These Caprese Tomato Bites are a new twist on our favorite Caprese Salad with meltingly wonderful gruyere instead of mozzarella.
Although I do like the old favorites like Caprese Salad, sometimes I just like to mix things up. Like when I added Spinach and Pesto to tomatoes and baked them resulting in my recipe Roasted Tomatoes with Spinach and Pesto. But with these Caprese Tomato Bites, I’ve substituted gruyere for the mozzarella and the flavor is different and absolutely outstanding.
So what is the flavor difference between the two cheeses? Mozzarella is mild cheese with a wonderful melting ability. That’s why it works so well on pizza. It’s so mild that it doesn’t interfere with any other ingredient on the pizza…especially spices.
Gruyere on the other hand is a richer tasting cheese that’s nutty and so full of flavor. It also melts beautifully like Mozzarella. And it really complements the mildness of the roasted tomatoes and freshness of the basil.
So let’s make it.
Ingredients in Caprese Tomato Bites
- Campari tomatoes: The Star of the Show
- Gruyere cheese: For nutty richness
- Basil leaves: For freshness
- Olive oil: For health and flavor
- Sea salt: Prefer Himalayan Pin Sea Salt because you use less with much more flavor
- Pepper: Freshly Ground is best in this dish
How to Make Caprese Tomato Bites
First, preheat your oven to 409 degrees F
Next, slice the tomatoes in half length wise and place them in a baking dish.
Cut the gruyere into 1/4” x 1” strips and place each strip on each tomato half.
Then place 3 basil leaves on top of each other and roll them tight. As Ina Garten says, “Roll the basil leaves like a cigar.” And with a sharp knife, slice the rolled leaves into thin ribbons. Sprinkle the basil ribbons over each tomato.
Lightly drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes and sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper and place the dish in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
By the then the cheese will have melted perfectly and the tomatoes will still have a bit of firmness.
Notes on the Ingredients
Ever since a dear friend recommended Campari tomatoes to me years ago, I fell in love with them. They just have a fresh picked from the garden taste. And they’re even more flavorful when you don’t refrigerate them.
This recipe uses Gruyere, but for economy you could substitute Trader Joe’s Gruyere and Cheddar combination cheese. It’s absolutely delicious. Not as rich as regular Gruyere, but will still be great in this recipe.
Caprese Tomato Bites
Ingredients
- 5 Medium Tomatoes Prefer Campari
- 2 oz Gruyere Cheese
- 3 Large Basil leaves
- 1 Tsp Olive oil
- 1/4 Tsp Sea salt Prefer Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
- 1/4 Tsp Pepper Freshly ground
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Cut each tomato in half lengthwise and add them to a baking dish.
- Slice Gruyere cheese into 1/4" by 1" slices and lay a slice on top of each tomato.
- Stack basil leaves, roll them tightly like a cigar and slice into thin ribbons. Sprinkle basil over each tomato.
- Lightly drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
- Place into oven to bake for 20 minutes.
Nutrition
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For Similar Recipes:
Roasted Tomatoes with Spinach and Pesto
