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This Caprese Bruschetta are so incredibly good! They make the most gorgeous lunch with a little green salad with a punchy vinaigrette. Imagine garlicky, fresh basil pesto, with creamy burrata and roasted sweet cherry tomatoes. A drizzle of balsamic glaze and you have the most delicious lunch.
My favourite part of this recipe is rubbing the toasted ciabatta with garlic. It may seem like nothing but I promise it makes all the difference. You don’t need to press too hard as raw garlic has a strong flavour but it’s a small effort, big impact step.
This combination of tomato, basil and mozzarella makes up a typical caprese salad, but I love it as a bruschetta, like this. I’ve also swapped the mozzarella for burrata for that extra bit of luxury but of course, mozzarella would work well too. If you want a closed sandwich, try my Burrata Caprese Sandwich or this Mozzarella and Prosciutto sandwich.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s super simple to put together and has the most delicious result.
- The combination of crispy bread, mellow garlic, fresh basil pesto, creamy burrata and sweet tomatoes is one of the best ever, and makes this bruschetta so good.
- This recipe can be made even quicker if you use shop-bought pesto rather than making your own.
Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the page for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Cherry tomatoes – I love to use cherry tomatoes here as I find they sit best in the caprese bruschetta, plus take less time to roast. You could use larger tomatoes though, just give them a rough chop.
Garlic – you will need a few cloves for the roasted tomatoes, a few for the pesto and one for the toast.
Balsamic vinegar – the sharpness of the balsamic vinegar cuts through the richness of the burrata and the sweetness of the tomatoes. It’s a delicious combination.
Fresh pesto – the recipe has instructions to make Basil Pesto from scratch, which is so good and really simple, since you just whack it all in a blender. It has pine nuts, basil, parmesan, garlic and olive oil. I highly recommend you try it.
Ciabatta – a holey, crispy Italian bread that is perfect for a bruschetta like this. I love it because it’s crisp without being too hard to get a good bite out of!
Burrata – this is a softer, creamier version of mozzarella that adds a luxurious finish to this sandwich. You could use mozzarella if you can’t find any burrata.
Substitutions and Variations
Pesto – Of course, you can use shop-bought pesto. I have done that many times. Just use the pots you get in the chilled section rather than jarred as I find it has much better flavour here.
Ciabatta – Use whatever bread you like but ideally, it should be crisp and fairly firm. Don’t use sliced sandwich bread for example. Try focaccia, baguette or sourdough.
Burrata: If you can’t find burrata, your best option is to use mozzarella as they can often be used interchangeably. Both are made from cow’s or buffalo milk, but mozzarella has a firmer texture which can be sliced and shredded without losing its shape – and a more mild and delicate flavour.
You can make a ‘cheat’s burrata’ using one of two hacks:
- Tear 250g mozzarella into small pieces in a medium bowl, pour over 100ml double cream and add ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir well to combine, then cover and chill for a couple of hours – or until ready to serve.
- Tear 250g mozzarella into small pieces in a medium bowl, add 200g crème fraîche and a generous pinch of salt. Stir well to combine, then cover and chill for a couple of hours – or until ready to serve.
Here’s how to make Caprese Bruschetta
Below is a step-by-step guide to help you make this deliciously, easy pasta. The full recipe is at the bottom of the page.
ONE: Start with the tomatoes. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the cherry tomatoes in a baking dish and drizzle them with the olive oil, add the garlic, balsamic, salt and pepper. Toss gently to coat. Roast the tomatoes for around 30 minutes, until they are soft and beginning to burst.
TWO: Then make the pesto: Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over medium-high heat until they are a light brown colour. Keep them moving to prevent burning.
THREE: Transfer to a food processor and let cool slightly. Add the basil, garlic and oil and blitz until mostly smooth. Pour into a bowl and stir through the finely grated Parmesan. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of Maldon. Taste and add the remaining salt if you think it needs it.
FOUR: Drizzle the ciabatta bread slices with olive oil on both sides. Toast the bread in a pan or in the oven for a couple of minutes until crispy and golden brown.
FIVE: Rub with garlic clove.
SIX: Place the toasted ciabatta bread slices on a serving platter. Spread over the pesto.
SEVEN: Smoosh the burrata on top
EIGHT: Top the burrata with the roasted cherry tomatoes, add a light drizzle of balsamic glaze. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs.
Cooking Tips
How to store basil: to store any leftover basil, slice the ends off the basil stalks and place in a small glass or mug in around 1cm of water. Take a clean sandwich bag and cover the basil with it, pulling the bag down the glass. Then seal the sandwich bag around the glass/mug. Leave at room temp for a week.
How to make it with mozzarella: if making caprese bruschetta with mozzarella rather than burrata, you could melt it down so it has a melty texture. Once you toast the bread, rub it with garlic, spread with pesto, then tear over the fresh mozzarella. Add the roasted tomatoes in the gaps of the torn mozzarella. Place under the grill on high heat for a few minutes, watching carefully, until the mozzarella is melted and bubbling. I like to melt the mozzarella with the tomatoes as I find then it melts the tomatoes into the topping a bit and it doesn’t fly off the bread when you take a bite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container or jar. It should last a week or two. If you want to keep it longer, I would advise adding it to a jar and levelling it out so it’s nice and flat. Then add some olive oil over the top to create a layer that essentially seals the pesto. This will stop it going bad as fast. The olive oil will solidify a bit in the fridge but once smoothed onto toasted bread, it’ll melt. I wouldn’t advise storing the bruschetta once made as it will turn soggy.
You can make the components ahead of time. Roast the tomatoes up to 3 days in advance and store in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before serving as you don’t want to bite into a fridge cold tomato. The pesto keeps for a week or two in the fridge. Only assemble when ready to serve to avoid it going soggy.
Other recipes you might enjoy
If you like this caprese bruschetta, you will love my Cherry Tomato Pasta, Pistachio Pesto Pasta or my Grilled Peach Burrata Ciabatta.
Made this recipe and loved it?
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Caprese Bruschetta
Ingredients
For the tomatoes:
- 300 g cherry tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the pesto (if making):
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 large bunches of basil
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Maldon salt, taste and add a little more if you think it needs it
For the toasts:
- 2 slices of ciabatta bread
- olive oil, for toasting
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 balls burrata
- basil leaves
- balsamic glaze, for drizzling
Instructions
- Start with the tomatoes. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Place the cherry tomatoes in a baking dish and drizzle them with the olive oil, add the garlic, balsamic, salt and pepper. Toss gently to coat.
- Roast the tomatoes for around 30-45 minutes, until they are soft and beginning to burst.
- Meanwhile, make the pesto, if using. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over medium-high heat until they are a light brown colour. Keep them moving to prevent burning.
- Transfer to a food processor and let cool slightly.
- Add the basil, garlic and oil and blitz until mostly smooth.
- Pour into a bowl and stir through the finely grated Parmesan. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of Maldon. Taste and add the remaining salt if you think it needs it.
- Then assemble. Drizzle the ciabatta bread slices with olive oil on both sides. Toast the bread in a pan or in the oven for a couple of minutes until crispy and golden brown. Rub with garlic clove.
- Place the toasted ciabatta bread slices on a serving platter. Spread over the pesto and then smoosh the burrata on top
- Top the burrata with the roasted cherry tomatoes, add a light drizzle of balsamic glaze
- Garnish with fresh basil sprigs
