Baked Tomatoes with Mozzarella and Basil
If you like Caprese salad, you’re going to love these Baked Tomatoes with Mozzarella and Basil! Ready in 15 minutes, this recipe is so easy. I layer juicy, tender baked tomatoes with creamy melted mozzarella and fresh basil, so you get a refreshing taste of summer sunshine in every bite. Enjoy for lunch, as an appetizer, or as a side with your favorite protein.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Baked Tomatoes with Mozzarella and Basil
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, kosher salt
- Why You'll Love It: If you like Caprese salad, you're going to love this quick, easy, and refreshingly delicious baked tomatoes with mozzarella and basil recipe.
Summer’s Best Bite in Just 15 Minutes
These baked tomatoes with mozzarella and basil are just about the easiest things you’ll ever make. The minute those tomatoes start coming in for the season, this is the first recipe I reach for!
I like to call them tomato mozzarella melts, but heck, it doesn’t matter what you call them. All you need to know is how good fresh, juicy baked tomatoes taste when topped with a slice of fresh mozzarella and a sprinkle of basil. It’s refreshing, delicious, and the perfect dish to enjoy this summer.
I make these baked tomatoes with mozzarella as a side dish with supper sometimes, but I also like them as an evening snack or a quick lunch when it’s just me here. They’re super easy, fuss-free, and done in no time at all. Best yet, if you have a garden, chances are most of the ingredients are right outside your door!
Reader Review
“Thank you so much for this recipe, it was delicious! I had a bunch of Roma tomatoes that needed to be used up soon, so I used them in this recipe and was not at all disappointed. It was so simple, too!” – Whitney
Recipe Ingredients
- Tomatoes (I’m using Roma tomatoes, but you can use garden tomatoes if you like)
- Fresh mozzarella cheese (or shredded mozzarella if that is what you have)
- Dried or fresh basil
- Kosher salt (table salt works too!)
Customize Your Baked Tomatoes
Don’t feel like you need to stick to exactly what I use – this recipe is super flexible! Try mixing shredded mozzarella with grated parmesan, or swap it out for gruyere or fontina. Both melt nicely over roasted tomatoes. Instead of fresh basil, you could always spread a layer of basil pesto before adding the cheese. And for extra flavor, sprinkle on some oregano or Italian seasoning. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar or olive oil before baking would also be fantastic!
How to Make Easy Baked Tomatoes with Mozzarella and Basil
1. Prep the Tomatoes
To start, slice your tomatoes in half and place them on a metal baking sheet or cookie sheet. Sprinkle the tops with kosher salt.
Pro tip: If using Roma tomatoes, slice them in half lengthwise. If using garden tomatoes, slice them ½ to ¾-inch thick.
2. Broil Tomatoes
Place your tomatoes under the broiler on high and cook for anywhere from 3-5 minutes, watching carefully. I like to cook mine until the skin lightly wrinkles, but you can cook them just long enough to heat through if you like.
3. Assemble & Serve
Remove tomatoes from the oven and immediately top with slices of fresh mozzarella, then the bits of torn basil.
If you like, return them to the oven for 2-4 more minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted. Serve warm.
That’s it! Told you this baked tomatoes recipe was ridiculously easy. Enjoy!
Top Tips for Success
- I always pat my tomatoes dry with a paper towel before seasoning them, as it helps the salt and toppings stick better and prevents things from getting too watery.
- Keep a close eye on your tomatoes under the broiler! Every oven is different, and they can go from perfectly blistered to burnt real quick.
- I like to tear the mozzarella by hand rather than slicing it. It melts more evenly and gives it that rustic look.
- If your tomatoes are extra juicy, tilt the baking sheet slightly when removing it from the oven to drain off any excess liquid before serving.
- Room-temperature mozzarella melts much faster and more evenly than cold mozzarella straight from the fridge, so it’s worth the extra few minutes!
Storage
This is one of those recipes where you can adjust the quantities based on how many you want to make, so storage isn’t necessary. It makes a perfect lunch for one, or I tend to make two slices per person when entertaining or serving as a side dish.
Baked Tomatoes with Mozzarella and Basil FAQs
If you’d rather not cook them under the broiler as I do, you can just put them in a 500°F oven for 5-7 minutes.
Watch for the skin to lightly wrinkle and the cheese to turn golden and bubbly. I always keep a close eye on them under the broiler since things can go from perfectly golden to burnt pretty quickly!
If you want to serve your baked tomatoes as a side dish, they go very well with an Italian-inspired main dish like skillet lasagna, crockpot spaghetti, Italian sausage soup, and pizza rolls.
Your turn! Rate this recipe and let me know how it went in the comments. I’m always here and love chatting with you all!
Ingredients
- Tomatoes **
- Fresh mozzarella sliced
- Fresh basil torn (or dried basil)
- Kosher salt or table salt
Instructions
- Slice tomatoes into thick slices (if using smaller tomatoes, just slice in half). Place on a metal baking sheet or cookie sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt. Broil for 3-5 minutes or bake in a 500℉ oven for 5-7 minutes.Tomatoes, Kosher salt
- Remove from the oven and top with slices of mozzarella and basil. Return to the oven for 2-4 more minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted. Serve warm.Fresh mozzarella, Fresh basil
So glad y’all had such a wonderful time! Can’t beat those kinds of vacations no matter where else you may ever go! Nothing or no one will ever be able to take the precious memories from your children, or you. You and Ricky are to be commended for taking the time to enjoy your young’uns, because all too quickly they’ll be big and grown. Mine are all to well on their way…..Big Sigh….and I have never once regretted taking time away from everything and everyone and just enjoying time for just the four of us.
Love y’all!!
I wished I had known you were coming to KY. I would have invited you to stay at my house & cook for me…………..I mean I would have cooked for you all! Happy you had a great trip – sometimes road trips to nowhere turn out to be the best. I live in Lexington & it’s a beautiful city. Come back anytime & visit with us – we’ll have an incy cold glass of sweet tea!!!
Christy, you don’t eat a BLT?
Oh wow Christy, I’m so glad to hear you had just a great time on a ” nowhere particular road trip”. I’m going to go on my first “nowhere particular road trip” for 2 weeks in September. We’re just gonna ramble through the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts until we get to Portland Maine. I’m so excited!!! I’ve never just wandered wherever we want to and to stop whenever we get ready to sleep!!
Place this on a garlic-buttered, toasted English muffin or hamburger bun and you’ve got yourself a feast! When my daughter was young and we were broke, we would visit a local state tourist info center and gather discount coupons and tips on free things to do in a day’s journey. Of course, gas wasn’t $4 a gallon, but we had some mighty good times on those trips for next to nothing.
One of my favorite summer salads is served at a fancy bagel shop. It is not going to be enjoyed by someone who doesn’t like fresh tomatoes (Christy!) but for the rest of us it is terrific. Plate sliced fresh tomatoes, chunks of fresh mozzarella, slices if raw red onions, and fresh basil leaves. Top with evo and some balsamic vinegar. A couple bread sticks or a little bread makes it a perfect meal.
Beth, that salad has an actual name! It’s called caprese salad and it is one of my absolute favorites for summer tomatoes. DH and I will have this salad for lunch and supper when the fresh garden tomatoes are in abundance. Can’t get enough of it! Since we’ve gone low carb, the bread is no longer on the table but the salad most certainly is!
Nevermind……I was following along with the pictures and forgot to actually read the recipe ;-).
Don’t fret, Angie. I did the same thing. =-)
Do you put them back under the broiler after you put the cheese on or do you just let the heat from the tomatoes melt the cheese?