If you love Caprese salad as much as I do, get your fix at breakfast with these Caprese-style Baked Eggs! Though I bake this, you can just as easily make it on the stove too – and it’s faster. I’ve provided directions for both methods in the instructions.
Caprese salad is a brilliant example of Italian genius-ness: combining a few simple ingredients that go together so well it makes you want to do the happy dance with every bite. Just tomato, buffalo mozzarella/bocconcini, basil and balsamic vinegar. I’m in the syrupy balsamic camp, but plain is fine too!
I make Caprese salad on platters to serve as a shared appetizer. I thread it onto skewers for finger food. I make toasted sandwiches, toss it through pasta. I even stuff it into chicken breast – have you tried that before? Mmmm….it is SO GOOD!
How is it that it was only a few weeks ago that I thought to have it for breakfast in baked egg form??
Beans in a fragrant tomato sauce with fresh bursts of basil. Eggs gently baked in the sauce, topped with beautifully blistered cherry tomatoes. Bocconcini cheese – some melted, some fresh. A scattering of fresh basil, a drizzle of syrupy balsamic and…..woah…..
Breakfast Caprese. With the added bonus of runny yolk to dip your crusty bread in. 😉
(And let’s just get the obvious out of the way – that’s not my Baby Hands. It’s my mother’s. Pity she didn’t pass her hand-genes down to me. 😆)
I had a very fleeting moment when I fretted that these Caprese Baked Eggs looked “too messy” to share. But you know what? I have never and will never choose my recipes based on how pretty they are.
It might look a mess, but this is a beautiful mess.
What a way to start a Sunday morning!
Stay in your PJ’s. Bottomless coffee. Who needs to go to out to a posh bistro for brunch? – Nagi x
MY FAVOURITE BREKKI/BRUNCHY EGG RECIPES
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Healthy Egg Muffins – grab ‘n go brekki!
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Shakshuka (Middle Eastern Baked Eggs)
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Frittata – a classic everyone should know!
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Quiche Lorraine (must try at least once!)
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Caprese Baked Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- ½ small onion , diced (brown, white or yellow)
- 14 oz / 400g can cannellini beans (or other beans of choice)
- 14 oz / 400g can crushed tomato
- ¼ cup chicken broth/stock (or water)
- 1 tbsp mixed Italian herbs , dried (Note 1 for substitution)
- ½ tsp sugar (optional) (Note 2)
- Salt and pepper
- 7 oz / 200g cherry tomatoes (1/2 punnet)
- ½ cup (packed) basil leaves roughly torn
- 6 oz / 180g bocconcini , sliced OR buffalo mozzarella, torn (Note 3)
- 4 eggs
Balsamic Syrup
- 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Salt
To Serve
- Toasted crusty bread slices
Instructions
- Heat oven to 180C/350F. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat.
- Add garlic and onion and sauté for 3 minutes or until translucent.
- Add cannellini beans, tomato, chicken broth, herbs, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to simmer, turn down heat to medium and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Stir through HALF the basil.
- Make dents in the mixture using the back of a wooden spoon. Crack eggs into the dent. Top with cherry tomatoes and most of the bocconcini around the eggs.
- Transfer to the oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until whites are just set but yolks are still runny (or to taste).
- Sprinkle over remaining basil and bocconcini cheese. Either drizzle the Balsamic Syrup over in the skillet or serve on the side for people to help themselves. Serve with crusty bread!
Balsamic Syrup
- Place balsamic vinegar, sugar and salt in a small frypan or saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to simmer then turn down to medium. Simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until syrupy. It's ready when your spatula leaves a path when you run it across the bottom of the frypan. Set aside until required. Use hot or at room temperature - it thickens as it cools.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Mode 1 of 4: sleeping. (The other 3 modes are: playing, eating, hoping to eat)
A stunning mess I say lol, gorgeous and I love runny yolks! So pretty with the tomatoes on the vine. I think I have everything at home for Sunday brunch 🙂
Runny yolks are DA BOMB!!! 🙂
This looks so so good!! I know I would love it 🙂
Thanks hun!!! 🙂
Nagi! If we ever met and you made this Caprese Baked Eggs for me, you and I will be friends forever and ever and ever and ever 🙂 …. Beautiful clicks Nagi, and the lighting is perfect!
Awww, thank you Muna!! Hope you are having a WONDERFUL weekend!! N x
These look wonderful! What an interesting take on caprese! Not messy at all!
Thanks Victoria!!! Isn’t caprese just the best?? <3
Your Caprese eggs look fabulous not messy. Gorgeous photos!
Thanks Barbara!! Hope you’re having a FAB weekend! 🙂
I would eat this messy recipe, breakfast, lunch or dinner. Another Winner….thanks:)
Awww, thanks Lyn!!! Glad you like the look of it even if it’s a mess!! 😉 N x
These look sooooo good. I am definitely going to make these one weekend! What a beautiful medley of deliciousness. YUM!
THANKS GLORIA!!!! Nice bright sunny colours to kick off a weekend! 🙂
Those eggs look scrumptious! Breakfast is such a difficult meal to be creative with but I love your combo of caprese + eggs! Simply genius.
Thank you so much!!! I know, I get stuck on breakfast quite often actually, which is why I tend to only do one or two a month!
Omg, it’s like eggs in purgatory meets caprese and have a love child! And so not a mess! Comfort food such as this shouldn’t be styled too much anyway, keeps it inviting 🙂 This is so genius, Nagi! As always you’re making me incredibly hungry!
Right back at you! That salmon curry video….ugh. You inspired me to make a red curry recipe too!!!
This looks like heaven in a skillet! Thank you!
Thanks Rocelle!! So glad you like the look of it, I was worried it looked too messy! 🙂
Hello-Although I am a new follower, you need to know I am enjoying your posts a lot. Thank you.
Thank you Inge! I hope you enjoy my recipes!! 🙂
That beautiful mess is coming camping with us this year. It is such a simple but beautiful recipe. Love love your pictures!
Oooh YES!!! HOW have I never made this camping before???!!!
Looks amazing! Can’t wait to try, but one question – when do I add the cheese? I couldn;t find it in the recipe. I assume with the eggs and tomatoes?
Gah. Sorry Thea! Fixed 🙂 Most of it gets added on top before baking, then I use the rest after it comes out of the oven 🙂
I would love waking up to a beautiful mess like this! My kind of breakfast, brunch, whatever?
ME TOO!!! I eat eggs all day! 🙂
Messy ? You are Nuts! You have got me fired up this morning with this breakfast – Love just about everything you have going on in here. What an Elegant breakfast!!!
Elegant?? BA HA! You’re being too NICE!!!! 😉
I would use Fat Free Chicken Broth, and just plain Balsamic on the side. I am a Diabetic who had a heart attack last year so I am trying to watch my fat AND Carb intake.
That will be just fine Sally!! If you wanted to drop the fat more you could even substitute the cheese with an even lower fat cheese. Even dollops of ricotta would be delicious!!
Hi Nagi! I’d eat this beautiful “mess” any time! I prefer real food and this has it all! And those eggs… 🙂 Another winner!
Thanks Dorothy!! Glad you approve 🙂 Hope you and Gary are having a wonderful Valentine’s Day weekend! Who’s cooking?? 😉 N x
Hi Nagi! Happy Valentines Day! I made brunch, a take on your honey glazed pork tenderloin. Thin slices of pork drizzled with honey and sauteed in a skillet served on hot biscuits! 🙂 I also made a my chocolate cake with fulffy peanut butter frosting. Dinner is on Gary…pan roasted duck breast with an orange, honey and balsamic glaze, asparagus and new potatoes poached in milk with herbs. I’m happy (except for the fact that we have gotten 4″ of snow in the last hour)! I really don’t care because we don’t have to go anywhere until this stuff melts! 🙂
Awww…..you two…..you are both amazing! One day you have to send me a photo. ❤️Pretty please?? PS that duck…..sounds incredible! I was actually about to start a red duck curry recipe! What are the chances?? ?
This is DEFINITELY my kind of thing!! I did a shakshuka baked eggs recipe last week but I LOVE the caprese baked eggs idea! It looks absolutely gorgeous!
Thanks Lauren!!! Hope you’re having a fab weekend! N x
This is such a beautiful looking and delicious mess! I’ve never thought of baking caprese, with eggs some more, the runny yolk is simply irresistible!
Thanks so much Jasline!!! I have a theory runny yolk can make anything better …. 😉