Caprese Fried Eggs Are A Zesty Way To Enjoy Breakfast

It's not common to find a Caprese salad alongside your bacon and eggs at breakfast time. Rather, the colorful and refreshing dish featuring mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil is more commonly labeled as an antipasto for lunch or dinner. That being said, the culinary world has never been too worried about bringing PM favorites into the AM world. Heck, even Giada De Laurentiis thinks you should eat pasta for breakfast. So, if you're looking to give your breaky a zesty twist, caprese fried eggs might be the meal mash-up for you.

As James Park, aka @jamesyworld, on Instagram demonstrates, this Italian-inspired breakfast starts similarly to TikTok's beloved feta fried eggs. The dish features a generous helping of mozzarella cheese sprinkled across the bottom of a non-stick pan. Park makes sure to get the entire surface of the pan covered and lets the cheese melt on medium heat for about 30 seconds. At that point, he cracks eggs right on top of that melty, gooey cheese.

Following that demonstration, you may be wondering what to cover the remainder of your mozzarella canvas with. The answer to that, friends, is cherry tomatoes. Slice them in half and place them wherever your heart desires. Once your eggs have cooked and your cheese has gotten a nice, crunchy crust on the bottom, transfer your breaky to a plate and top with fresh basil leaves, black pepper, olive oil, lemon zest, and balsamic glaze, and dig in. Buon appetito!

Park's caprese fried eggs had Instagrammers actually excited to hear their alarms go off in the morning so they could make the zesty breakfast dish. "GORGEOUS! Perfect way to use those garden cherry tomatoes," one person commented. "Now we are talking," another Instagrammer quipped.

While a majority of Instagrammers were impressed by this unique recipe, some couldn't help but wonder: where's the salt? It's true that a sprinkling of salt is commonly used to season both fried eggs and Caprese salad. Despite being a lower-sodium cheese, the mozzarella used in the recipe does bring other amazing flavors. If you feel that your breakfast is erring on the side of bland, an extra dash of salt certainly wouldn't hurt. Park also noted in the comments section that he forgot to top his breakfast with a helping of chili crisp, which would also bring some additional flavor.

For those looking to make this breaky a bit heartier, Park suggested serving caprese fried eggs over toast. The addition of avocado would also bring in some extra nutrients. You could also transform this dish into a full-on breakfast sandwich or make caprese-style gashouse eggs. You could go as far as to whip up an entire caprese breakfast casserole if you're feeding a crowd.