews
Kevin Coughlin says
Just made your recipe tonight ! Absolutely a 10/10! I watch your videos every day you put one out ! You are fun , and easy to follow throughout ! Just started cooking a year ago after I got my first Blackstone ! My wife of 33 years is simply amazed I’m even interested in cooking after all these years with her being the great cook ! You’ve made her happy ! Keep making great videos !
Don Liburd says
The sweetness of the balsamic glaze and the rosemary is what did it for me. This recipe is a winner for sure!
Dan Byrne says
Very good recipe and easy to follow
Freda peddicord says
I am trying this next
Charlie Gonzalez says
Anything Caprese is great and refreshing on hot days.