Flavorful Caprese Salad is made with ripe tomatoes, sliced mozzarella, and fresh basil. It can be served as an appetizer or as a side dish.
Caprese salad is a simple Italian recipe that is the colors of their flag. The classic salad has only olive oil on top, but adding a balsamic glaze has become a popular variation.
Everything You Need To Make This Recipe
Caprese Salad Ingredients
There are only a few ingredients in Caprese salad, so choose the best ones you can get.
- Tomatoes: We used tomatoes that were about the same size as the mozzarella we bought, but you can use any kind of tomatoes, so go with your favorite ripe ones! If you prefer to make this salad in a bowl, choose grape or cherry tomatoes.
- Mozzarella Cheese: For this salad, you’ll need fresh, soft mozzarella cheese, which you can find near the deli area of the grocery store. To make this salad in a bowl, you can use mozzarella pearls.
- Basil: We added basil leaves as well as sliced basil to this salad so that every bite gets a little basil!
- Olive Oil: Choose a high-quality extra-virgin olive oil for the best flavor!
- Spices: Season this salad with coarse salt and coarse ground black pepper.
- Balsamic Glaze: The balsamic glaze is optional, it is not part of the classic salad, but it adds additional flavor if you choose to use it.
How To Make A Caprese Salad
A Caprese salad is ready in minutes! All you need to do is simply slice, assemble, and garnish.
- Prep: Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella into evenly thick slices and then cut the basil into thin strips.
- Assembly: Arrange the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil on a platter. See the FAQs below for additional options.
- Garnish: Drizzle the olive oil over the salad, then sprinkle with salt and pepper, and finish with a balsamic glaze, if desired.
Caprese Salad Frequently Asked Questions
It is eaten with a fork. Use the fork to cut a piece of tomato and mozzarella to eat together in one bite.
It can be served with pasta, pizza, chicken, or sandwiches. You can also serve it as an appetizer.
Yes! Cut the tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil into bite sides pieces and put them on top of a bed of fresh lettuce. The salad with olive oil, balsamic glaze, salt, and pepper for the dressing.
When making this for a party, you can serve cherry tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and basil leaves on cocktail picks. Or mix cherry tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and fresh basil together in a bowl and use the olive oil and balsamic glaze as the dressing.
Want more summer recipes? Try these next:
Chicken Lettuce Wraps are full of flavor and color! The lettuce leaves are used as a taco shell and are filled with chicken and thinly sliced veggies with peanut sauce on top.
Our family loves this Taco Salad topped with diced tomatoes, sweet corn, black beans, taco meat, diced onions, shredded cheese, and creamy salsa dressing.
This Mango Chicken Kabobs recipe is perfect for summer! The marinade is made with mango and pineapple pieces as well as coconut milk, pineapple juice, and fresh ginger!
Lemon Chicken with asparagus is ready in only 10 minutes! It’s a good way to use leftover chicken or you can make it with rotisserie chicken.
Caprese Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 medium tomatoes
- 1 lb fresh mozzarella
- 1 bunch fresh basil
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoon balsamic glaze optional
Instructions
- Slice the tomatoes and fresh mozzarella into 1/4 inch thick slices.
- To chiffonade the basil, stack five or six basil leaves, roll them up into a tight roll, and slice them into thin strips.
- Arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter. Tuck fresh basil leaves between some of the slices and top with the strips of basil.
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze, if desired.
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