Appetizers and Snacks/ Italian/ Vegetarian

Baked Mozzarella

Baked Mozzarella

So I am going to confess something to you all, I have an addiction to mozzarella. There is just something about this semi- soft cheese that leaves me craving it morning, noon and night. My obsession started when Ryan and I were fortunate enough to go to Italy for our honeymoon a couple of years ago. Along with gelato, and wine, Ryan and I enjoyed copious amounts of mozzarella. Of course there was mozzarella on pizza and the traditional Caprese salad but it was at a restaurant in Florence where we were first introduced to this dish of baked mozzarella and let me tell you, my world has never been the same.

What I love about this dish, and most of the dishes that we had in Italy, is the simplicity. Not too much seasoning, you just cook it to showcase the flavors of your ingredients. It is therefore important to use the highest quality ingredients you can find. Now with that said, for snacking and salads I prefer the fresh mozzarella that is kept in water, however, since this dish is baked it is better to go with a ball of fresh mozzarella in the vacuum sealed packages, otherwise I find that the dish becomes too watery.  If you can find it, smoked mozzarella takes this dish to a whole other level.

Baked Mozzarella

Print Recipe
Serves 2 Prep Time: Cook Time:

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounce package of fresh mozzarella or smoked mozzarella, sliced
  • 8-10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
  • extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1

Preheat your oven broiler.

2

Grease a small ovenproof dish with a little extra virgin olive oil. Layer half of the mozzarella, then tomatoes, then garlic, then the rest of the mozzarella. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.

3

Place on the middle rack under your broiler for 5-7 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and bubbly around the edges. Serve hot.

Notes

When we were served this in Italy we just ate it straight out of the dish it was served in and it was delicious. But if you are not as obsessed with mozzarella as I am, this is also great when served with a few toasted baguette slices. Also, this dish is best when it is kept hot otherwise the mozzarella starts to get hard, so try to find a dish that can keep the heat. Enjoy!

March 6, 2009 By
30
About

Whether it is cooking it, eating it, shopping for it or watching TV about it, food is one of my favorite things.

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  • I remember when I first found fresh mozzarella instead of that hard flavorless packaged stuff in most grocery stores. Yum. This dish sounds so simple but I bet it tastes wonderful!

  • Uhhhhh……….this sounds wonderful! I am definetly making this! Thanks for sharing.

  • I love mozzarella…and this recipe is great with a glass of red wine. Cheers!

  • This baked mozzarella sounds really good! (There is nothing wrong with a mozzarella addiction.)

  • Oh, that looks and sounds delicious!

  • Hi Des

    There is something for you at Pink Bites, come and get it!

    Cheers

  • Thanks Mrs. L!
    You’re welcome Rita and thank you for the award!
    A glass of red wine would be perfect with this! I personally love Chianti with my mozzarella :) Thanks Juliana!
    Thanks Kevin! Thanks for letting me know its okay….I was a little worried for a minute. But I trust there are others out there like me ;-)
    Thanks Karly!

  • my kind of dish…this is a MUST save for me! Thanks

  • That looks so yummy!! Nothing better than melted cheese!!!

  • First of all, so jealous that you’ve been to Italy. Second, my family is Italian, but somehow they’ve managed to keep this dish a secret from me for all these years! It sounds soooo fantastic and I can’t wait to try it!

  • This sounds lovely. Your photo looks great.

  • You’re welcome One Shot!
    Thanks Cathy! I totally agree, you can’t get much better than melted cheese :)
    Thanks The Craving Chronicles! I hope you enjoy it and then maybe you can introduce your family to it ;-)
    Thanks Sara!

  • This looks absolutely delicious, I can’t wait to try it! Thanks so much for all of these awesome recipes!

  • Thanks Jonathan! You’re welcome :-)

  • I was just thinking last time I made pizza how much I love the mozzarella part. This looks like a recipe that would capture the best part of pizza. I am so tempted to try this now!

  • the wind attack: I agree that the mozzarella is the best part of the pizza!

  • Thanks Wrimbfor!

  • mary vincent

    years ago..an x inlaw used to make a baked moz to die for. nothing in it but moz. I admit the cheese was homemade from her parents farm but sometimes she used store bought in a pinch.The top was crispy brown. She served it with polenta and braised chicken(also from the farm). I have tried to do it several times but it always separates or curdles, before I can get it to brown. It has to be the temperature to bake, I would guess. Low? High? Medium? I tried high and medium high. No luck. I want that cheese!! Help

  • I usually use the high setting on my broiler and the cheese melts and is bubbly with a few golden brown spots on it, but every oven is different. Perhaps you can try raising the rack a little closer to the broiler so that it gets the crispy brown you are talking about. Just make sure to watch it closely so it doesn’t burn. Hope this helps!

  • GT

    This was awesome! The cheese did cool down pretty quickly, though, so I had to pop it back into the oven to reheat before I could finish it. It made a great afternoon snack/lunch last Saturday :-)

  • Thanks GT! I am glad that you enjoyed it. It is one of my favorite snacks to make. I’ve had the same problem with the cheese cooling down quickly, I am looking for a pan that can hold heat for a little longer, I think that will help. Thanks for letting me know how it went! :)

  • Terry

    This looks wonderful! Ooey-gooey mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. Heaven. A must-try soon.

    It reminds me of one of my fav Mexican recipes, Tequila-Spiked Queso Fundido.

    Thanks for posting and what a great place to spend your honeymoon.

  • GARY LANGEFELD

    I used two layers of the cheese as well as two layers of the tomatoes and the garlic. To top it all off, I added about 1/4 cup of homemade tomatoe sauce over everything, some Parmesan cheese and topped it with Panko bread crumbs…WOW…WOW!

  • Those additions sound so delicious!! I will definitely have to give it a try. I bet the panko made the perfect crunch! :)

  • Jackie

    Hi Des

    When is the salt and pepper incorporated in this dish. Also what is that other dish beside the mozzarella dish.

  • Hi Jackie, oops I forgot to mention that! Just sprinkle a little kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper over the dish before you bake it. The dish next to it is some toasted baguette slices.

  • Ausra

    Gary Langefeld, your recipe is great! I have tried it last night, and it was sooo good… Yummy :)

  • Janet McIntyre

    Thank you – thank you – thank you. You had me at “addicted to mozzarella”. I found this recipe and immediately put the ingredients together – used the last of this summers grape tomatos (what a way to go).
    Just delicious – and have to admit – I did not have to share it with anyone. I even sopped up the remaining juice/oil with crusty bread. This is a definate “share” recipe

  • Amber

    I have been craving mozzarella all week and just found this recipe searching online and just made it! It was DELICIOUS!!! I can’t even describe in words how good! Thank you for the recipe it made my day!

  • Kori

    This was just what I was looking for! Made this with homemade sauce and homemade parmesan croutons with some fresh basil sprinkled on top after it came out of the oven. Baked not broiled. Delicious!!!!

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