Burrata Toast Appetizer

Fresh, flavorful ingredients are the key to making a dish the best it can be. That is especially true for our burrata toast appetizer recipe. Honestly, the recipe itself isn’t that complicated, but it’s combining fresh ingredients in the right proportions that makes it taste incredible. Creamy burrata, crunchy yet fluffy bread, ripe tomatoes, and fresh basil combine to create an easy, light and fun appetizer.

This recipe was inspired by an appetizer from our favorite restaurant in Paso Robles called La Cosecha. Their burrata toast goes above and beyond with pesto and crispy pancetta in addition to burrata, tomatoes, basil, and balsamic. But what really blew us away the first time we tried it was that every single ingredient tasted so fresh and flavorful – you could immediately tell everything was sourced locally. So we kept this idea going in our recipe, while simplifying the flavors down to a delicious, easy to make small plate.

What Is Burrata Toast?

Burrata toast is arguably the best way to serve burrata, a light and creamy Italian cheese. To make a simple burrata toast, all you need to do is spread burrata on toasted bread. But to make our special burrata toast appetizer, you’ll need a few more ingredients.

Here’s what you’ll want to grab at the grocery store for making burrata toast:

• Fresh Italian bread
• Vine tomatoes
• Fresh basil
• Burrata
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar

Like any simple dish, the quality of your ingredients matters for this recipe. Each texture and flavor really stands out when you’re layering the ingredients together in such a way. So, we have a few tips for picking out the best ingredients:

1. Choose a freshly baked loaf of bread that has a crusty outside and soft, fluffy inside. You’ll want these contrasting textures in this fancy appetizer.
2. Look for bright red tomatoes on the vine and bright green basil leaves. (As a general rule, brighter colored produce = fresher and better flavor). Shop for these at your local produce market. Or better yet, pick these ingredients from your own home garden!
3. A good rule for selecting cheese is to buy local. The shorter distance your food has to travel to get to you, the fresher and more flavorful it is. See if you can grab some burrata at your local farmer’s market, or if there’s a somewhat local brand available at your grocery store.
4. Selecting an extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar is like picking out a good wine. There’s a lot of variation in flavor from brand to brand, and it’s easy to end up with flavors that are too acidic or rancid if you don’t choose wisely. We recommend a global blend EVOO and a high-quality balsamic vinegar of modena for this recipe.

How To Make Burrata Toast Appetizers

This recipe for burrata toast with fresh tomatoes and basil is so easy, it’ll only take you 10 minutes or less! Here’s how to make it:

1. First, slice your loaf of bread in half horizontally, so that you have two large pieces with plenty of crust on one side. Then, slice these into roughly 2-inch square pieces.
2. Place the squares of bread crust side down on a baking sheet and broil on LOW until they’re slightly toasted on top, but still fluffy and soft inside, about 3 minutes. Then, carefully transfer the toasted bread to a serving dish, where you’ll assemble the burrata toast appetizers.
3. Next, lightly drizzle each piece of toasted bread with EVOO and balsamic vinegar. We like to drizzle in a diagonal pattern with the EVOO first, then drizzle the balsamic in a diagonal pattern in the opposite direction to create a criss-cross of flavors.
4. Finally, top each toast with a slice of tomato, a generous dollop of burrata, and roughly chopped basil. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Serving Suggestions

Burrata toast is one of the best appetizers for a fancy dinner party because it’s fresh, light, and so easy to make. It only takes about 10 minutes to prepare, so you can start feeding your guests soon after they arrive. We definitely recommend this appetizer for summer gatherings on the patio, since that’s when you’ll find the freshest tomatoes and basil!

We also love including burrata toast as part of our tapas party spreads. It’s the perfect complement to saltier tapas like chorizo and patatas bravas since it’s so fresh and light.

No matter the occasion, if you want a fancy and delicious appetizer, try our elevated burrata toast recipe! Don’t forget to rate, comment, and share if you love it.