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    Home Β» Lunch Β» Caprese Grilled Cheese with Avocado and Bacon

    Sep 23, 2019 Β· Modified: Oct 16, 2020 by Sues Β· This post may contain affiliate links, uses cookies, and generates income via ads Β· View privacy policy + disclosure statement linked in footer Β· 20 Comments

    Caprese Grilled Cheese with Avocado and Bacon

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Take the caprese sandwich to new levels with this Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich with roasted tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, avocado, and bacon. It's a melty tower of deliciousness!

    Head-on closeup view of four halves of a caprese grilled cheese sandwich with avocado and bacon all stacked on each other with recipe title at top(This recipe for Caprese Grilled Cheese was originally published in August 2012, but was updated with new photos in 2019).

    Hey, I have an idea. Let's combine all my favorite things on one sandwich, grill it up, and call it a night. OK? OK. Done. Those are the types conversations that go on inside my head on a regular basis. Sometimes the conversations are even weirder, like "I wonder how many confections I can top french toast with before it becomes totally unacceptable as either breakfast or dinner" and "If I eat an entire dozen cupcakes and nobody's around to see it happen, do the calories still count?" or "How many batches of homemade fluff do you have to make before you become a certified fluff-making expert? And where do I pick up my certificate?"

    I usually keep these conversations in my head because, let's be honest, they only make me look bad. But every so often, one of those conversations lands on the blog because I just can't help myself. And this is one of those times.

    I love a good caprese sandwich. Or TBM (tomato, basil, mozzarella), if you will. So, I planned on making one, but putting a twist on it by turning it into a grilled cheese and roasting up my fresh farm box tomatoes. But then I had a nice avocado just dying to be used. And I figured a little salty bacon never hurt any situation it walked into.

    So, this caprese grilled cheese with avocado and bacon sandwich was born from there. And I don't regret any bit of it. Sometimes you just have to let your mind wander and carry on on its own path. You never know what kind of awesomeness it will stumble into.

    CAPRESE GRILLED CHEESE WITH AVOCADO AND BACON RECIPE

    While this is a fairly quick grilled cheese sandwich, there are a few very important things you need to do to prep. One of those is to roast the tomatoes. You really must roast the tomatoes. Fine, you don't have to. But you really should. Because the roasted tomato will add a whole different depth to this sandwich and it's so, so worth it.

    It's easy to do; but just means this caprese grilled cheese takes a little bit longer than the typical grilled cheese. Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees and brush a baking sheet with olive oil. Layer tomatoes on sheet and brush them with some more olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

    Pop them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until they're nice and roast-y looking. Yes, that's a word. In my weird head, anyway. Rotate the baking sheets after about 8 minutes.

    So, tomatoes are the first prep item you need to accomplish. The other? Cooking the bacon, of course! I'm a huge fan of slow-cooked bacon, but cook yours however you most enjoy it. I do recommend you cook it nice and crispy though.

    Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, but keep that skillet or griddle out!

    Collage showing process tomatoes with olive oil and sea salt ready for roasting and crispy bacon on paper towel-lined plate

    You're ready to build your grilled cheese. Now, normally, I'd slather some butter on my bread slices and put them on the grill pan. BUT as I was getting the butter out, I noticed all that leftover bacon grease. Hmmm. Nah… that would just be wrong, wouldn't it? But wouldn't it also be a shame to waste that perfectly good bacon grease? Yup.

    So, I went for it. I cooked my grilled cheese in bacon grease and I highly recommend you do the same (if you choose not to, just slather a little bit of butter on one side of all four slices of bread).

    Place two slices of bread right in the bacon grease in the skillet. Then layer on mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. Then add basil, avocado, and bacon.

    Just call it a tower of deliciousness.

    Place remaining two slices of bread on top of each sandwich and press down with spatula and gently flip.

    Collage showing process for assembling caprese grilled cheese sandwich including bread with mozzarella and tomato, bread with basil and avocado added on, bread with bacon added on, and full sandwich formed on griddle

    When the bread is nice and toasted on each side and cheese is getting melted, remove sandwich from skillet, cut in half, and enjoy!

    This sandwich looks a little bit like a hot mess. But in the best way possible.

    Head-on view of four halves of a caprese grilled cheese sandwich with avocado and bacon stacked on each other on a marble tray

    I like to equate it to my life. I'm a horrible decision maker and often try to do way too many things at one time. The result is that there's always A LOT going on and you're not always so sure all of the things make sense together. They can get a little messy. But then you quickly realize that in some weird way, everything really does make sense and is just meant to be. It all works.

    Yes, I just compared my life to a grilled cheese sandwich and I'm really not sure what that says about me.

    It's kind of scary how much I feel like that made sense. In my head, at least. Let's just go with it.

    Landscape closeup head-on view of a half of a caprese grilled cheese sandwich with avocado and bacon stacked on top of other halves

    The bottom line is, I loved everything about this caprese grilled cheese sandwich and think if I removed any of the ingredients, it wouldn't be nearly as good. The roasted tomatoes are heavenly (and I ate the few leftovers right off the pan when I finished the sandwich) and the basil and avocado add a little zing that make the grilled cheese taste incredibly summery and fresh.

    Like I said, adding the avocado to this was kind of an afterthought. But I kinda sorta have this avocado addiction that I can't shake. And I'd slice it up and put it on everything if it were socially acceptable. And if avocados could always be perfectly ripe whenever I wanted them to be. Seriously, one of my biggest pet peeves in life is when I want an avocado and it's either not ripe enough to slice or overly ripened and brown and mushy. I guess this just means my life is not that hard. I accept that.

    Head-on closeup view of four halves of a caprese grilled cheese sandwich with avocado and bacon all stacked on each other

    I wouldn't change a thing about it. Or my weird little mind.

    Do you sometimes feel like your recipes get out of hand? In a good way, of course πŸ™‚

    If you're looking for more unique grilled cheese recipes, check out my Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese and my Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese. And how fun is this Zucchini Grilled Cheese from Sweet Caramel Sunday??

    Caprese Grilled Cheese with Avocado and Bacon -- Take the caprese sandwich to whole new levels with this Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich with roasted tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, avocado and bacon | wearenotmartha.com

    Caprese Grilled Cheese with Avocado and Bacon

    Take the caprese sandwich to new levels with this Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich with roasted tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, avocado, and bacon.
    No ratings yet
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Entree, lunch
    Cuisine: American, Eclectic
    Keyword: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Roasted Tomatoes, Sandwich Recipes
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Makes: 2 servings
    Author: Sues

    Ingredients

    • 2 small tomatoes, sliced into ΒΌ" rounds
    • 1 Tbsp olive oil
    • Β½ tsp sea salt
    • 4 slices bacon,
    • 4 slices good bread (of your choice)
    • 6 thin slices fresh mozzarella
    • 6 basil leaves
    • Β½ avocado, thinly sliced

    Instructions

    • Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Brush a baking sheet with a little olive oil and layer tomatoes on sheet. Brush tomatoes with remaining olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
    • Put in oven and roast for 15-20 minutes, rotating baking sheets about halfway through. 
    • While tomatoes are in the oven, cook bacon in a griddle or in a large skillet, until it's nice and crispy. Remove bacon from pan to paper towel-covered plate.
    • Place two slices of bread in the bacon grease on the skillet you used to cook bacon. Layer each with mozzarella cheese and roasted tomatoes. Then top with basil, avocado, and bacon.
    • Place remaining two slices of bread on top of each sandwich and press down with spatula and gently flip. When the bread is nice and toasted on each side and cheese is getting melted, remove sandwich from skillet, cut in half, and enjoy!
    Share a Photo of Your Finished Recipe!Mention @wearenotmartha and share a photo if you've made the recipe!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. sharon says

      August 21, 2012 at 5:29 am

      Yummy, yum, yum!

    2. LisaR. says

      August 21, 2012 at 5:34 am

      I LOVE avocado - can't wait to taste this!!

    3. Joanne says

      August 21, 2012 at 7:00 am

      Disturbingly enough, I have very similar conversations in my head... πŸ˜› I can definitely see the allure of this sandwich! Swoon.

    4. Simply Life says

      August 21, 2012 at 7:13 am

      oh my gosh! this looks incredible! what a fun mix of flavors! you've got me thinking why avocado isn't a standard ingredient on a caprese sandwich?!

    5. Bridget says

      August 21, 2012 at 8:59 am

      This sounds like sandwich heaven!!

    6. Shannon says

      August 21, 2012 at 9:18 am

      omg, i want this sandwich!!! yum πŸ™‚

    7. Emily @ A Cambridge Story says

      August 21, 2012 at 10:12 am

      I could eat avocado and melted cheese on bread DAILY. I love that you added seasonal tomatoes and yummy bacon!

    8. Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic says

      August 21, 2012 at 10:23 am

      I love avocado and mozzarella together. Adding roasted tomatoes, basil, and bacon sounds so, so, so perfect. And yes, roast-y is totally a word!

    9. Mal @ The Chic Geek says

      August 21, 2012 at 11:16 am

      This looks so incredibly delicious!

    10. Gia Grossman says

      August 21, 2012 at 11:58 am

      I like the way your brain works. Sign me up for this grilled cheese!

    11. Valerie says

      August 21, 2012 at 12:21 pm

      YUMMY! This looks AMAZING!!!!

    12. Michelle Collins says

      August 21, 2012 at 2:40 pm

      Fresh mozz, basil, tomatoes and avocado = four of my all-time favorite things. This looks delicious!

    13. Aimee @ ShugarySweets says

      August 21, 2012 at 2:55 pm

      That seriously looks like the best sandwich EVER!

    14. Bree says

      August 21, 2012 at 4:55 pm

      Just may be the best looking grilled cheese I have ever seen!

    15. Alice says

      August 22, 2012 at 8:17 pm

      Yum - that looks delicious! And your photos are stunning πŸ™‚ I love my bread extra toasted so I think I would toast both sides in the bacon grease a bit first before assembling the sandwich. Added to my to-do list!

    16. Megan says

      August 22, 2012 at 10:08 pm

      This is definitely my kind of sandwich! And yes, my recipes can definitely get out of hand.

    17. Odetta says

      August 23, 2012 at 9:16 am

      Sandwich heaven for real!

    18. Nicole says

      August 23, 2012 at 12:36 pm

      I love it! I can imagine that all of those things together make something spectacular. And an oh heck yeah to using the bacon grease. Why not? It's a waste to wash that flavorful gold down the sink!

    19. Ashley says

      August 27, 2012 at 12:51 pm

      As a grilled cheese fanatic, I love this recipe! And as another person who has crazy internal conversations (that sometimes escape my head out loud...hopefully no one is listening!), I totally appreciate the conversation that led to this amazing grilled cheese.

    20. Sharon says

      September 26, 2019 at 7:55 am

      5 stars
      Very creative...Looks delicious! ❀️

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