Caprese Toast Recipe
Serving classic caprese flavors on a piece of toast is life changing in the most simple way. I love that you can serve a slice with a meal or as an appetizer. Grilling the bread gives it an extra layer of flavor. But the true hero of this amazing recipe is the balsamic glaze. The amount of flavor it gives the already awesome Caprese Toast is spectacular. You need this caprese recipe in your life!
Do you love caprese? Try this Burrata Caprese!
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Caprese Toast inspired by Caprese Salad
I am a huge fan of Caprese Salad and so I thought, why not serve it on toast? It gives caprese a whole new level of deliciousness and allows you to serve it as a more substantial side dish which I love.
The best part about this Caprese Toast is that there is melty mozzarella cheese on top of the toasted bread. Then the contrast of cool tomatoes and basil. Every single bite is full of the best textures and flavors EVER.
I am literally trying to figure out how to add this Caprese Toast recipe to my weekly meal plan twice a week!
Ingredients Needed
- Loaf of ciabatta or French Bread-I love the smaller loaves for this recipe.
- Butter-To spread onto the butter and help give the bread a great flavor while it toasts.
- Garlic-Added to the butter for a great flavor on the bread.
- Mozzarella Cheese-Use a good quality, low moisture variety that you can slice yourself.
- Vine Ripened Tomatoes-The more the tomatoes the better.
- Basil Leaves-There is something so wonderful about fresh basil leaves!
- Balsamic Glaze-It can be made or purchased in the vinegar area of your local grocery store {that is what I use!}
How to make Caprese Toast
- Cut the loaf of bread in half lengthwise {a serrated knife works best}. Stir together the butter, garlic, salt and pepper until everything is incorporated.
- Divide the butter between the two halves of bread and spread out evenly.
- If you are cooking in the oven: Lay the bread butter size up on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown and crispy. Remove from the oven. If you are grilling: Lay the bread butter side down on the grill and grill for 7-8 minutes {moving once to get grill marks} or until lightly brown and crispy. Remove from the grill using tongs and place on a baking sheet.
- Add 4 slices of mozzarella cheese on each half of the bread.
- Return to the oven or grill {cheese side up} for an additional 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is starting to melt. Remove from the oven/grill.
- To finish the toast, add 4 tomato slices to each half of the bread.
- Add a basil leaf on top of each tomato. Sprinkle with additional kosher salt and black pepper {if desired}.
- The final step is to drizzle the Caprese Toast with balsamic glaze, cut each half into 4 slices, serve and enjoy. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Tips for Amazing Caprese Toast
- Bread-Use a good crusty bread and make sure to toast it. Use the grill, a grill pan or the oven to get a good toasty outer edge. The texture from toasting is such a good contrast to the other ingredients.
- Tomatoes-Make sure the tomatoes are very ripe and slice a bit thicker than you would slice them for a hamburger or sandwich.
- Cheese-Get a nice mozzarella cheese and slice it into thick enough slices that every bite will get the flavor but still thin enough that it will melt slightly.
Recipe Variations
There are so many different ways to make this toast a bit differently but still super delicious. Here are a couple of wonderful ideas!
- Add mashed avocado to the toasted bread before adding the mozzarella, tomato, basil and balsamic glaze.
- For a bit of peppery flavor, put a few leaves of arugula on the melted mozzarella. Then add the tomato, basil and balsamic glaze.
- If you want to make this toast a meal, add grilled chicken to the toast.
- To make it sweeter you can add sliced peaches to the toast. The combination of peaches with caprese is surprisingly amazing.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the difference between bruschetta and caprese?
Bruschetta is traditionally a combination of tomato and basil served on small pieces of toast. While caprese also has tomato and basil, it is traditionally a salad that also has mozzarella cheese.
In this recipe we are serving caprese on toast but traditionally it is served layered without bread.
Can Caprese Toast be made in advance?
Caprese toast is best made right before serving because the bread is warm and still toasted. As the toast sits with the mozzarella cheese and tomato on top, it will get a bit soggy which isn’t super appealing.
If you need to prepare this ahead of time I would toast the bread, slice the tomato and mozzarella. Then store each ingredient separately. Put them together right before serving for best taste and texture.
How do I thinly slice basil?
Layer 7-8 basil leaves on top of each other and then roll them into a tight roll. Take the knife and thinly slice through the roll to create thin slices or a chiffonade.
Cutting the basil into thin strips gives them such a beautiful texture, in this recipe I have used whole leaves but you can cut it if you prefer.
Do you love fresh side dishes? Try these recipes!!
- Caprese Tart
- Broccoli Salad with Poppyseed Dressing
- Burrata Caprese
- Mexican Street Corn Skillet
- Fiesta Wedge Salad
- Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples
Caprese Toast
Ingredients
- 1 small loaf of french or ciabatta bread
- 2 Tablespoons butter {softened}
- ½ teaspoon garlic {minced}
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 slices mozzarella cheese
- 2 medium vine ripened tomatoes
- 8 medium basil leaves
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Preheat oven or grill to 400°.
- Cut the loaf of bread in half lengthwise. Stir together the butter, garlic, salt and pepper until everything is incorporated. Divide the butter between the two halves of bread and spread out evenly.
- If you are cooking in the oven: Lay the bread butter size up on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown and crispy. Remove from oven.If you are grilling: Lay the bread butter side down on the grill and grill for 7-8 minutes {moving once to get grill marks} or until lightly brown and crispy. Remove from grill using tongs and place on a baking sheet.
- Add 4 slices of mozzarella cheese on each half of the bread. Return to the oven or grill {cheese side up} for an additional 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is starting to melt. Remove from the oven/grill.
- To finish the toast, add 4 tomato slices to each half of bread and a basil leaf on top of each tomato. Sprinkle with additional kosher salt and black pepper {if desired}. The final step is to drizzle the caprese toast with balsamic glaze, cut each half into 4 slices, serve and enjoy. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
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