Mozzarella alla pizzaiola is an easy-to-prepare and delicious second course, made with tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil. Similar to eggs alla pizzaiola, this is a very simple recipe featuring buffalo mozzarella that is melted for a few minutes in a rich tomato sauce, making it stretchy and super tasty. You can naturally use either buffalo or cow mozzarella, or even smoked provola, and the result will still be a finger-licking dish!
The recipe is very simple: first, we make a quick tomato sauce with oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, tomato puree, and basil. Once the tomato sauce has reduced, we add the sliced mozzarella and let it melt briefly. At this point, the mozzarella alla pizzaiola is ready to be enjoyed with plenty of bread for dipping, or we can use the tomato sauce to season pasta.
10 minutes of tomato sauce cooking plus a few minutes of mozzarella cooking, and in less than 20 minutes, our dish is ready! A perfect recipe to solve both lunch and dinner in a few minutes because just getting plenty of bread for dipping makes it a great one-dish meal!
To not miss any recipe, follow us on our Facebook page by clicking like HERE, on our Instagram page by clicking “follow” HERE or on TikTok.
Check out also:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients to prepare Mozzarella alla pizzaiola
- 18 oz buffalo mozzarella
- 1.7 cups tomato puree
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- extra virgin olive oil
- basil
- salt
- pepper
Tools to prepare Mozzarella alla pizzaiola
- 1 Pan
- 1 Stovetop
Steps to prepare Mozzarella alla pizzaiola
To prepare mozzarella alla pizzaiola, first pour the olive oil into a pan and add a peeled garlic clove.
Let it sauté on high heat. Then, add the washed and halved cherry tomatoes and the tomato puree.
Season with a few leaves of basil, salt, and pepper, and cook on low heat for about ten minutes or until the sauce has reduced.
Meanwhile, slice the buffalo mozzarella.
Place the mozzarella slices in the pan with the sauce and cook for a few more moments, covering with a lid until the mozzarella has melted.
Add more fresh basil, and at this point, Mozzarella alla pizzaiola is ready to be served.
Simo and Cicci recommend
You can store Mozzarella alla pizzaiola in the fridge for 1 day, although it’s best consumed right away.
You can replace buffalo mozzarella with cow’s milk mozzarella, or alternatively, you can use fresh provola.
You can replace basil or add other herbs like oregano or parsley. For an even more Mediterranean flavor, you can add capers and black olives.
If you don’t like garlic, you can omit it or replace it with chopped onion or shallot.
With the sauce made from preparing mozzarella alla pizzaiola, you can also decide to season pasta, rice, or another type of grain.
