Caprese salad is one of the easiest, most refreshing, summer salads you can serve. You now ask “How To Make A Caprese Salad recipe”? Ummm, chop 3 ingredients and add olive oil, salt and pepper, it’s really that easy.
Our Caprese salad recipe is one of those meals where you want to use the best ingredients possible. Because with so few ingredients, the star of the show needs to shine. Which are fresh, juicy summer tomatoes, good quality fresh mozzarella cheese and bright green just picked basil. Top with good quality extra virgin olive oil, kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper……..my mouth is watering right now!
What is Caprese Salad?
Caprese salad is an Italian salad that at it’s simplest has sliced or chopped tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and sweet basil drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Ironically the ingredients are the colors of the Italian flag!
Caprese Salad Recipe Ingredients
As stated above, our Caprese salad recipe is so simple that the ingredients are important.
Heirloom tomatoes have the richest flavor. See next section for more on different types of tomatoes and which ones are best for Caprese.
The mozzarella really needs to be fresh. If you can buy or don’t mind spending money on Bufala (Buffalo) mozzarella it has a very nice texture and mild taste. Personally, I like it but often will save money and buy the regular fresh mozzarella near the deli department.
Dried basil can be used in an extreme pinch. But nothing beats fresh basil. If you have a sunny area basil is extremely easy to grow, even in the hot summers of Atlanta.
For salt, the bigger grains of course kosher, sea salt or Maldon gives a nice extra crunch and burst of saline flavor that is hard to come by in regular table salt.
A good quality extra virgin olive oil should be used if possible. This is a recipe where you will taste the olive oil. A good reasonable priced olive oil is California Olive Ranch Oil or Colavita olive oil.
None of this is to say you can’t use regular tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and store-bought basil. I’m just saying if you have access to the superior ingredients you can really taste it here.
What Kind Of Tomato Should I Use For Caprese Salad?
If you have access to heirloom tomatoes with their rich, hearty flavor buy them. Farmers market heirloom tomatoes seem to have a stronger flavor than grocery store ones. Why, I don’t know, maybe it’s just the perception of where they are sourced?
Heirlooms often have irregular shapes, what we today call “ugly fruit” that would never conventionally make it to our grocery store. Some innovative companies are now taking those perfectly good fruit and vegetables and putting them to good use.
But it’s expected that Heirloom tomatoes will have that irregular shape, so they bypass the grocery inspectors for look since that’s actually a sign of quality.
Heirloom tomatoes also come in a rainbow of colors. One of my favorite heirlooms is black krim, it has an almost matte black top with a deep red bottom. Zebras are green with yellow stripes. Many are pale red, almost pink and others are bright yellow.
If you can’t find or don’t like the expense of heirloom tomatoes, then try to find Kumato tomatoes. They are inexpensive and have a very similar taste to heirlooms. Kumato tomatoes are a deep red-brown color and are often sold in packs of 3-5 tomatoes. I find them at a reasonable price at Trader Joes.
I’ve also used gold tomatoes from Canada (see picture at beginning of this section). Delicious rich flavor. When my college roomate, Maureen, visited recently we took a chance of these pretty tomatoes.
As we just discussed, pretty doesn’t necessarily mean tasty. But we lucked out. They made a perfect Caprese salad……….and in the middle of winter to boot.
How To Make A Caprese Salad
Wash and dry the tomatoes and basil. You can either slice the tomatoes (more traditional) or chop them into chunks. I actually prefer the chunks which are a little more dramatic and different than the usual presentation.
Pull the basil leaves off the stems. Stack the leaves, roll like a tube, and julienne by slicing on a diagonal.
Slice fresh mozzarella into ¼” round slices. If the mozzarella is large in diameter then cut the round into halves or quarters, basically bite size.
Place mozzarella on serving tray and sprinkle with kosher salt. Add the tomato chunks or slices and sprinkle again with salt. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with julienned basil and grind some pepper over the whole salad.
Now show off your beautiful Caprese salad recipe!
Substitute Ingredients or Additions For Caprese Salad
Some variations of caprese salad use pesto or balsamic vinegar in place of the olive oil. See our Caprese Salad On A Skewer recipe that uses a balsamic vinegar glaze.
Additions like avocado, sweet onion, arugula or olives are not traditional but go well with the original ingredients.
How To Serve Our Caprese Salad Recipe
The easiest way to serve our Caprese salad recipe in on a large platter with a rim, or something to keep tomato juice and olive oil from spilling over the sides. A large bowl can be used but doesn’t show off the beauty of the dish.
Serve with toothpicks and small plates. Or with crispy baguette toast like bruchetta that guests can pile the Caprese on top of the toast.
Caprese salad is typically served as an appetizer before dinner. I like it also as a light lunch or dinner.
You can also serve is as a refreshing side dish for chicken or any protein.
How about serving Caprese as a topper to meat or fish, on pasta (hot or cold), over avocado toast, over fresh greens like arugula or Romaine.
Our Caprese salad recipe is versatile. Serve “as is” or to bring another dish alive.
Best Summer Salads
Try our other summer salad recipes like:
Caprese Salad On A Skewer With Balsamic Glaze
Caesar Salad without raw egg or Caesar Salad dressing without Anchovies
How To Make A Caprese Salad
In as little as 15 minutes you'll have a summer salad or appetizer ready. Our Caprese Salad recipe combines juicy summer tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil, it's mouth watering delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes, preferably heirloom or Kumato sliced or very roughly chopped
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella sliced into 1/4" rounds
- 1 bunch fresh basil julienned, about 20 medium size leaves
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil best quality, you can taste the oil in this recipe
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt I sprinkle almost a full teaspoon on mine
Instructions
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Wash and dry the tomatoes and basil. You can slice the tomatoes which is more traditional for layering, or coarsely chop the tomatoes for a more rustic look.
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Stack about 10 basil leaves together, roll like a tube, and then julienne by slicing on a diagonal. You'll end up with long strings of basil, almost 2" long.
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Slice fresh mozzarella into ¼” round slices. If the mozzarella is large in diameter then cut the round into halves or quarters, basically bite size.
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Place mozzarella on serving tray and sprinkle with about 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Add the tomato chunks or slices and sprinkle again with1/4-1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt. Drizzle with olive oil, about 1-2 Tablespoons. Sprinkle with julienned basil and grind some pepper over the whole salad.
Enjoy!
Looks amazing!! I can’t wait to make one.
Thanks Kathy, it’s a classic!