Grilled Caprese Crostini
Fire up the grill! These Grilled Caprese Crostini are a fun (and easy) summer appetizer!
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You see, Robbie has a zillion stuffed animals. He was slow getting on board the stuffed animal train, but once he learned how cool they are, the number of stuffed animals in his room multiplied exponentially. My sister sent him a gigantic moose this past Christmas, and he insists on sleeping with it in his bed. (The thing is bigger than he is, btw.) But one stuffed animal that’s not in his room? Tasmanian Devil.
Taz was actually one of my favorite stuffed animals growing up. It eventually landed in a box in the basement filled with childhood memorabilia. When Robbie was born, I pulled Taz out of retirement and put him in the corner along with Robbie’s other stuffed animals. Well, a couple of weeks ago, Robbie declared Taz to be scary. Ever since then, the Tasmanian Devil has been living in my closet. You know, in case he comes alive in the middle of the night.
I actually can’t fault Robbie here one bit. As a kid, I had a Little Red Riding Hood book with a super scary picture of the wolf inside. I wanted my parents to read me that book every night, but then I would sneak over to my sister’s room and hide it in her closet. That way if the wolf came alive and climbed out of the book in the middle of the night, it would get my sister first. So the whole Taz thing is kinda “like father, like son.” I love it!
Grilled Caprese Crostini
Another thing that I love? Grilling season! We seriously fire up the grill about 6 days a week during grilling season…7 if we’re lucky! (While you can technically grill in the winter, the thought of shoveling 2+ feet of snow and ice off my grill doesn’t jazz me up that much. Call me crazy.) These Grilled Caprese Crostini were a recent grilling creation, and I can assure you that these will be making an appearance again soon!
A Caprese Salad is a classic Italian recipe featuring fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil drizzled with olive oil and sometimes a bit of balsamic vinegar. I channeled those same flavors with this Grilled Caprese Crostini appetizer. Crusty bread brushed with olive oil and balsamic glaze. Fresh mozzarella that gets slightly melty on the grill. Cherry tomatoes and basil that gets piled on top once the crostini come off the grill. Easy and delicious!
If you’re looking for a fun appetizer that can be made on the grill, then this Grilled Caprese Crostini recipe is it! Truth be told, we actually ate these for dinner by themselves. The crostini are packed with flavor, and the whole thing can be prepared in just a few minutes. That leaves more time to play outside and enjoy the warm summer evenings! I hope you enjoy these crostini as much as we did. Cheers!
Did you make these Grilled Caprese Crostini at home? Leave a comment, or better yet snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Grilled Caprese Crostini
Ingredients
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes quartered
- ¼ cup fresh basil cut in chiffonade style
- 1 crusty baguette
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp balsamic glaze see note
- 1½ tsp kosher salt plus more for finishing
- ½ tsp black pepper plus more for finishing
- 8 oz. fresh mozzarella cut into thin slices
Instructions
- Using a medium mixing bowl, add tomatoes and basil; toss until well combined. Set bowl aside.
- Preheat grill to medium-high (~375°F) heat.
- Slice baguette on the bias into 1” thick slices.
- Brush tops and bottoms of slices with olive oil.
- Brush tops of slices with balsamic glaze.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly on top of slices.
- Top each baguette slice with piece of mozzarella.
- Grill slices for 3-4 minutes, or until mozzarella has mostly melted.
- Remove slices from grill and top with tomato-basil mixture.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Looking for more tasty grilling recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Rigatoni with Grilled Vegetables
Steak Sliders with Blue Cheese Butter
Can’t beat Caprese – SO delicious!! And a great idea to serve on a crostini. This would be delicious for lunch, or a perfect appetizer!
This grilled caprese crostini made for an excellent lunch…and a light dinner later, too! Of course, I have to say that it pairs quite well with a nice white wine. 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend on tap ahead, Alex!
I’m with Robbie – that Taz is scary! On the other hand, I am loving these grilled crostini! Just grill me up some and I’ll be one happy woman! A little glass of wine and a couple of these and I’m all set! 🙂
Hey now! I love my Taz! 🙂 I’m with ya on these crostini, though. A few of these plus a nice glass of wine makes for an excellent summer evening. In fact, I think we’re putting these on the menu again soon. They’re delicious – and easy, too! Thanks, Kathy!
I definitely have stuff that I won’t throw out…and then there are things that I have thrown out (hello my poem book) that I wish I hadn’t. Oh well! These crostini are right up my alley. Hubby and I love bites like this, especially on the weekend. A plate of these and some wine and I’m one happy lady 🙂 Happy Friday to ya!
Your poem book? Did you write poetry? I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never appreciated poetry as much as I should. I always hated the poetry units in high school English! Oh well. One thing I don’t hate? Grilling. And crostini. And grilled crostini. 🙂
Haha… I am actually relieved because for a minute there, I thought we were talking an actual stuffed tasmanian devil, you know, like a taxidermied marsupial. Now that would be scary! I actually used to love Taz as a child too but can totally understand why Robbie finds him scary. How interesting that you used to have a similar fear as a child! I always love these little reminders that our children are ours and we’re connected, the good, the bad and the weird. These crostini look delicious, by the way – I love caprese salad but would never think to put it on top of my baguette! What a great idea.
Oh no! No way could I ever deal with an actual stuffed tasmanian devil. Haha. Those things don’t even exist around here, but I can see why you might think that given that you’re down in Australia! 🙂 In other news, these crostini are amazing. The slightly melty cheese + the grilled baguette makes for an appetizer that you just can’t stop eating! Thanks, Katerina!
Yessss! Oh my gosh I totally forgot about Tasmanian Devil! Haha you’re bringing back so many memories! And these grilled crostini look absolutely PERFECT. This is totally something I would say I was making as an appetizer, and then follow you and your family’s lead and eat them for dinner! So many fresh and delicious ingredients here, and then you put it on the grill! Absolutely perfect David, definitely making these ASAP.
Taz! I think I’m just a big kid at heart, so I never forget about the cartoon characters. Heck, if Laura would let me, I’d probably have Taz in our bedroom. Haha! (Just kidding…sorta…) In other news, though, these crostini are downright delicious. The melted cheese + the grilled flavor is such a good combination of flavors. I highly recommend it!!
Who doesn’t like a good Caprese salad? And, who doesn’t like a crostini? And, who doesn’t like throwing things on the barbie? So David, my friend, you’ve got a winner with your Grilled Caprese Crostini.
I got a kick out of your Taz story. I had to go look in my closet to see what was the weirdest thing I have hiding in it. I’d have to say the bottle of moose scent setting on the shelf would be the weirdest thing in my closet.
These crostini appetizers are SO good, Ron…and they’re super easy to make, too. That’s a win-win in my book!
Ok, so moose scent? In a bottle? First of all, why in the world do you even own that!? Second, why is it in your closet? Do you spray it on yourself to attract moose? (If so, send me a bottle!) Do you spray it on Chloe? I’ve got so many questions now. Haha!
David, it’s sealed in a bottle and it is used when hunting moose. God no, you don’t spay it on yourself as a bull moose would mistake you for a willing cow (female) moose. It could be painful.
It was given to me for a planned moose camera hunt that’s been postponed.
Why the closet? It needs to be in a dark cool place.
Oh no! Hahaha. I had no idea what that stuff was, but now that I know, I’m totally laughing at the thought of spraying it on yourself. I almost snorted coffee out of my nose there!
Well now these are fabulous! I love the idea, and they’re much prettier than your traditional bruschetta. Plus you get cheese!
Cheese makes everything better! 🙂 Thanks, Mimi!
So you hide the monster in the closet! The one place we always fear that they might be? David, take the devil out of the closet and hide him under the bed.
I love the idea of a warm Caprese.
Ah, you make an excellent point, Jeff. The monster is hiding in the most likely of places. Well, except for under the bed. I wonder what Robbie would do if we hid Taz under his bed? Let’s find out! I’ll tell him it was your idea.
Robbie’s right. That devil does look scary! And you’re right about the crostini, they could easily be dinner at our place, just on their own.
These crostini really are delicious, Frank! And I think next time we make them, we’ll have to invite Taz to the party. 🙂
Funnily enough I just did a variation of these today (bruschetta) but not on our BBQ. That’s a great idea to do these grilled caprese crostini on the BBQ. And I’ve actaully been able to do 2 BBQ’s so far this year. I intend getting the BBQ out again and these as you say would be a great appetiser! Cheers David!
Ok! So I see my challenge has been accepted. Pulling out the grill twice already is definitely an improvement! You don’t have to make it a huge recipe when you do. Even just a batch of these crostini is fun on the grill – that grilled flavor just adds so much to the finished recipe! 🙂
Caprese is one of my favourite salad and putting it on a toasty baguette sounds like a good idea, love it. Talking about whats in my closet, I just realized I still have Magic Cards from the late 90’s some of which costs a fortune now, I bought some really expensive cards before which it would easily cost 20x of the price I bought them.
No way! I used to play Magic in the late 90’s, too. I sold my cards years ago when we were in grad school…now I wish I had kept them! How much fun would it be to play a game or two together?? I think the game is still around, but I’m sure it’s changed a lot from when we played. Thanks for the memories there, Raymund!
My grandchildren love their stuffed animals too, but I don’t think they have any Tasmanian Devils in their collection. These grilled Caprese crostinis sound like the perfect appetizer for summer. Simple with lots of flavor.
I seem to recall that my parents gave that Taz to me as a Christmas or birthday present one year. He lived on my bed throughout my childhood, and now he lives in my closet. Haha! These grilled crostini really are delicious, Dawn. I highly recommend putting these on the menu soon! 🙂
In Robbie’s defense, Taz does look a little scary, lol!
We love Caprese Crostini, David, but have never had a grilled version. Perfect summer app!
Haha! Nothing like a scary monster hiding in the closet, right? 🙂 I do love caprese (a lot), but I have to say that the grilled version might be even better. Give it a shot!