Pesto Chicken Caprese Sandwich

We often find that lunch can be one of the hardest meals to prepare for. Whether we’re eating at home or packing it to go, we want our lunches to be quick, easy, and basically ready for us to eat as soon as we’re hungry. On weeks when we don’t have the time to do extensive meal prep, sandwiches are a lifesaver!

We simply cook up a big batch of grilled chicken on Monday morning and make sure we have bread and condiments on hand. Then, we can easily prepare flavorful and healthy sandwiches like this pesto chicken caprese sandwich throughout the week, and it only takes about 10 minutes.

So if you’re like us and you need sandwich ideas that use grilled chicken for a quick and easy lunch, you’re going to love this pesto chicken caprese sandwich recipe!

Pesto Chicken Caprese Sandwich Ingredients

Here’s the secret to making the best sandwiches at home: use super fresh, flavorful, unprocessed ingredients! We guarantee that if you follow this advice, you’ll never need to buy a sandwich from your favorite café again.

All you need to make this easy pesto chicken caprese sandwich is sliced bread, a few fresh Italian ingredients, and some marinated grilled chicken breast:

• Whole grain seed bread
• Basil pesto
• Grilled chicken
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Tomato

For these healthy sandwiches, we like to use fresh whole grain bread from the bakery, homemade nut free basil pesto and zesty lemon grilled chicken. We can also highly recommend using a farmstyle-cut shredded mozzarella cheese (Cabot and Tillamook make these) for the best melt!

If you have a favorite homemade pesto recipe, or even a favorite store bought brand, you can obviously use those instead of making our pesto. As for the grilled chicken, we encourage you to try making our zesty lemon chicken marinade for this recipe as it brings a nice pop of flavor into this sandwich (versus using a plain grilled chicken).

Finally, use the juiciest tomato you can find! Pick out a nice bright red vine tomato at the store that gives slightly when you squeeze it – that’s how you can tell it’s perfectly ripe.

How To Make A Pesto Chicken Caprese Sandwich

It’s so easy to make this sandwich for a quick and healthy lunch, especially if you already have grilled chicken in the fridge! Here’s how to make our pesto chicken caprese sandwich recipe in under 10 minutes:

1. First, lightly toast the slices of bread so they’re warm and slightly crispy. This will give your sandwich the structure it needs to not fall apart while eating.
2. In the meantime, heat the chicken in a small frying pan over medium-low heat until warmed through. Then, add the shredded mozzarella and stir to combine with the chicken, heating through until it’s nice and melty.
3. Next, spread the pesto on both halves of the toasted bread. You want to sandwich your filling between the pesto for maximum flavor!
4. Then, add a layer of sliced tomato on the bottom piece of bread. Top with the cheesy chicken, then close the sandwich.
5. Slice in half with a sharp chef’s knife and serve!

Much like a panini, our pesto chicken caprese sandwich is toasty, warm, and gooey. This method is a great way to prepare a panini-like sandwich if you don’t have a panini press!

If you like to cut your sandwiches in half before serving, we recommend using a large, well-sharpened chef’s knife for the cleanest cut. If you use a knife that’s dull or too small, you risk smushing your sandwich in the middle and having the filling come out at the sides – and nobody wants that.

Pesto Chicken Caprese Sandwich Variations

One of our favorite things about sandwiches is how you can customize them infinitely. Here are a few suggestions for how you can change our pesto chicken caprese sandwich to match your tastes, or the ingredients you already have:

• Swap whole grain seed bread for ciabatta or sourdough
• Try alternative spreads in place of pesto, like sun dried tomatoes, hummus, or roasted red peppers
• Make it a cold sandwich with freshly sliced mozzarella instead of shredded
• Swap mozzarella with burrata for a creamier, more decadent sandwich

Serving Suggestions

Our pesto chicken caprese sandwich makes the perfect healthy lunch! Serve it with your favorite salad, kettle chips, fresh fruit, or veggies and a cold drink for a well rounded meal.

This sandwich is also great for enjoying on warm spring and summer days. Wrap it up in aluminum foil and take it to the park for a sunny day picnic, or enjoy it on the back patio with a refreshing seltzer!