You only need three ingredients to make this fabulous snack!
And I say snack, because it is totally acceptable to make it for yourself this afternoon when your stomach starts to rumble.
You know why?
Because I said so.
It also obviously makes a great appetizer for parties. The key is to consume it as quickly as possible. Trust me… it isn’t challenging.
And it is super simple to make. All you must do is chop the ingredients and combine them like so.
Then throw the dish in the oven and let the cheese work it’s magic.
It will look like this. And then you might die. But that’s okay, because having this as your final meal totally makes sense.
It took all of my restraint to not go at the dip with just a spoon. I was so tempted.
I might have taken a little spoonful of a taste.
There really is nothing better than a spoonful of bubbly, golden cheese.
Hot Caprese Dip
serves 2-4
10 ounces fresh mozzarella, chopped into cubes
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and juiced
3 tablespoons freshly chopped basil (or about 1 tablespoon dried) + more for garnish
Preheat oven to 375.
Make sure tomatoes have as much juiced squeezed out of them as possible – this will prevent the dip from becoming soupy. In a small baking dish, combine chopped cheese, tomatoes and basil and mix. Bake for 15 minutes, then broil for 2 minutes so cheese becomes bubbly and golden. Serve immediately with crackers or melba toasts.
Note: dip may appear “watery” which is why it is VERY important to get as much moisture out of the tomatoes as possible. Also make sure dip is consumed immediately, as the longer it sits, the more juice that develops. Don’t worry if there is a little bit of juice – it is still delicious!
Just try to stay away.
I’m Jessica and this is where I share my stuff. You will find a balance of healthy recipes, comfort food and indulgent desserts.
OMG! This looks amazing! Love, love, love caprese in the summer. Can’t wait to try it. Maybe with a splash of Balsamic vinegar. I want to make it right now! :-)
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I made this dip and it was tasty but the mozzarella was too watery. What kind of mozzarella do you use?
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Jessica — December 27th, 2010 @ 12:39 pm
I have used 2 different kinds – one was from Trader Joe’s (the fresh mozzarella log) and another was just from my local grocery store. As the dip sits the moisture will come out of the cheese so it is best to consume it as quickly as possible! You can also do a cream cheese/shredded mozzarella mixture which takes the water down.
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camille — July 30th, 2011 @ 5:47 pm
What would be the measurements for the cream cheese/shredded cheese combo?
Carrie — January 28th, 2012 @ 9:25 pm
One of my fave restaurants serves a very similar dip., they use fontina cheese and the only wateryness is from the tomato. That might be worth a try, or mix the two cheeses
Oh my goodness, caprese anything is my favorite…I will have to try this!!!
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This is probably a rookie question, but I’m 22 and NEVER cook so cut me a break :). But, how do you juice tomatoes? I googled it but I couldn’t find a good answer! It looks so delicious I’m dying to make it.
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Jessica — March 10th, 2011 @ 11:29 pm
Pretty much just cut in half and squeeze all of the seeds out!
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Alexandra — March 11th, 2011 @ 12:00 am
Thanks so much! I LOVE your blog and it’s making me much more confident in the kitchen. My boyfriend and I thank you!
OMG YES. I love how easy this is. This is a recipe I might actually make. It looks so amazing.
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This reminds me of the smoked mozzarella fonduta they serve at Olive Garden. It is a blend of cheeses; smoked mozzarella, provolone, and romano, I believe…. plus very finely diced tomatoes. I can eat it with a spoon. Definitely going to try this soon!
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OH MY SWEET MERCY!! I’m all over this!
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ok just ran across this and making this tonight. I am growing tomatoes and basil and have an overload and didn’t know what to do with them.
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How do you get your fresh mozzarella to be so not wet in the ingredient pictures? Do you squeeze it out first?
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oh this is fantastic. and you’re funny. thank you :) good read and now im hungry
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I made this for book club and I hate to say it, but it was tasteless. I love caprese salad, too. The cheese was rubbery, you couldn’t get it off your spoon and onto a cracker without your fingers, and it just didn’t do it.
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Laura — February 14th, 2013 @ 11:44 pm
I don’t know if you’re located by a Jewel-Osco but I just made it with Galbani marinated Mozzarella Fresca (It’s marinated with olive oil, herbs, and spices do its more flavorful! Also their balled already I just cut them in half) and I used the Jewel-Osco bakery garlic chips and the garlic from the chips and the mozzarella sitting in the oils/seasonings made it great!! Hope that works for you!! Also I would almost tripple the recipe otherwise it’s just a thin layer of cheese, I’m deffinetly tripling the recipe next time!! Enjoy :-)
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I made this last night, and my friends loved it. I was a little worried about the comments above talking about it getting watery and soupy so here is what I did. My recipe was doubled so I used 16 oz of shredded mozzarella and 4 oz of cream cheese cut into small cubes. I basically layered the dip 3 times. I served it with Triscuits. It is true that it is best served right away when its still warm but we just kept the oven on and threw it back for a few minutes every time we were ready for another round of snacking. So worth it!
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Sounded delicious but didn work at all!!! What a bummer.
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This looks so good and easy! I can’t wait to make it! Based on the other comments of being watery, I think I am going to try tossing the fresh mozzarella in some flour maybe or use preshredded because it is much drier. When I make lasagna most recipes call for fresh mozzarella. I always find that this is too soupy because of the high moisture content. So I substitute preshredded and it comes out well.
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I AM STARVING AND WANT SOME RIGHT NOW.
And my caplock was a total accident, but man, looks so good!
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I think it would be best to use low-moisture mozzarella!
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Can you use dried tomatoes and get the same result? Or is the whole point to have fresh ingredients?
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Just made this dip and of course couldn’t resist trying it right away. Decided to eat it with Pita Chips….AMAZING!!! It was a little bit watery but it was from the cheese, I just drained a lot of it into the sink and it was fine! It still tastes great! This will definitely be made at our next party~
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The dip was watery using fresh moz cheese, but excellent in flavor in my opinion. I don’t really like basil or tomatoes but I loved this! I will def. try cream cheese because it wasn’t very dip friendly meaning i wouldn’t be able to share it without using fingers to separate it.
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I bet this would be delish over a lightly breaded or even unbreaded boneless chicken breast. Maybe even with a butter/wine sauce over the top.
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This dip did not work out so well. Too watery and too hard to dip a cracker into. WOuldn’t make again.
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What a great idea!!!!!! I am a fond lover of fresh mozz, tomatoes and basil….It looks amazing.
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Try sitting your fresh mozzarella in cheese cloth for a few hours before cooking to let the excess moisture drain away ;)
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This looks absolutely delicious and so so easy!
Will be re-blogging this, thanks for a great recipe.
-Katie
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This looks to die for!! I’m wandering if onions in it would be okay as I am a huge fan of onions in everything!! lol
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I bet it would be good with sun dried tomatoes — that could reduce the water effect.
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I will definitely try this when I harvest my basil and tomatoes !
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Thank you so much for this recipe. I HAVE to make this ASAP!!! It looks absolutely amazing.
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hello my friend! I whipped up this dip for a get together this weekend & it was a huge HIT!! I’m a pin contributor for Better Homes & Gardens – and have pinned your recipe as one of my new favs! You can see it here: http://pinterest.com/pin/56787645271717397/ on this board: http://pinterest.com/bhg/blogger-recipes-we-love/
mmmmm – thanks for sharing (great pictures too!)
c’mon over for a visit anytime:
http://www.NorthernCottage.net (blog)
http://pinterest.com/northernc/(pinterest)
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This is so perfect to have out for company – much more interesting (and tasty) than a simple salsa recipe!
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I’m thinking roasting the tomatoes, drizzled in a little olive oil, in the oven first would amp up the flavor and control the moisture issue at the same time.
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I just made this dip tonight and it was good! I would however add some freshly ground pepper or something to give it a little more flavor. And I’m wondering…could the moisture be from the fresh mozzarella instead of the tomatoes? Mine came out really watery and I’m pretty sure the amount of tomatoes I had in it could not have produced that much moisture.
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This is the BEST ever, I did change the recipe because of the comments and I found a white pizza dip and modified this. I used 8 oz shredded Mozzarella , 8 oz of Room Temp cream cheese. I did not measure the Bail I chopped and stirred it all together and I used a little sea salt. baked at 375 for 20 minutes topped with a little more cheese and broiled for 5 more minutes this is HEAVEN Thank you for sharing
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I tried this tonight, but used a regular nicely flavored mozza. It worked out amazing! We could have eaten the whole thing each!
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I bet this would taste even more amazing with balsamic drizzled on it!!
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I made this yesterday. Drained and seeded the tomatoes thoroughly. It was very watery and the cheese was very stringy and rubbery. I would not make this again.
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just wondering if you could put this in a crockpot?
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Jessica — December 31st, 2012 @ 9:27 am
I don’t think you should just because of the fresh mozzarella – if I were you I’d do this dip instead: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/07/white-pizza-dip/
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Mmmm! I am most definitely making this soon! Love your website, very well put together. Please feel free to check out some of my recipes at http://www.thebiteiswrite.com for some new ideas! :)
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If I put this back in the oven when it’s been out for a few minutes, will the extra liquid kind of bake back off?
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