Fresh mozzarella in flaky puff pastry with sun-dried tomatoes and roasted peppers makes for a perfect appetizer. Fill the dough ahead of time and then chill them in the fridge until your company arrives, bake and eat. Simple and delicious!
I really like having an appetizer recipe in my back pocket that I can always have the ingredients for. Puff pastry can be bought at the grocery store in the frozen department and stored in your freezer so that you can make these anytime. The only other real requirement is cheese.
This recipe calls for fresh mozzarella, but any kind of cheese cut into cubes will work. The recipe also calls for sundried tomatoes and roasted peppers, both of which can be kept in your pantry. But if you don’t have them, go with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of garlic powder. It’s cheese in puffed pastry! Of course it will be good!
Making Mozzarella In Puff Pastry
While the oven preheats, combine the sun-dried tomatoes and roasted red pepper in a bowl. Cut the fresh mozzarella into 18 equal pieces.
Each sheet of puff pastry will get cut into 9 pieces – cut into 3 strips lengthwise, and then each into 3 rectangles by cutting widthwise. Each piece of pastry will get a piece of cheese and about half a teaspoon of the tomato and pepper mixture.
Next, use a pastry brush (or your fingers) to lightly moisten the edges of puff pastry with water. Then, use your fingers to bring diagonally opposite corners together and pinch to secure. Do the same with the remaining two corners and then pinch all four together. Repeat with all pieces of pastry.
Put all the puffs on a lined pan and put into the oven for 15 minutes at 350°F and then increase to 425°F for another 5-10 minutes until the tops are a perfect golden brown. Let rest a few minutes before serving.
Make Ahead Of Time
You can absolutely make these earlier in the day before your guests arrive. Prepare them as instructed and put them onto the parchment on the pan and put it into the fridge. When you’re ready, they go straight from the fridge into the oven 25 minutes before you want to serve them.
Another cheesy appetizer recipe that you should also check out is my Baked Brie with Red Peppers. That is one of my all-time favorites!
Have a great day! – Christine xo
PrintMozzarella in Puff Pastry
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 8 oz. ball of fresh mozzarella
- 5 tsp. of chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 5 tsp. of chopped roasted red peppers
- 17.3 oz. package of puff pastry sheets (two sheets total), thawed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large pan with parchment paper (or use a silpat).
- In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes and the peppers.
- Cut the mozzarella into 18 equal-sized pieces. Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 9 equal-sized pieces (make three cuts lengthwise through the sheet and then three cuts widthwise).
- Onto each rectangle of puff pastry place a piece of cheese and about 1/2 teaspoon of the tomato and pepper mixture.
- Use a pastry brush to moisten the edges of one rectangle of puff pastry lightly with water. Use your fingers to bring diagonally opposite corners together. Pinch and then bring the other two corners up and pinch them all together. Repeat the moistening and pinching with all the pieces of pastry.
- Transfer the bundles to the lined pan and place into the oven for 15 minutes. Increase the heat to 425°F and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
- Let rest for a couple of minutes before serving.
Notes
To make in advance: Prepare them as instructed and put them onto the parchment on the pan and stick the whole lot into the fridge. Put them straight from the fridge into the oven 25 minutes before you want to serve them.
This post originally appeared in November 2012 and was revised and republished in November 2020.