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Caprese Puff Pastry Bites
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Caprese Puff Pastry Bites

Make these easy Caprese Puff Pastry Bites for your next gathering! Topped with pesto sauce, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and balsamic glaze.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Caprese Puff Pastry Bites
Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 160kcal
Author: Lois

Equipment

Ingredients

Pesto Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup walnuts
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 cups fresh basil
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese
  • ½ teaspoon lemon zest
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 pinch salt

Tart Ingredients:

  • 2 sheets puff pastry
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded
  • 1 pinch black pepper
  • balsamic vinegar glaze

Instructions

Pesto Instructions:

  • Over medium heat in a skillet, cook the walnuts and whole garlic cloves, unpeeled.
  • Shake the pan to ensure even toasting. After 1-2 minutes, remove the nuts.
  • Toast the garlic for an additional 1-2 minutes. Remove from the pan, peel the garlic, and allow to cool.
  • In a blender, add the basil, nuts, garlic, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, and blend together until you reach a texture that is decently smooth but still slightly chunky.
  • Dump the mixture into a small bowl and stir in the parmesan cheese and pinch of salt with a spoon.

Tarte Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Unroll the puff pastry sheets and cut into 24 circles using a glass cup. The size of the circles should be about 2.5 inches in diameter, so they will fit into the mini muffin tin. You will have some leftover puff pastry dough from cutting out the circles. You can discard these or find another use for them.
  • Prick the dough all over with a fork to help steam escape so the dough doesn’t become too puffy while baking.
  • Press the dough rounds into a mini muffin tin.
  • Bake in the oven for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a spoon to form a well in each puff pastry cup.
  • Fill each tart with about 1 teaspoon of the fresh pesto, 2 or so tomato halves, and a bit of mozzarella cheese.
  • Place back in the oven for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese and toast all the ingredients together.
  • Remove from the oven. Lightly pepper and drizzle with balsamic vinegar glaze. Enjoy immediately or at room temperature!

Notes

  • These won’t keep very well since the puff pastry will get soggy after awhile. They are best enjoyed within a few hours! Definitely wait to drizzle the balsamic glaze until you are ready to eat.
  • You can use a regular muffin tin if you don’t have a mini one, you will just need to cut the puff pastry dough into bigger circles and fill with more pesto, tomatoes, and cheese!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 160kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.4g | Vitamin A: 197IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg