An Eggplant Caprese Grilled Cheese is the perfect comfort food with all seasonal summer ingredients, perfect for dipping in soup or serving with a side salad! A delicious sandwich that takes lunch to the next level, especially serving it with Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup with Sausage

Looking for more sandwich options? Try ourEggplant Parm Sandwich, The Italian Breakfast Sandwich, Mediterranean Chicken Wrap, orPeppers and Eggs Sandwich!

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Why This Grilled Cheese

This eggplant grilled cheese is the perfect sandwich for the summer. It is filled with these beautiful beefsteak tomatoes, graffiti eggplants, pesto, mozzarella, and freshly grated parmesan neatly placed between two slices of this homemade whole wheat sourdough bread.

They're is nothing like a grilled cheese with all fresh ingredients from the garden! This one is perfect for dipping in our Roasted Carrot Ginger SouporClassic Italian Minestrone. Or try a Gruyere Grilled CheesewithClassic Pasta Fagioli!

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Eggplant and tomato Grilled cheese with pesto ingredients

Eggplants. These are called graffiti eggplants, and they are similar to Italian Eggplants, which are hard to come by in the South. They are just a little sweeter than the eggplants you normally buy at the supermarket.
Sourdough Bread. I love to use sourdough bread because it's usually what we have in the house, especially in the summer. Italian bread will work just fine also.
Tomatoes. The riper the better. They will make the sandwich delicious.
Pesto. You need about ½ a cup of pesto. You could make a traditional pesto or try out pea pesto, especially if you're running low on basil.

*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.

Step-by-Step Directions

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. We could make everything on the grill or you can bake your tomatoes in the oven for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, which is perfect if you want to combine this with Creamy Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup

Tomatoes on sheetpan with parchment paper seasoned prior to roasting

Step 1: Slice your tomatoes into nice thick slices for roasting. Place onto a baking sheet with parchment paper and season with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Roasted tomatoes on sheet pan with parchment

Step 2: Place the whole baking sheet on the grill for 10 minutes or bake in the oven for 20 minutes. The tomatoes should be a deep red color when finished. I suggest adding more time if they don't look like this! You can see which tomato was the ripest here.

Step 3: Season your eggplant with the same seasoning you used for your tomatoes, and now you're going to bring them outside to grill. They should cook relatively quickly, 3-5 minutes on each side or until you see a nice sear on each side.

Step 4: In a medium frying pan, place 1 tablespoon of butter and bring to medium heat. Butter one side of each slice of your sourdough for good measure. We're not here to save the arteries today. Put parmesan and mozzarella on the bread and top with eggplant, pesto, tomatoes, basil, and then more of both kinds of cheese.

Grilled cheese with eggplant and roasted tomatoes before frying

Press the sandwich down onto the frying pan and cook until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes on each side. You'll want to add another tablespoon of butter before placing the other side in the frying pan. Fry the other side of the sandwich and remove from the pan.

You could serve this with somelentil soup or Orzo and Garbanzo Bean Saladand dip it in the extra pesto. Or serve it with our Spicy Vodka Saucefor dipping! It finishes with the perfect crispy crusty bread and cheesy mushy inside.

Pro-Tips

When you grill your eggplant, you want to make sure they are cooked on high heat to remove as much moisture from it as you can.
When melting mozzarella, always use a block of mozzarella instead of fresh. It gives you a better melt for grilled cheese.
Thick-cut tomatoes work best for roasting. If you cut them too thin, they'll shrivel to nothing.

Recipe FAQs

Can you freeze pesto?

Yes. The only thing I currently grow in my garden is basil. In the summer we try to make huge batches of pesto and freeze them so we can have some fresh pesto in the winter.

Can you bake the eggplant?

If you don't have a grill, you could bake the eggplant or fry it in a cast iron pan. Just be sure to salt the eggplant and let it sit for about 20 minutes if you choose to do it this way to draw out some of the moisture. Then wipe them dry with a paper towel.

How do you choose an eggplant?

I always go for the smallest eggplants I can find. They tend to be less chewy and mealy. In some places, you can find small Italian eggplants, which are perfect.