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Roasted Garlic Caprese Grilled Cheese. Slow roasted summer tomatoes and sweet roasted garlic, sandwiched between slices of sourdough bread with fresh basil pesto and mozzarella cheese. Then pan-fried until the cheese is melty and the bread is crisp. Tis’ a true end-of-summer delight.
Is there anything better than a really good grilled cheese? To me, it’s just feel-good classic comfort food. As a kid, my grilled cheese sandwiches consisted of whatever bread we had laying around the kitchen, cheese, and butter. My dad kept it simple, but they’d never disappoint.
It’s truly hard to beat a melted cheddar sandwiched between 2 slices of buttered bread.
However, as much as I love the classic simple grilled cheese, I’m also all about making grilled cheese the “fancy” way. Though I don’t really consider this recipe fancy – just totally delicious.
Aside from the time needed to roast the tomatoes, this is almost as easy as the 3-ingredient grilled cheese my dad would make. Almost.
First things first, the tomatoes. Find some really good ones with really nice color. Mine were on their last leg, which was honestly perfect for roasting.
Then grab a head of garlic and smash it down. Toss the cloves onto a baking sheet with the tomato slices and season everything generously with salt and pepper. Next, roast away until the tomatoes start to char and become even sweeter than before.
At the same time, the garlic roasts and turns into a buttery golden clove that can easily be smashed further down into a paste.
When the tomatoes are finished, I further mash the cloves of garlic. Then I mix the tomatoes and garlic with basil pesto.
Now all that’s left to do is assemble.
Fig preserves, which are certainly not traditional in a Caprese. But the jam adds a sweetness that really balances out the richness of the melted cheese and the savory flavors from the basil.
It’s the layers of flavor that really make this Caprese grilled cheese stand out.
Layer the jam with mozzarella cheese, roasted tomato slices, garlic pesto, and then more cheese. Pan-fry the sandwiches with butter until golden and crisp. The cheese on the inside becomes that melty goodness we love so much.
Five minutes later youโll have the best summery grilled cheese, so so delicious! A wonderful way to use up the end-of-summer tomatoes and herbs and celebrate these precious last few weeks of summer.
Looking for other grilled cheese recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Crispy Prosciutto, Sage Pesto, and Tomato Grilled Cheese
Everything Cheddar Tomato Bacon Grilled Cheese
French Onion and Apple Grilled Cheese
Lastly, if you make this, Roasted Garlic Caprese Grilled Cheese be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, donโt forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I don’t normally like cooked tomatoes on sandwiches, but these were delicious roasted with the garlic, although Heirloom tomatoes are gigantic and we needed only one, if even that. However, neither of us liked the flavor combination of pesto and fig preserves, which I realize was optional (the preserves), but just very unappealing. If we ever make it again, I’d definitely leave them out.
Hi Helen,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! So sorry you didn’t love the flavor combos, let me know if you try again without the fig jam! xT
Hi! Just wondering when you add the basil leaves – before or after the pan?
Hey Jas,
You will add the basil leaves with the tomatoes in step 4. I hope you love this recipe! xT
WOW!!!! So good best grilled cheese weโve had. And Iโve had a lot of grilled cheeses
Lol thanks so much Joey!! Love to hear that this recipe was such a winner! Thanks for making it! xT
Perfect Sunday evening dinner! I couldn’t find fig preserves in my small supermarket in the UK, but did find a fig & balsamic chutney which I subbed. It really added a nice bit of sweetness to the rest of the ingredients. Delicious!
Thanks so much for trying out the recipe! ๐ xT
The instructions arenโt clear. What do you do with the basil leaves?
So I’m assuming the one cup basil, parmesan and garlic is made into a pesto first?