Caprese Panini Recipe – Mozzarella, Tomatoes & Basil

This delicious Caprese panini recipe is super easy to make. You just need mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, olive oil, bread and a panini press! Your family will love this sandwich because you are turning a classic Caprese salad into a toasty & cheesy panini.

To make this panini sandwich recipe, you should use fresh (non-stale) “crusty” bread such as ciabatta, French bread, Italian bread, rolls, etc. Or you can use homemade sandwich bread (e.g. bread made from Bread Dad’s bread machine recipes & oven-baked bread recipes).

Caprese Panini (Being Assembled on Homemade Honey Oat Bread)

Recipe Sections

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Helpful Tips

My panini sandwich recipes are based on using a two-sided panini press/grill (with top & bottom grilling units) and not a frying pan, etc. When using already precooked ingredients, this recipe takes me about 10-15 minutes to assemble and “grill” on my panini machine.

Caprese Panini with Homemade Honey Oat Bread – After Grilling

Ingredients – Caprese Panini Recipe

• 2 – Bread Slices – You can use “crusty” bread such as ciabatta, Italian bread, rolls, focaccia, etc. Or you can use regular homemade sandwich bread.
• 1-2 Tablespoon – Olive Oil
• 2-3 Slices – Fresh Mozzarella Cheese – Each slice should be roughly 1/4 inch thick. The number of slices will vary depending on the size of the bread.
• 3-4 – Sweet Basil Leaves – This number of leaves will vary depending on the size of the basil leaves and how much you like basil.
• 1-2 Slices – Medium Tomato Slices – Each slice should be roughly 1/8 inch thick. The number of slices will vary depending on the size of the bread.
• Optional – 1 Teaspoon – Balsamic Glaze – Not balsamic vinegar
• Optional – A pinch of salt and/or pepper

FYI – You can easily double the ingredients above to make 2 paninis, etc. In addition, the amount of ingredients will vary based on the size of the bread used (e.g. a large French bread will require more cheese, tomatoes, etc.)

Servings – 1 Panini

Equipment Needed – Serrated knife, cutting board, pastry brush, oven gloves, heat-resistant spatulas, cooling rack and panini press.

Caprese Panini with French Bread

Caprese Panini with French Bread

Instructions

• Preheat your panini press. Set the temperature to 325 F (or to medium heat if you can not set the temperature on your panini press) and turn on the panini grill.
• Slice the ciabatta in half (horizontally). You want two layers of bread with each layer having a “crusty” side (a layer with the crusty top and a layer with the crusty bottom). FYI – You can also use two slices of homemade sandwich bread, French bread, etc.
• Brush the exterior of each slice (the “crusty” side) with a thin layer of olive oil. FYI – I use a pastry brush to “brush” on the olive oil.
• Optional – Consider brushing the interior of each slice with olive oil. FYI – This helps to better transfer the heat to the interior ingredients but it does add more calories.
• Place both halves of the bread on a plate or cutting board (with the crust sides down and soft sides facing up). FYI – Do not place the ingredients on the panini grill until your panini has been fully assembled.
• Place the mozzarella slices on the bottom half of the bread. FYI – Just have a single layer of mozzarella. Do not stack the slices.
• Place the basil leaves on top of the mozzarella.
• Place the tomato slices on top of the basil leaves.
• Optional – Pour balsamic glaze on top of the tomato slices if desired.
• Optional – Sprinkle a pinch of salt and/or pepper on the tomatoes if desired.
• Finally, place the top slice of bread on the tomato slices (to complete the structure of the panini sandwich).
• Use two wide non-scratch spatulas to scoop up the panini and transfer the assembled panini to the hot panini press. Wear oven gloves. FYI – I like to use one spatula on the bottom of the panini and one on top in order to hold the panini together when moving the panini to the press/grill.
• Gently lower the panini press/grill lid on top of the panini.
• Grill for about 3-5 minutes. FYI – You can check every couple of minutes to see if the panini has finished (as panini press temperatures can vary by machine) and to avoid over-grilling & burning the panini. You might have to grill longer if you use “medium” heat versus 325 F (as the temperature range can vary by machine). Grilling time length varies due to the type of bread used.
• Turn off the grill. FYI – Be careful as panini grills can stay hot for a long time.
• Use the two spatulas to remove the finished cheese steak panini from the panini press. Wear oven gloves.
• Since the panini is very hot, you should place the panini on a wire cooling and let it cool for 1-2 minutes. FYI – A wire cooling rack helps to prevent a soggy bottom (versus allowing the panini to cool on a plate). The cooling rack lets moisture out versus being trapped by a plate.
• Serve the panini while it is still warm. Cut the panini in half if desired.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make paninis successfully.

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Caprese Panini with Ciabatta Bread

Helpful Tips

• The tips below are designed to help panini “novices”. Experienced panini makers probably know most of these panini tips already.
• Click on my “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include this recipe’s tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is one of Bread Dad’s Easy Panini Recipes such as ham & cheese paninis and cheese steak paninis.
• Always be careful with panini presses & grills. They get very hot and can stay hot for a long time. Wear oven gloves.

• As you probably know, a Caprese panini is based on the ingredients in a Caprese salad. According to Wikipedia, a Caprese salad “is an Italian salad, made of sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and sweet basil, seasoned with salt, and olive oil”… “Variations of Caprese salad may include Italian dressing or pesto in place of olive oil, or balsamic vinegar in addition to it”.
• Visitors – Do you add any extra ingredients to your Caprese panini sandwiches (such as salad dressing or pesto)? Please post your Caprese panini tips in the comment section at the bottom of the page.

• You can use many types of bread to make paninis. Most people use bread with harder crusts such as French bread, Italian bread, ciabatta bread, focaccia, etc. These breads are less “crushable” than sandwich-type breads (when the panini presses the bread).
• You can also easily use homemade sandwich bread to make paninis. They come out sort of like a grilled cheese sandwich. Above, you will see pictures of a panini that I made with my Honey Oat Bread recipe.
• You can also use many of my Bread Machine Recipes such as Bread Machine White Bread, Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread, Bread Machine Multigrain Bread, etc.

• The problem with using sandwich-type breads for paninis is that “liquidy” ingredients (e.g. melted cheese, salsa, pesto sauce, vinegar, etc.) are more likely to soak through the top & bottom of these breads. This is less of an issue with breads with harder crusts.
• Do not use overly thick bread. If the bread is too thick, it will be harder to heat the interior of the panini.
• Do not use stale rock-hard bread to make your panini. A panini grill will not soften the stale bread. You will just be making a hot cheesy rock!

• Fresh mozzarella is great for panini sandwiches because the cheese is delicious, soft & meltable and doesn’t overpower the flavor of the other ingredients.
• One problem with fresh mozzarella is the cost. It is an expensive cheese (especially when compared to many packaged supermarket cheeses).
• Do not slice the fresh mozzarella too thick. If the slice is too thick, the mozzarella will have a harder time to melt. I like to use mozzarella slices that are roughly 1/4 inch thick.
• Some people like to take their cheese out of the refrigerator and leave it on the counter (covered of course) for an hour or so in order to warm the cheese to room temperature. Refrigerator cold cheese does not melt as quickly as room temperature cheese.
• Do not stack the mozzarella slices in your panini sandwich as the panini machine will have more trouble melting two stacked slices versus one slice.
• Do not freeze fresh mozzarella. This type of cheese contains lots of moisture and internal ice crystals will destroy the texture of the cheese. Freezing only works with low-moisture cheeses.

• Do not make your panini too thick (with tons of interior ingredients) as it will be harder to heat the interior of the panini sandwich.
• An overly thick panini also increases the chances that the top slice of the panini might slip off (when pressed down by the panini press) and wreck your panini during the grilling.
• You should brush olive oil on the exterior sides of the panini before grilling (e.g. crusty top and crusty bottom). This helps to add flavor and creates a more crunchy crust. The olive oil also helps to transmit the heat of the grill into the bread.
• Optional – You can also brush some olive oil on the soft interior side of the bread. This helps to transfer heat to the interior ingredients. However, it also adds more calories to the panini sandwich.
• FYI – If you would like to try growing tomatoes & sweet basil at home, check out Bread Dad’s Grow Your Own Ingredients page for herb seeds, tomato seeds, etc.

• As I stated at the top of the page, my panini sandwich recipes are based on using a two-sided panini press/grill (with top & bottom grilling units) and not a frying pan.
• Do not forget to preheat your panini grill or the grilling will take longer than expected.
• FYI – My panini grill “beeps” when it has reached its set temperature target (e.g. 325 F). However, other panini grills do not have this feature so you might need to let your panini grill warm up for at least 5 minutes before using it to bake your panini. Read your manual for the specific time needed to preheat your grill.
• Check your panini every couple of minutes to see if it grilling properly. You do not want your panini to burn.
• Do not leave your panini unattended and forget about it. You could cause a fire, burn your food, etc.

• Do you find it hard to heat the interior of your panini before the panini burns? If so, you should lower the heat on your panini press. This will allow you to grill the panini for longer before it burns. This also means that the panini interior will have a longer time to heat up. Also make sure the bread slices are not too thick and you haven’t added too many interior ingredients.
• Another way to avoid “cold” panini interiors is to use room temperature cheeses, use a microwave to heat up refrigerator cold meats (e.g. roast chicken), etc.
• Make sure the top of the panini press/grill is fully pressed against the top of the bread. The heat from the top grill adds the characteristic grill “marks” to the bread and makes sure the top of the bread is properly heated. With most machines, you do not have to physically press down on the panini. You just let the weight of the top do the “pressing”.
• Try to make sure the top of the panini press/grill is flat and even when you lower it onto the panini. A non-level top is more likely to result in uneven heating and/or pushing the top of the panini off the sandwich. Wear oven gloves if you are handling or adjusting a hot panini press/grill.
• If you need to reheat your paninis, you can reheat them in your regular oven, a toaster oven or even by using a low heat setting on your panini press.
• However, do NOT use your microwave to reheat your paninis. A microwave is more likely to make your panini soggy.

• In America, panini refers to a hot sandwich that has been grilled/toasted on a panini press/grill, etc. This type of sandwich is usually filled with cheese and various other ingredients such as meat, veggies, etc. A panini sandwich also usually has the classic grilled “stripes” on the crust.
• However, the word “panini” comes from Italy. According to Wikipedia, “In Italian, the noun panino (Italian: [pa’niːno]; pl.: panini) is a diminutive of pane (lit. ’bread’) and refers to a bread roll. Panino imbottito (lit. ’stuffed panino’) refers to a sandwich, but the word panino is also often used alone to indicate a sandwich in general.”

• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a panini press/grill. The panini press/grill gets very hot during the baking process and it will stay very hot even after you turn off the panini press/grill (it takes a long time to cool).
• Do NOT let kids near your panini grills because panini grills can stay hot for a long time. They might accidentally burn themselves on the panini grill.
• Make sure to READ your panini press/grill instruction manual in order to operate your press/grill safely & correctly. Always follow the safety instructions in your panini press manual.
• If you need any panini tools (e.g. wide heat-resistant spatulas) or panini cookbooks, check out Bread Dad’s section on Panini Grills, Tools & Books.
• In case you want to make your paninis with homemade bread (such as French bread, multigrain bread and rolls), you might want to explore Bread Dad’s sections for bread machine recipes and homemade bread recipes.

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Reference Sources

• Wikipedia, Panini Sandwich
• Wikipedia, Caprese Salad
• Wikipedia, Mozzarella

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