This easy Caprese salad is filled with ripe tomatoes, mozzarella balls, fresh basil and then topped with a homemade balsamic glaze for a simple summer side dish!
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Tomato Mozzarella Salad
This is one of my favorite dishes to bring to a BBQ. It’s so fresh and flavorful and incredibly simple to whip up. Some of my other top picks are pasta salad with Italian dressing, Greek salad and cucumber tomato salad.
A fresh Caprese salad is the ultimate summer side dish! You just can’t go wrong with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil topped with balsamic. For an easy appetizer, I love to layer it on toast for bruschetta Caprese or make Caprese bread. I have even made Caprese pizza!
A classic Caprese salad recipe is made with slices of tomatoes, sliced mozzarella and larger pieces of basil on top. While I love the original version, I find chopping the ingredients is much easier to eat and perfect for a serving a crowd.
Recipe Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Tomatoes: I prefer to use cherry tomatoes because they are a great size and hold up really well. I add in about 1 pint, sliced in half.
- Basil: Make sure to use fresh basil leaves. It makes all the difference and adds so much flavor.
- Mozzarella: I love to use mini fresh mozzarella balls because they are the perfect size! No additional slicing required. If you can’t find them, you can dice up a big mozzarella ball into 1-inch pieces.
- Dressing: The balsamic dressing is simple, yet super flavorful. It consists of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, black pepper and dried oregano. If you don’t have oregano, you can mix in dried thyme instead.
- Optional: I love to drizzle on some balsamic reduction glaze right before serving. You can either make your own or buy it from the store.
How to Make Caprese Salad
The simplicity of this salad is allowing the fresh summer flavors to shine through for an absolutely delicious taste!
- Combine ingredients. Place the tomatoes, mozzarella balls and fresh chopped basil in a large bowl.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and dried oregano.
- Toss salad in dressing. Pour the dressing over the tomato mixture and toss to combine. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Drizzle with balsamic glaze. Before serving, add more basil and S&P to taste. Drizzle with balsamic glaze if desired.
Expert Tips
- You can make your own balsamic glaze or use a store bought version.
- Can add in extras like sliced avocados or even mix in some fresh pesto for more basil flavor.
- This dish tastes best if served immediately, however it can be refrigerated for up to 1 day in an airtight container.
- For a traditional caprese salad, add sliced vine tomatoes, sliced mozzarella and larger pieces of basil to a large plate. Then sprinkle salt and pepper on top and drizzle on some olive oil.
- Bulk it up with some cooked pasta to make a caprese pasta salad.
How to Serve Caprese Salad
This salad is delicious as is or try it piled on toast with some smashed avocado. You can make a light meal out of it or pair with these main dishes.
- Summertime BBQ: Try it as a side with hamburgers, grilled chicken or grilled steak.
- Parties. For potlucks, baby showers or wedding showers, I love to serve with a cucumber sandwich.
- Chicken dinner: Try it with chicken kabobs and some grilled potatoes.
- Seafood: Grilled shrimp skewers or salmon are also delicious alongside this Caprese salad.
This salad is name after the island of Capri where it is said to have originated. Capri is an island in Italy and this salad is called ‘Insalata Caprese’ which translates to the salad of Capri.
If you would like to. You can opt to season with only salt, pepper and olive oil. I find this works best when tomatoes are at their peak during the summertime. The balsamic adds additional flavor during months where tomatoes are not in season.
For this chopped Caprese salad, I prefer halved cherry tomatoes although grape tomatoes work as well. If you are layering slices of the salad, heirloom tomatoes are popular.
Fresh mozzarella is a key ingredient in this salad. You could try fresh burrata cheese but I would not use low moisture or part-skim mozzarella as it will change the texture of the salad and add additional salt.
Can’t get enough Caprese recipes? Me either! Try these Caprese kabobs, grilled Caprese sandwich and one pot chicken Caprese pasta.
More Tomato Recipes
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Caprese Salad Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes , sliced in half
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano or thyme
- ¼ cup chopped basil
- 1 cup mozzarella balls
Balsamic glaze, for serving
Instructions
- Place the tomatoes, mozzarella balls and freshly chopped basil in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and dried oregano.
- Pour the dressing over the tomato mixture and toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Add more basil or salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with balsamic glaze if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: 4th of July, Reader Favorites, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetarian, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Made this salad for friends with cherry tomatoes from the garden! Served well chilled. It was delicious! Such a simple salad to prepare! It was perfect!
So glad you could enjoy your fresh garden produce in this salad!
I used a balsamic glaze on this. It was a wonderful salad!
Thanks for the review!
This salad was amazing. I bought the balls already marinated in olive oil and herbs. Italian bread goes great with this.😊
Yum! So glad it was hit!
This is simple and perfect!
So glad you enjoy it!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! So one thing I did was chopped up sweet basil and also cinnamon Basil and combined in the salad and it had the most Amazing Flavor that had a little spice to the flavor that set it over the moon!! Of course you can just buy cinnamon basil in stores,unless it’s garden season and you can buy in pots but I had some for the summer that was amazing and TRY THIS COMBO!! You will be glad you did!!
Sounds delicious! I will have to try it with the cinnamon basil!
I love this salad! I did added some leftover shrimp, but forgot the balsamic glaze. I wish I had added some garlic. But, I will definitely make this again!
So glad you enjoyed it!
This was delicious!
How big is a serving? 1/2 cup?
Yes about 1/2 cup (depending on how big your tomatoes are it could be more like 1/3 cup).
LOVE this fresh and healthy Salad!
I am so glad that you love this caprese salad! It is a quick and easy salad to make!
Made this tonight and it disappeared FAST! We are huge basil lovers, and this was the perfect summer side dish to our grilled chicken.
Yay! That is always a plus! This caprese salad is full of basil and all the flavor!
Delicious Salad!!
I will make it again!
I did put an avocado in it just because I had one that needed to be eaten!
I made the salad about an hour before it was eaten. Yummy!
I think I’m going to be eating this caprese salad all summer. There is nothing better than fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. The balsamic glaze is the perfect addition to top off this delicious dish.
This is my favorite salad!! The balsamic glaze is perfect & adds so much flavor!
This salad was so refreshing and delicious! It’s perfect for the summer weather, I can’t wait to make it again!
Loved your recipe! I, too, used my own tomatoes and basil. It was delicious and so simple to make!
Great! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Kim :)
As delicious as it is simple! Used my fresh garden basil and it was outstanding! I did cut the mozzarella balls in half but other than that followed the recipe exactly. Will make again and again and again!
I’m so happy to hear you loved it! Fresh garden basil is the best :)
Every time I make this for myself, I have to guard it from my family because it’s that good!
Love to hear that! Thanks for your comment, Stacia :)
Perfect