Mini tartlets filled with seasoned cream cheese, fresh mozzarella, tomato and topped with basil. These Mini Caprese Tartlets are the perfect end of summer appetizer or side dish!
Photos Updated July 2016
Yum
I was looking back through my blog earlier, and I’m noticing a theme over the past few weeks. Lots of little bites – not a whole lot of hearty meals. I guess that is to blame on summer, right?? I’ve posted a few soups, and there was a salad and a quesadilla thrown in, but really, I’ve been making a whole lot of appetizers served as dinner, or we’ve been having multiple side dishes for dinner. You get the heat that zaps any motivation to be in the kitchen for very long, combined with all of the great in-season produce that makes for a perfect side dish, and you get light summer dinners. So I apologize if you’ve been wanting something more substantial – I do have a few things coming up!!
But for now, I am still making my way through piles of vegetables that are sitting on my counter. Not wanting anything to go to waste, I have been making great use of lots of tomato recipes these last few days. Seriously – I could do a whole tomato week, but I’ll spare you since I already focused on peaches and corn!!! (But you will be getting almost all tomato recipes this week!)
These Mini Caprese Tartlets are another winning recipe from Melissa D’Arabian from $10 Dinners. After not loving the first recipe that I made of hers, I’m glad I didn’t give up on her, because everything I’ve made since has been divine. And these little tartlets are no exception. I loved that the shells are made out of plain old white bread. And the flavored cream cheese was so good that I wanted to just eat it by the spoonful! This was such a great spin on a caprese sandwich – and it’s one that I would definitely do again! These Mini Caprese Tartlets would be perfect for a party, or as a side dish – or do what we did and just eat them for dinner!!
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- 8 slices white bread
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- salt and pepper
- 2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
- balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
- 8 fresh basil leaves
- Preheat the oven to 375Fº.
- Remove the crusts from the bread. Using a rolling pin, flatten each slice of bread. Brush both sides with olive oil and press into a muffin tin. (Tip: cut a small slit diagonally down one corner to make it easy to fit into the cup.) Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese with the garlic powder, dried basil, salt and pepper. Mix together until smooth and creamy. Drop about a teaspoon into each cup. Bake the tartlets in the preheated oven until browned, about 12-13 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place a slice of mozzarella in each cup. (I returned mine to the oven again for a minute or two to soften and melt the mozzarella slightly.) Top with a tomato.
- Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and a small drizzle of remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Chiffonade the basil for garnish. Serve warm.
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More Caprese Inspiration:
Open Face Caprese Steak Sandwich
Around the Web:
Caprese Sandwich with Arugul and Olive Spread from Foodiecrush
Creamy Pesto Caprese Pasta Casserole from Closet Cooking
Caprese Pasta Salad from Pip and Ebby
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How can you go wrong with cream cheese? I love eating little bites as meals. It’s definitely because of summer!
I love the little bites too! These look fabulous and I agree, cream cheese makes everything fabulous!
Those must be delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
A) These are so cute I could pinch them.
B) I love fingery bitey bites. They make feel dainty.
C) I’m going to pick myself up from the floor after fainting and make these!
Love this recipe! So fun!
Yum! I made these for New Years last year in Australia and we devoured them! Seriously good eats…thanks for refreshing my memory, I may have to make these for lunch now!
I’m actually loving all the little bites/appetizers you’ve been sharing. Summer is the perfect time for them. And this recipe is possibly my favorite one yet!
Mmm so tasty looking!
I love these! What an awesome party appetizer idea. So beautiful, too. Great idea.
You know, I actually love having tapas-style meals with lots of appetizers so this has been so much fun! Caprese is my favorite flavor of summer…these look fantastic!
Oh Deborah! Being positively addicted to perfect portions this is such a great idea! What a perfect snack or a side as well.
These look fabulous! I have all of the ingredients too. I was planning to make caprese sandwiches on Wednesday for dinner, but I may change it up a bit now!
I remember seeing this episode and being so curious about those crusts! Then I forgot to try the recipe — I am so grateful to you for sharing! You know we always eat appetizers for dinner … I would just have a few of these and a salad and still feel good about myself 🙂
These look wonderful! I love the little tartlets!
These look DELICIOUS! I will be making them for an appetizer at my Labor Day dinner party. Thanks!
With the heat we’ve been having and the plentiful summer veggies, this is the type of meal we’ve been subsisting on as well. This would be a quick and easy dinner for hubby and me! 🙂
Deb, these are gorge! Love the idea of little tastes, and so many options too. THX for the mention, you are such good company to be in. XO
I just love how simple this recipe is… but it looks so elegant! I would have never thought of using bread as a tart crust like that. This is a keeper. I’ll be making this either for our lunch or dinner tonight!
These look incredible. Such a smart idea, caprese anything is always delizioso!
Mmmmmm, another good one to use as a football party app!
I like appetizers for dinners.
That is SUCH a great idea! I’m totally filing this away for any late picnics/cooks outs!
I’m bookmarking this for book club later this month!
Oooh yeah! Definitely gonna try these out! Yummy. I hope now that winter is coming we will still enjoy light bite food like you say!
I love these little bites! I’ve made a lot of mini dessert tartlets, but I’ll have to try these savory versions since my counters are pretty heavy with tomatoes, too. One trick I use is flower-shaped cookie cutters. The fluted edges make the crust slide into muffin tins really easily.