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Caprese Bread

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This recipe for caprese bread is a rustic loaf topped with melted mozzarella cheese, ripe tomatoes, basil and balsamic glaze. The perfect summer side dish!

Caprese Bread Recipe | Tomato Bread | Cheese Bread

A split loaf of bread on a sheet pan topped with fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced red tomatoes, thinly sliced basil and balsamic glaze.

 

I love all things caprese, especially in the summer time. This caprese bread may be my very favorite of all! How can you go wrong with toasted bread, plenty of mozzarella cheese, ripe tomatoes and basil? Add a little balsamic glaze and salt and pepper and you’ve got caprese perfection.

Bread cut into squares topped with melted mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, basil and balsamic glaze.

This recipe starts with a loaf of bread. Any rustic style bread will do! The bread is sliced in half lengthwise, then brushed with olive oil and rubbed with garlic. A generous amount of sliced fresh mozzarella cheese is layered over the top, then the bread is broiled to melty perfection. While cheesy bread is good on its own, it’s even better with a topping of tomatoes and basil! I use the ripest tomatoes I can find here. I drizzle the tomatoes with balsamic glaze, then add a generous amount of sliced basil, coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.

A loaf of bread cut in half, topped with melted mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, chopped basil and balsamic glaze.

You can find balsamic glaze near the rest of the types of vinegar at your local grocery store. Balsamic glaze is a reduced version of balsamic vinegar, and it’s thick and mellow flavored, no harsh vinegar taste here! If you can’t find balsamic glaze, you can make your own by cooking balsamic vinegar until it’s reduced by half and syrupy.

We all loved this caprese bread – the classic combination of tomato, mozzarella and basil just can’t be beat. It’s super easy to make and is a summery twist on the old standard garlic bread. We’ll definitely be eating this all summer long. The next time you see some nice tomatoes at the market, pick them up and make this caprese garlic bread – you’ll be glad you did!

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A split loaf of bread on a sheet pan topped with fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced red tomatoes, thinly sliced basil and balsamic glaze.
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Caprese Bread

This recipe for caprese bread is a rustic loaf layered with fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes, basil and balsamic glaze.

Course Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 12 slices
Calories 212 kcal
Author Dinner at the Zoo

Ingredients

  • 1 16 ounce loaf of bread (focaccia, pane rustico, pugliese, any rustic bread)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove cut in half
  • 10 ounces fresh mozzarella thinly sliced
  • 4-6 ripe tomatoes sliced
  • 1/3 cup thinly sliced basil leaves
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic glaze
  • coarse salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat the broiler. Split the loaf of bread lengthwise.

  2. Brush each half of the bread with the olive oil.

  3. Rub the cut side of the garlic all over each half of the bread.

  4. Cover the surface of each half of the bread with the mozzarella. Place the bread on a sheet pan.

  5. Broil for 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn't burn!

  6. Remove from the oven. Place the sliced tomatoes on top of the mozzarella layer.

  7. Sprinkle the basil, salt and pepper on top of the tomatoes. Drizzle the balsamic glaze over the top of the bread and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Little Helpers - My girls had a great time arranging the tomatoes on top to make a pretty design.

Nutrition Facts
Caprese Bread
Amount Per Serving
Calories 212 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 12%
Saturated Fat 12g 60%
Cholesterol 18mg 6%
Sodium 325mg 14%
Potassium 217mg 6%
Total Carbohydrates 28g 9%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 16g
Protein 9g 18%
Vitamin A 10%
Vitamin C 6.9%
Calcium 12.3%
Iron 6.8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This post was first published June 21, 2015 and was updated July 20, 2017 with new photos.

Things You’ll Need (or Want!)

serrated knife
Serrated Knife This serrated knife easily glides through a hard crusted loaf of bread like you need for this recipe, and it’s also great for slicing the tomatoes!
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maldon salt
Maldon Sea Salt I sprinkle this coarse flaky sea salt over almost everything, it’s the perfect complement to the tomatoes. A little goes a long way and one box lasts for a year or more.
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too many tomatoes cookbook
The Too Many Tomatoes Cookbook I am always looking for ways to use up the tomatoes from my garden and this Too Many Tomatoes cookbook seems to have a lot of great ideas!
Tell Me More

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Comments

  1. This has got to be one of my all time favorite recipes! I love everything about it… heirloom tomatoes, bread and herbs!! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

    • You could absolutely add balsamic, I thought about adding a balsamic reduction but I knew my kids wouldn’t go for that 🙂

      Reply

  8. Oh my gosh, this looks delicious. It’s the quintessential summer food. I love heirloom tomatoes and so agree with you! They hybrids are easier to grow and the varieties I grow taste great, but there’s something about the looks of all these beautiful heirlooms that make them more appealing.

    I’m going out to give my tomatoes a pep talk now. “Come on…grow!”

    Reply

  10. I love heirloom tomatoes! I have 18 plants in my garden and they’ve got tiny tomatoes on them so hopefully I can make this soon!

    Reply

    • Wow, 18? I am so jealous. We have a major drought in California so I only did 4 tomato plants this year.

      Reply

  13. Dear Sara – I have a thing for heirloom tomatoes too. They are so gorgeous. We are staying on the Cape this week and now I must find a Farmer’s Market to buy some heirlooms to make this Caprese Toast. I snipped a bunch of basil from home and brought it with. Just needing THOSE HEIRLOOMS! Drooling!

    Reply

    • I actually thought my kids would pick the tomatoes off and eat them separately but they ate all the components together and loved it!

      Reply

    • Thanks! I have a recipe for a caprese with burrata and homemade croutons that is a serious contender to be at least as good as this one if not top it, I’ll have to share it sometime this summer.

      Reply

  17. We went out for dinner last night and there were heirloom tomatoes in the salad. My husband was asking why I loved them so much and I said “because they are so colourful!!” Haha. This toast looks awesome and I love caprese anything!

    Reply

    • Wow, can I come pick some of your tomatoes?! Our plants are still really small but we started them late.

      Reply

  25. Nothing like simple ingredients to showcase nature’s finest!!!! Love the layering of the gorgeous tomatoes and the pesto and mozzarella are the perfect accent to the dish!!!

    Reply

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