Caprese Ciabatta Toast, a twist on traditional caprese salad recipe served on crispy ciabatta toast. Only 5 minutes to make!
Love caprese salads during tomato season? Love making tasty savory toasts? Try topping sliced and crispy ciabatta with a spoonful of tomato and mozzarella caprese salads for a summer twist for your next easy lunch or snack.
👉 Ready to learn how to make toast with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil? Let’s do it!
🍅 Ingredients
- Ciabatta bread: While most any type of bread will do, we love the sour thickness of ciabatta for caprese toast
- Tomatoes: Cherry, roma, and plum tomatoes are favorites for caprese salads
- Mozzarella: Sliced mozzarella works well, but for this toast we’re using mozzarella balls (also called bocconcini or ciliegine)
- Basil: Fresh basil leaves are best, but you can also dried basil if you’re out of fresh herbs
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves are sliced and mixed with the oil for an infused garlic oil for the toast
- Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil is our choice, but any olive oil will do
- Seasonings: Flaky sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes
- Recommended tools: knife, toaster or toaster oven
🥣 How to make (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Toast ciabatta bread
The first step to making ciabatta toast is to…toast the ciabatta bread! Here are two ways:
- Traditional toaster: Place ciabatta slices in toaster and toast until golden brown and crispy (but not burned).
- Toaster or traditional oven: Heat oven or toaster oven to 350 degree F. Place bread slices on rack for 2-3 minutes on each side, until brown and crispy.
When toast is done, remove to a plate and set aside.
2️⃣ Step Two: Prep ingredients
Next, prep the ingredients by slicing the garlic cloves and adding them to a bowl with the olive oil to infuse the oil.
Then slice the tomatoes into bite-size pieces, slice the mozzarella balls in half, and slice the basil leaves into thin strips.
3️⃣ Step Three: Build the caprese toast
To make toast, drizzle the olive oil with minced garlic on top of the toasted bread.
Then place sliced tomatoes and mozzarella on top of the toast. Sprinkle the sliced basil on top, add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Add a dash of red pepper flakes, if desired. Then enjoy!
🧊 How to store
This recipe is best when eaten fresh, however you can prep the ingredients first before serving to speed up prep time
- Refrigerator storage: Store leftover tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days; don’t store bread after toasting as it will become hard.
- Freezer storage: We do not recommend freezing this recipe as the ingredients will lose their texture and taste when thawed.
♻️ Sustainable kitchen tips
Take advantage of tomato season. The best time of year to make caprese salads (and toasts!) is during tomato season, which is typically in late summer months.
Don’t toss old bread! Instead make stale bread into homemade ciabatta croutons, or if it’s not edible then add spoiled bread to your compost bin.
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Caprese Ciabatta Toast
Ingredients
- 2 slices ciabatta bread
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 6 whole cherry tomatoes, or 1 roma tomato
- 1 ounce mozzarella balls, about 4-6 small balls
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, sliced
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Toast bread: Toast ciabatta bread in a toaster until golden brown. Alternatively, you can also place it in the oven to toast at about 350 degrees F for about 2-3 minutes each side. When toast is done, remove it to a plate and set aside.
- Prep ingredients: Slice the garlic cloves and mix with the olive oil in a small bowl, then set aside. Then slice tomatoes into bite-size pieces. Slice mozzarella balls in half. Slice basil leaves.
- Build toast: To make toast, drizzle the olive oil with minced garlic on top of the toasted bread. Then place sliced tomatoes and mozzarella on top of the toast. Sprinkle the sliced basil on top, add a pinch of salt and pepper. Add a dash of red pepper flakes, if desired. Then enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Prep ahead: To prep this recipe ahead, complete step 2 of the instructions to cut the garlic, tomatoes, and basil and then mix them with the olive oil and save until ready to make the toast.
- Leftovers and storage: Store leftover caprese ingredients in an airtight container for up to 3days in the refrigerator, do not freeze. Cut fresh slices of bread when ready to build the toast.
- Nutrition notes: Nutrition information is for each slice of toast. This recipe is vegetarian. To make this recipe gluten free, use gluten free bread instead of ciabatta bread.
Nutrition Information
UPDATE: This recipe was originally published in August 2017 and was updated with new photos and instructions in September 2022.
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