This recipe is a mashup of two of the best things- garlic bread and Caprese salad! Fresh bread, juicy heirloom tomatoes, pesto butter?! You cannot beat these flavors, especially in the summer!
This Pesto Caprese Garlic Bread is extremely easy to make and uses just a few simpled ingredients.
Ingredients
Bread: I used a ciabbata loaf in these photos, but I've made this recipe with a baguette before as well. Just look around in the bakery section of your grocery store and see what looks fresh and delicious!
Pesto butter: A combination of softened butter, minced garlic and pesto is what makes this recipe fall under the "garlic bread category". You can use any pesto, store bought or homemade, that you like!
Tomatoes: I like using heirloom tomatoes for this recipe. Make sure they're nice and ripe!
Fresh mozzarella: Keeping with the caprese theme. A little fresh mozz never hurt anyone!
Fresh basil: Fresh basil ties it all together!
All about the tomatoes
Pesto Caprese Garlic Bread can be made year round, but it is best made in the summer during tomato season!
I like to grab a few heirloom tomatoes from the farmer's market or my local grocery store every week during the summer for dishes like Caprese Salad, Tomato Toast or this incredible Summertime Turkey Sandwich! This year I successfully grew a few types of tomatoes as well so it was fun using some of my home grown tomatoes for recipes like these!
Balsamic Vinegar or Balsamic Glaze?
I would stick to real balsamic vinegar for this recipe, and not balsamic glaze. In my opinion, balsamic glaze is WAY too sweet and takes away from the flavor of the tomatoes and basil. In fact, a true authentic Caprese salad includes NO vinegar at all!
Adding balsamic vinegar to Caprese dishes is more of an American thing. I do like the taste of good quality balsamic vinegar and I think it goes well with dishes like this one (Caprese garlic bread isn't exactly traditional either!) so I drizzle a very small amount over the top. Make sure to buy good quality balsamic and skip the glaze!
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Pesto Caprese Garlic Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Loaf Italian or french bread
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
- ¼ Cup pesto
- 2-3 Cloves garlic minced
- 8 Ounces fresh mozzarella (1 log), torn
- 1-2 Heirloom tomatoes sliced
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a baking sheet.
- Combine the butter, pesto and garlic in a small bowl.
- Cut the bread in half longways. Spread the butter mixture over the cut sides of the bread, all the way to the edges.
- Spread the mozzarella over the bread in an even layer and then top with tomato slices. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes then broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and the edges of the bread are golden brown and crisp. Cut the bread into slices.
- Top the bread with fresh basil and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
- Enjoy!
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