Toasted Open Face Caprese Sandwiches with Avocado

Toasted Open Face Caprese Sandwiches with Avocado could be the perfect simple vegetarian meal for your next Meatless Monday, pairing well with either a cup of soup or a side salad for a complete comfort food dinner.

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Welcome back to what we ate on Meatless Monday… but tend to tell you about on Tuesday! This simple 30 minute vegetarian comfort food recipe takes advantage of the marinated mozzarella braids, avocados, and Roma tomatoes on sale this week at ALDI, transforming this fortuitous triple threat combo into Toasted Open Face Caprese Sandwiches with Avocado.

Open faced Caprese sandwiches are perfectly filling as part of a soup-and-sandwich or salad-and-sandwich dinner.

I just love this marinated fresh mozzarella, so am always sure to grab one every time these roll around as a limited time special buy at ALDI. Marinated mozzarella is good on its own, with crackers, or really to kick anything Caprese up an extra notch. If you don’t have marinated mozzarella on hand, though, you can substitute plain fresh mozzarella in this recipe and add a little crushed red pepper and garlic to the mashed avocado spread to compensate for the missing seasonings.

You can also use the marinated mozzarella balls, for a slightly different (yet still tasty) flavor profile.

Looking for more vegetarian recipe ideas? Take a few minutes to browse through the Meatless Monday category for additional dinner options.

Toasted Open Face Caprese Sandwiches with Avocado

Ingredients

6 ciabatta rolls, halved lengthwise
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
Sea salt, to taste
1 avocado, mashed
8 oz marinated mozzarella, sliced
3-4 Roma tomatoes, sliced
Dried basil, to taste
Balsamic vinegar, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the ciabatta rolls and arrange them sliced side up on a rimmed baking sheet.

Mix together olive oil, garlic, and sea salt. Brush the cut side of each roll with the olive oil mixture, then toast at 400 degrees for 6 minutes.

While rolls are toasting, slice the tomatoes and cheese, and mash the avocado.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn off the oven. Spread each roll thinly with mashed avocado.

Top each open faced sandwich with cheese and a couple of tomato slices.

Return the baking sheet to the oven and broil on high for 4-5 minutes, or until cheese is browned.

Sprinkle on a little dried basil, drizzle sandwiches with a touch of balsamic vinegar, and serve.

Note: If you don’t have marinated mozzarella, you can substitute plain fresh mozzarella — but you might want to season the mashed avocado with a little crushed red pepper & garlic, in order to compensate for the missing seasonings.

Toasted Caprese Sandwiches are all the things

Hearty ciabatta rolls provide the perfect backdrop for these Caprese sandwiches, providing a chewy blank canvas to let the smooth avocado, juicy tomato, and marinated mozzarella shine through. Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best, letting the individual flavors of a few quality ingredients stand out. Enjoy! We surely did. 🙂

Looking for a quicker use for the mozzarella braid?

If it’s too hot to use the oven, check out my favorite no-cook light lunch for a heat-free alternative!

Toasted Open Face Caprese Sandwiches with Avocado, printable recipe

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Toasted Open Face Caprese Sandwiches with Avocado

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Toasted Open Face Caprese Sandwiches with Avocado could be the perfect simple vegetarian meal for your next Meatless Monday, pairing well with a cup of soup, fruit, or a side salad for a complete comfort food dinner.

Course dinner

Cuisine vegetarian

Keyword caprese sandwiches, meatless monday, mozzarella, open face sandwiches, tomatoes, vegetarian

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rachel Singer

Equipment

1 rimmed baking sheet

Ingredients

• 6 ciabatta rolls halved lengthwise
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic about 2 cloves
• Sea salt to taste
• 1 avocado mashed
• 8 oz marinated mozzarella sliced
• 3-4 Roma tomatoes sliced
• Dried basil to taste
• Balsamic vinegar to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the ciabatta rolls and arrange them sliced side up on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Mix together olive oil, garlic, and sea salt. Brush the cut side of each roll with the olive oil mixture, then toast at 400 degrees for 6 minutes.
• While rolls are toasting, slice the tomatoes and cheese, and mash the avocado.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn off the oven. Spread each roll thinly with mashed avocado.
• Top each open faced sandwich with cheese and a couple of tomato slices.
• Return the baking sheet to the oven and broil on high for 4-5 minutes, or until cheese is browned.
• Sprinkle on a little dried basil, drizzle sandwiches with a touch of balsamic vinegar, and serve.

Notes

If you don’t have marinated mozzarella, you can substitute plain fresh mozzarella — but you might want to season the mashed avocado with a little crushed red pepper & garlic, in order to compensate for the missing seasonings.

Recipes in the real world

Be sure not to miss the free ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!