This easy caprese salad with balsamic dressing looks gorgeous and tastes like summer. It's ready in 20 minutes!
Caprese salad is one of those simple culinary combinations that are surprisingly delicious, especially if you use the freshest ingredients. Making it is easy: you simply layer red, ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil and drizzle them with a simple balsamic dressing. Depending on the serving size, it can be an appetizer, a side dish, or a filling main course.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Fresh tomatoes: They need to be truly red, ripe, yet firm. Certainly not pale and mealy.
- Fresh mozzarella: The fresher you can find, the better it will taste.
- Basil leaves: Pick beautiful green ones, free of blemishes and brown spots. Don't store them in the fridge - they will wilt. Place them, like flowers, in a jar with a small amount of water, away from direct sunlight.
- Olive oil: Extra-virgin olive oil is so flavorful - I highly recommend using it in this salad.
- Balsamic vinegar: In many other recipes, red wine vinegar would be OK, but here, you really do need to use thick, rich, almost sweet aged balsamic vinegar.
- Mustard: I use Dijon mustard. It's thicker, creamier, and less vinegary than yellow mustard. It helps the dressing emulsify.
Variations
- Instead of red tomatoes, you can use different-colored heirloom tomatoes.
- You can make caprese skewers by threading cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls, and basil leaves on wooden skewers and drizzling them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
- Turn it into a filling main-course salad by adding avocado slices and sliced hard-boiled eggs.
- Replace the mozzarella with halloumi cheese.
- Make a cherry tomato caprese using cherry tomatoes (1 pint), mozzarella balls (1 cup), and small basil leaves, as shown in the photo below.
Instructions
The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Whisk the dressing ingredients and set aside. Using a sharp knife, thinly slice the tomatoes and mozzarella.
Arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter, alternating and overlapping each other. Arrange the basil leaves on top.
Sprinkle the salad with salt and pepper. Drizzle it with the dressing, and serve.
Delicious! I was too lazy to mix the dressing, so I drizzled the salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I had it for lunch today - it was the perfect summer lunch!
Joan
Read more comments
Delicious! I was too lazy to mix the dressing, so I drizzled the salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I had it for lunch today - it was the perfect summer lunch!Recipe Tips
As is always the case when it comes to simple recipes, the ingredients must be of high quality:
- Use good olive oil (extra-virgin, stored in a dark glass bottle) and aged balsamic vinegar (a young vinegar will be too acidic).
- Choose Kosher salt or sea salt rather than table salt.
- Pick fresh whole-milk mozzarella, as fresh as you can get.
- Most importantly, use good tomatoes. Big, red, ripe but firm, not mealy, and definitely not refrigerated. If your tomatoes did spend some time in the fridge, take them out 1-2 hours ahead and bring them to room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
Please don't. Fresh basil leaves are an integral part of this salad. It won't be the same without them.
No. Low-fat mozzarella is inferior in terms of flavor and texture. It's best to use whole-milk mozzarella.
I use a dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and add a small amount of Dijon mustard to help it emulsify. You can skip the Dijon and simply drizzle the salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
This salad is best enjoyed fresh. The tomatoes and basil won't do well in the fridge. I recommend only making as much as you can eat immediately.
Serving Suggestions
When I serve this salad as an appetizer for sharing, I like to add prosciutto, as shown in the photo below:
I also like to serve it as a side dish with dinner and pair it with any of the following entrees:
- Oven chicken kabobs
- Tri-tip roast
- Beef cheeks
- Lamb shanks
- Pork jowl
- Turkey legs
- Beef heart or chicken hearts
- Slow cooker oxtail
Occasionally, I make life super easy by pairing it with a store-bought main course like rotisserie chicken or smoked salmon (shown in the photo below).
Recipe Card
Caprese Salad with Balsamic Dressing
Video
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salad:
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 8 ounces fresh whole-milk mozzarella
- 9 medium basil leaves
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper - freshly ground
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Dijon mustard) with a small hand whisk until they emulsify into a smooth salad dressing. Set aside.
- Slice the tomatoes thinly. Aim to get a total of 10 slices.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the mozzarella thinly into 9 rounds.
- Arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter, alternating and overlapping each other. Arrange the basil leaves on top.
- Sprinkle the salad with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the salad dressing. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Turn this salad into a filling main-course salad by adding avocado slices and sliced hard-boiled eggs.
- Use good tomatoes. Big, red, ripe but firm, not mealy, and definitely not refrigerated. If your tomatoes did spend some time in the fridge, take them out and bring them to room temperature.
- Don't store the basil leaves in the fridge - they will wilt. Place them, like flowers, in a jar with a small amount of water, away from direct sunlight.
- This salad is best enjoyed fresh. The tomatoes and basil won't do well in the fridge. I recommend only making as much as you can eat immediately.
Nutrition per Serving
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Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Joan says
Delicious! I was too lazy to mix the dressing, so I drizzled the salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I had it for lunch today - it was the perfect summer lunch!
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this salad, Joan! I like having it for lunch, too.