Caprese bruschetta is a fresh and flavorful appetizer that combines the classic flavors of a caprese salad with pesto and crisp, toasted bread. Juicy tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, basil and pesto are piled onto slices of toasted baguette or thick bread, then finished with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic glaze. Each bite offers a perfect balance of textures and flavors, making it an easy, crowd pleasing starter.
I love the flavors of caprese salad, I love pesto, and I love crispy, bite size bruschetta too. So why not combine them all into one perfect appetizer? Caprese bruschetta takes the ripe tomatoes, creamy mozzarella and fresh basil and piles them on pesto-topped pieces of golden, toasted bread. Each bite delivers that delicious, juicy, basil-y flavor that everyone loves, along with the satisfying crunch of bruschetta.
Ingredients
- Sturdy bread like sourdough, thick cut bread or baguette
- Roma tomatoes
- Mozarella pearls
- Basil pesto (homemade or store bought)
- Fresh basil leaves
- Olive oil
- Balsamic glaze
- Salt
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Gluten free - use a gluten free bread to make caprese bruschetta gluten free.
- Vegan - use a vegan mozarella and a vegan pesto to make this recipe vegan.
- Cheese - traditional caprese salad calls for buffalo mozzarella, but I feel like buffalo mozzarella isn't reliably found. If you can find it, you can certainly use it! Also, if you can't find mozzarella pearls, you can cut up another type of mozzarella like sliced mozzarella or mozzarella balls.
- Tomatoes - you can also use cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes. For those tomatoes, you don't have to de-seed them...that would be too hard. Depending on their size, either cut them in half or quarters to match the size of the mozzarella pieces that you're using. You could even use drained, petite-diced canned tomatoes.
- Balsamic glaze - Balsamic glaze can be found in regular grocery stores near the other vinegars. If you want to make your own balsamic vinegar reduction, you certainly can. Or you can use regular balsamic vinegar or even skip it. Balsamic vinegar adds a great pop of color and flavor, but it's not traditionally found in caprese salad.
Variations
- Pesto - I know basil pesto isn't traditionally found in caprese salad or bruschetta, so you could skip it. But pesto is so good! I almost always have a batch of homemade pesto or a jar of Costco pesto in my refrigerator at all times. I'm always looking for new ways to use it! Give it a try.
- Crostini - you could turn this recipe into caprese crostini easily by using smaller, harder crostini toasts.
Storage
It's best to eat any assembled caprese toast the same day you make it. You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight, but the juice from the tomatoes will start to soak into the bread.
Next Level Tips
- I highly recommend using a thick cut bread, a baguette loaf or a sturdy sourdough so that the bruschetta is hardy enough to take to a party as an appetizer.
- If you love garlic, take your caprese bruschetta to the next level by rubbing garlic on the toasted bread just like you would for regular bruschetta. You don't have to press hard, it's amazing how much garlic flavor is easily released.
- Recipes like caprese bruschetta are great recipes to practice your knife cuts. Have you ever watched cooking shows where the new chefs get yelled at for inconsistent knife cuts? I've seen plenty. Since you'll be dicing the tomatoes and the mozzarella, try to make them all the same size. Of course, it doesn't have to be perfect, but it's always good to practice.
- I go through a lot of extra virgin olive oil, so I buy the large size from Costco. It's amazing for everything but drizzling. So I pour some into a smaller container that's easier for drizzling. The one I use is an old honey jar as shown in the ingredients photo, but you can also use a decorator bottle or any smaller container. It makes drizzling for bruschetta and salads so much easier!
FAQ
I highly recommend using a thick cut bread, a baguette or a sturdy sourdough so that the bruschetta is hardy enough to take to a party as an appetizer. If you're using large size bread, cut the finished caprese bruschetta into three or four pieces to make it easier to pick up.
I recommend using de-seeded Roma tomatoes. But you can use any type of tomato. If it's a large tomato, I do recommend de-seeding them. If you need help with instructions on how to de-seed tomatoes, see my Pico de Gallo recipe. Or you can also use small grape or cherry tomatoes. For those tomatoes, just cut them in half or quarters depending on how big they are. If needed, you can also use petite diced canned tomatoes. Just make sure you drain them well.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with caprese bruschetta:
Caprese Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 1 baguette or 6-8 slices of thick cut or sourdough bread
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 1 pound Roma tomatoes (about 5) de-seeded and diced
- 8 ounces mozarella pearls
- 4 leaves fresh basil thinly sliced
- ½ cup basil pesto homemade or store bought
- balsamic glaze for drizzling
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Lightly brush olive oil on to both sides of the bread. Bake for 8 minutes, flipping over half way. Allow to cool.
- De-seed the Roma tomatoes. Dice the tomatoes and mozzarella into similar size pieces. Thinly slice the basil. Gently mix together in a medium bowl.
- After the bread has cooled, spread a thin layer of basil pesto onto one side of each piece. Spoon the tomato mixture on top of the pesto.
- Lightly drizzle with olive oil and the balsamic glaze. Sprinkle with salt. If using larger slices of bread, cut into 3-4 smaller pieces. Enjoy!
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