Short answer: Stracciatella is a fresh Italian cheese made of shredded mozzarella curd soaked in cream. It is the soft, oozing filling inside burrata. On a pizza menu, “stracciatella” means spoonfuls of this cold, creamy cheese added after the pizza is baked.
What stracciatella cheese is
The name comes from the Italian stracciare, “to tear.” It comes from Apulia in southern Italy, where cheesemakers pulled leftover mozzarella into shreds and soaked them in cream rather than waste them. The result is spoonable, not sliceable: soft strings of curd in thick cream.
It is made from cow's milk (sometimes buffalo), is very perishable, and is sold in tubs. Use it within a few days of opening.
Stracciatella vs burrata vs mozzarella
| Cheese | What it is | Texture | On pizza |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stracciatella | Shredded mozzarella curd in cream | Spoonable, creamy | Dolloped on after baking |
| Burrata | Mozzarella pouch filled with stracciatella | Firm outside, creamy inside | Torn open on top after baking |
| Fresh mozzarella (fior di latte) | Fresh pulled-curd cheese | Soft, springy | Baked on, melts into pools |
| Low-moisture mozzarella | Aged, drier mozzarella | Firm, shreddable | Baked on; the stretchy cheese on most US pizza |
If a menu offers both, stracciatella is basically burrata without the outer skin, so it spreads further and coats every bite.
Why it goes on after baking
Stracciatella is mostly cream. In a hot oven the cream splits and turns greasy, and the curds go rubbery. Spooned onto a hot pizza, it warms slightly at the bottom while staying cool and fresh on top. That contrast is the point.
Classic stracciatella pizza combinations
- Margherita or marinara + stracciatella + basil + EVO: the most common way you will see it.
- Mortadella + pistachio + stracciatella: a modern Italian pizzeria favourite, often on a white base.
- Prosciutto + rocket + stracciatella: added cold after baking.
- Nduja or spicy salami + stracciatella: the cream calms the heat.
- Cherry tomatoes + stracciatella + lemon zest: light, summery, almost a salad on bread.
Using stracciatella at home
- Take it out of the fridge 15–20 minutes before the pizza is done so it is cool, not ice-cold.
- Bake the pizza with its normal cheese (or none, for a marinara base).
- Let the pizza rest 1 minute, then add 2–3 tablespoons per 12-inch pizza in spoonfuls.
- Finish with olive oil, flaky salt, black pepper and basil.
No stracciatella? Tear open a burrata and use the inside, or mix torn fresh mozzarella with a spoonful of heavy cream and a pinch of salt and let it sit 20 minutes. Neither is identical, but both are close.
Other pizza words people look up
Cini (peperoncini sauce), EVO (extra virgin olive oil). Stracciatella belongs in the same group: an Italian menu word for a finish added after the bake.