25 Tomato Recipes + THE BEST Caprese Salad
These 25 tomato recipes are perfect for highlighting summer’s best tomatoes, but many of these recipes can be made year-round!
There isn’t much better than peak-season tomatoes. These juicy red gems are truly something special, and I think they rival most other summer produce offerings. From apps like my favorite gazpacho to pastas and mains like my popular 30-minute caprese chicken, these 25 tomato recipes have something for everyone’s tomato-loving-palate. While many of them are perfect for putting summer’s best tomatoes to good use, you can totally bookmark these to make any time of the year.
Tomato Appetizers
From refreshing gazpacho to caprese crostini, these little bites are perfect for summer entertaining.
This traditional gazpacho recipe is a refreshing no-cook cold soup, featuring a mix of fresh veggies and tomato-based vegetable juice for a perfect blend of smooth and chunky textures.
Simple, summery and a great little appetizer with a salty parmesan bowl of its own, these Heirloom Tomato Caprese Frico Cups make singing the swan song to summer a little easier.
These Italian crostini caprese appetizer bites with roasted tomatoes, prosciutto, and melted mozzarella cheese on sliced baguette are so so delicious and easy to whip up, everyone will be calling for more.
Tomato Salads
Whether you’re team caprese or can’t resist a classic wedge, these bright and irresistible salads are brimming with ripe, juicy tomatoes, and I’ve got a salad to please everyone’s palate.
The sweetness from just-picked garden tomatoes is hard to find year round, so I roast my tomatoes on a foil-lined sheet pan to give them an irresistible candied flavor in this summery caprese salad.
This classic wedge salad recipe features iceberg lettuce, tomato, crumbled bacon, chives, and an easy, creamy, homemade blue cheese dressing you’ll crave time and time again.
This easy, healthy tomato salad is studded with fresh Mediterranean flavors to eat a simple side salad or a topping for chicken, fish, steak or pork. It goes with everything!
This light and healthy salad takes just 10 minutes with a sharp knife for a little slicing and chopping to pull together and is the perfect addition to any potluck barbecue.
This simple corn salad gets a BLT flavor upgrade with sweet cherry tomatoes, peppery arugula, salty bacon, and tender basil for a great summer salad side dish.
This simple tomato, cucumber, and avocado salad gets a spicy Mexican-flavor kick from jalapeños and a fresh lime and chile dressing that makes it a terrific side dish for any meal.
The best caprese salad shows off summer’s finest with creamy mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes topped with fresh leafy basil and fruity olive oil. Serve the salads individually or turn this simple Italian staple into a party by creating a DIY caprese salad bar where everyone can help themselves.
When fresh corn and tomatoes are at their summer best, this easy salad with creamy avocados that’s simply dressed with a hint of Mexican jalapeño, lime juice, and garlic, is a healthy recipe that’s sure to become the star side dish of every potluck and barbecue you make it for.
Panzanella is a healthy Tuscan bread salad recipe made with the sweetest ripe tomatoes, chunks of cucumber, slivered onion, and capers with a simple vinaigrette and fresh basil, perfect for summertime eats.
Creamy, dreamy burrata subs in for traditional buffalo mozzarella in this delicious twist on the classic caprese salad, for a light and easy summer appetizer or side to any dish.
Tomato Pastas
From homemade pesto to pomodoro, these pasta dishes showcase the best of summer’s tomatoes.
This easy caprese pasta salad recipe steeps cherry tomatoes in a garlic-infused oil that becomes the dressing over any type of pasta with sliced mozzarella, capers, lemon, and basil making it a healthy potluck recipe that’s perfectly ripe for brunch, lunch, or a dinner everyone will love.
This easy pasta dish comes together in less than 15 minutes with a fresh tomato sauce made even healthier with whole wheat pasta and spinach that’s topped with creamy ricotta cheese.
A simple pasta topped with fresh tomato pomodoro sauce couldn’t be more authentically Italian, and like most things Italian, simplicity is key in this 5-ingredient recipe that’s ready in just 20 minutes.
Busy weeknights call for simple recipes that can be pulled together in a flash, and nothing’s simpler or more satisfying than a basic, homemade basil pesto pasta with fresh, plump cherry tomatoes.
This 5-ingredient pasta salad recipe has all of the flavors of traditional Caesar salad with the addition of kale and sweet roasted cherry tomatoes for an easy and healthy potluck pasta salad.
Tomato Mains
From the classic BLT to the caprese chicken you can make in just 30 minutes, these these tomato dishes are sure to satisfy your next tomato craving.
With store-bought pesto, cherry tomatoes, leafy basil, and thick sliced fresh mozzarella, you can make this chicken caprese, skillet dinner in under 30 minutes.
This caprese flatbread recipe is an easy way to take advantage of the best of the season’s fresh tomatoes, basil, and of course mozzarella, making it the perfect appetizer bite or as an easy vegetarian dinner.
Chicken quinoa bowls have staked their healthy claim on quick and easy meal-prep dinners that are flexible enough to mix and match ingredients for take-to-work lunches that never get boring, too.
This 5-ingredient BLT recipe is everything a BLT should be — with smoky bacon, perfectly toasted white bread, crisp iceberg lettuce, and juicy ripe tomatoes.
Grilled rosemary bread is a delicious base for this grilled chicken caprese sandwich. It features fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil, farmer’s market tomatoes, and a balsamic reduction for a classic flavor combination you just can’t beat.
Peak Tomato Recipes
If you do two things with tomatoes before summer ends, it should be making quick roasted tomatoes and roasted tomato sauce to save and enjoy through the fall (your future self will thank you!).
Quick roasted tomatoes in the oven create a savory sweetness that’s delicious when made into a simple roasted tomato sauce on pasta, as a soup, or served as appetizers, no matter what time of year.
This roasted tomato sauce is made with 6 simple ingredients and requires less than 10 minutes of hands-on prep work. Enjoy now or freeze it for later!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
25 Tomato Recipes + THE BEST Caprese Salad
Caprese salads show summer’s best with creamy mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes topped with fresh leafy basil and fruity olive oil. Serve the salads individually or turn this simple Italian staple into a party by creating a DIY caprese salad bar where everyone can help themselves.
Servings 8
Calories 264kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh mozzarella , cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella balls , such as ciliegine or bocconcini, drained
- 3 pounds tomatoes , (about 6 large heirlooms, or assorted fresh garden tomatoes)
- 1 bunch fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup fruity extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze
Instructions
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Place the mozzarella on a large board or platter with the drained mozzarella balls. Slice the tomatoes into wedges and assemble individual salads on plates with the mozzarella and basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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If desired, drizzle with balsamic glaze, seasoned salts, toasted pine nuts or add pesto and romesco sauce. Serve prosciutto on the side of desired.
Notes
Consider sprucing up your DIY Caprese Salad Bar even more by adding flavored salts and sauces. Pesto, romesco sauce, and olive spreads make great toppings. Use antipasto ingredients that compliment the Mediterranean palate as well. Sliced stone fruits and melons are terrific accompaniments as well.
Nutrition
Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 364mg | Potassium: 446mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1853IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 305mg | Iron: 1mg
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