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 is a great way to enjoy ripe summer tomatoes.  In my home, we love all things tomato. A couple of our other favorite tomato dishes are cherry tomato salad and spaghetti stuffed tomatoes.
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.
How Do You Make Caprese Bread?
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.
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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Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Sun Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken
- Mexican Shrimp Cocktail (Coctel De Camarones)
- Pizza Stuffed Shells
- Cajun Chicken Pasta
- BLT Dip
Caprese Bread
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
- Preheat the broiler. Split the loaf of bread lengthwise.
- Brush each half of the bread with the olive oil.
- Rub the cut side of the garlic all over each half of the bread.
- Cover the surface of each half of the bread with the mozzarella. Place the bread on a sheet pan.
- Broil for 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn't burn!
- Remove from the oven. Place the sliced tomatoes on top of the mozzarella layer.
- Sprinkle the basil, salt and pepper on top of the tomatoes. Drizzle the balsamic glaze over the top of the bread and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was first published June 21, 2015 and was updated July 20, 2017 with new photos.
Justine | Cooking and Beer says
Those tomato slices look like candy! Just beautiful!
Sara says
Thanks, good thing they’re healthier than candy! 😉
Rosemond Cates says
This looks absolutely heavenly! So beautiful!!
Miss Angie says
That looks so incredible for Summer! I’m a lover of anything Tomato, well garden grown tomatoes that is, and I love them on toast typically.
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer says
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!
kristen says
I am making this tonight! Tis looks incredible!
Sara says
Let me know how it comes out!
Sara says
Yeah, it’s all about the colors, my kids are more willing to eat the colored ones too because it’s something a little different.
Sue Lau says
The simplest of recipes, brilliantly prepared. What can top this? Oh.my.YUM!
Sara says
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.
Leah says
Love Heirloom tomatoes – they are so colorful and beautiful! Great recipe!
Andrea B. says
Considering I could live off of tomatoes, I’d love this.
I’d eat the entire thing, though, since my husband and daughter? Not so much. 😉
Sara says
I actually thought my kids would pick the tomatoes off and eat them separately but they ate all the components together and loved it!
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says
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!
Sara says
I hope you can find some tomatoes to make it soon!
Joanie @ ZagLeft says
How simple and delicious! I love heirloom tomatoes and this looks perfect!
jenna @ just j.faye says
What a simple and delicious recipe! I love heirloom tomatoes. This would be perfect for a Sunday evening dinner.
Sara says
I actually served it for a Sunday dinner with some grilled pork chops that I’ll be sharing soon!
Marye says
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!
Sara says
Wow, 18? I am so jealous. We have a major drought in California so I only did 4 tomato plants this year.
pam (Sidewalk Shoes) says
I can’t wait to my CSA gives me tomatoes!
Robin Follette says
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!”
Robin Follette says
PS Pinning and Tweeting to share with my foodie followers!
Sara says
It’s all about the visual effect – thanks so much for sharing!
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
This looks delicious! Fantastic flavors, the addition of Pesto is marvelous! Great summer snack!
Nikki says
That looks delicious!
Aishwarya S says
This dish is so craving! I loved how you garnished everything so perfectly! 🙂
Jackie says
This looks so good! Those tomatoes look amazing – perfect “pizza” for snacks
Sara says
It is pretty pizza like, in the very best of ways 🙂
Trisha @ The Ham & Cheese Of It says
I bet this would taste just delicious with balsamic on it too! Going to have to add this to my weekly brunch party!
Sara says
You could absolutely add balsamic, I thought about adding a balsamic reduction but I knew my kids wouldn’t go for that 🙂
Rachel says
Those tomatoes look utterly luscious!
Ashleigh says
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!