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Tomato mozzarella caprese salad

Caprese salad presentation ideas

Caprese salad, or insalata caprese, is a classic Italian appetizer or salad; it is made with fresh mozzarella, ripe tomatoes, basil leaves, and usually drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. There are many different variations of this traditional dish: I’ve had it served as a salad with greens or arugula, with capers, with onions, and there are modern caprese variations that replace the tomatoes with avocado, peaches, strawberries, etc.

Tomato mozzarella caprese salad

I do sometimes add fresh basil leaves, whole or chopped, when I prepare this caprese salad; however lately I prefer to make a basil oil sauce that I drizzle over the tomatoes and mozzarella.

The basil oil sauce is similar to a more liquid pesto sauce (without the cheese or pine nuts), and is made by blending olive oil, basil and garlic. Using the sauce, instead of the whole leaves, allows the flavor of basil to be more distributed on the entire salad – plus it’s so addictive. You can use regular balsamic vinegar, but if you have time I highly recommend making a balsamic reduction which will give you a much more flavorful and concentrated sauce.

Tomato mozzarella salad

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Tomato mozzarella caprese salad

Tomato mozzarella caprese salad

Easy recipe for homemade tomato and mozzarella caprese salad with balsamic vinegar reduction and basil garlic oil.
4.75 from 221 votes
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Course: Appetizer, Salad
Cuisine: American, International, Italian
Keyword: Basil, Caprese, Tomato mozzarella salad
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8 people as a salad or 12-16 people as an appetizer platter

Ingredients

Optional side:

  • Slices of bread to help soak up the sauces

Instructions

  • Slice, quarter or halve the tomatoes, based on your preferred salad presentation.
  • Slice, quarter or leave the mozzarella whole, again based on you would like to assemble the salad.

For a caprese salad platter:

  • Arrange the salad on a large platter; you can use one or two platters depending on the size. If using slices, you can add the tomato slices first and then either add the mozzarella slices on top, or stack them alternating the cheese and tomato slices in a slightly diagonal way. For a rectangular or square platter, you can create straight horizontal layers, and for a round platter you can form round spiral like layers.
  • You can also place the mozzarella, whole or quartered, in the center of the platter, and arrange the tomatoes, sliced or quartered, around the cheese.
  • Drizzle the tomato mozzarella salad with the basil garlic oil and the balsamic reduction
  • Serve immediately

For individual caprese tomato stacks:

  • Place a tomato slice on a small or medium sized plate, add a sliced of fresh mozzarella, drizzle a small amount of the basil oil on top of the mozzarella.
  • Repeat the same process until you have 2-3 layers of tomato and mozzarella. Drizzle the balsamic reduction on top of the caprese salad stacks.
  • Serve immediately.

For a cherry tomato and pearl mozzarella salad:

  • Use cherry or grape tomatoes, you can leave them whole or slice them in halves.
  • Place the mozzarella pearls or ciliegine in a bowl, add the basil oil and mix well.
  • Mix in the cherry tomatoes.
  • Drizzle with the balsamic reduction right before serving.

This tomato mozzarella salad is my oldest son’s favorite salad; it is guaranteed that if we go out to dinner and he sees caprese salad on the menu, he will choose it over anything else. While visiting family in Europe this summer, we found it everywhere on the menu in France, but surprisingly it was less common to see it on the menu in Italy – though of course most restaurants had the ingredients on hand, so if we asked they would make it.

Heirloom tomato caprese salad preparation Caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes
This salad can be customized based on the type of tomatoes you have available, it can made with regular vine tomatoes, it is delicious with a mix of heirloom tomatoes, and can also be made with cherry or grape tomatoes. There are different types of fresh mozzarella, made with cow milk or buffalo, and you can use your favorite to make this salad: the freshly made artisan style large balls in brine to the smaller fresh pearls or ciliegine to the deliciously creamy burrata mozzarella.

Caprese salad

The presentation of the tomato mozzarella caprese salad can also be customized based on your preference: you can slice the tomatoes and the cheese, you can cut them into quarters, for a caprese salad using burrata you can leave it whole on the center of the serving plate and arrange the tomatoes around it, for a salad using cherry tomatoes and mozzarella pearls you can leave them whole or slice them in half, you can create layered stacks, and more.

Caprese salad with basil oil Caprese salad recipe
The ratio of tomatoes to mozzarella can be adjusted based on your preference (and budget), I usually use about 4-6 tomatoes (depending on the size) to one pound (16 oz) of fresh mozzarella. However, if I’m using a very expensive mozzarella, then I will probably use less cheese. In the US, Costco is one of my favorite places to buy fresh mozzarella, they have the 2-packs of sliced mozzarella and also the large container of mozzarella di buffala in brine, and both are great value for parties. One of the local grocery stores also has a very good mozzarella that they make in house; it’s more expensive than Costco, so I use it only for super special occasions.

Cherry tomato caprese salad Tomato mozzarella salad with basil oil

Step by step preparation photos for tomato mozzarella caprese salad

Heirloom tomatoes for caprese salad Sliced heirloom tomatoes Cherry and grape tomatoes for caprese salad

Arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices in slightly diagonal layers Or place the mozzarella slices on top of the tomato slices

Arrange the tomato and mozarella slices in a round spiral layer if using a round platter You can also place a ball of fresh mozarella in the center and arrange quartered tomatoes around it

Another option is to use cherry tomatoes and mozzarella pearls

Tomato caprese

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One Comment

  1. So I had a serious case of munchies and headed to my neighborhood market. Just needed bread, tomas, and the herb! Well I purchased mint on “accident purpose” and made it a sandwich. Oh my, what a wonderful twist on a classic!! The sweet from the mint and tomatoes married and had delicious babies? So good!!!! And that oil blend…dip dip dip!!!!!

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