Caprese Salad

A simple Caprese Salad, broken into bite-sized pieces, perfect for an evening in or for bringing to a party or potluck! 

I love serving this Caprese Salad alongside Italian dishes like Baked Ziti or Stuffed Shells, but during the summertime it’s a great stand-alone meal, too! 

The Easiest Caprese Salad Recipe

It’s almost that time of year. The time when those of you who have planted gardens can begin to really anticipate reaping the fruits of your labor.

I’m pretty sad that I won’t be among you this year. Between moving and just life in general we (meaning mostly Zach, he’s the gardener) just didn’t have time to plant a garden this year. All of the fresh summer produce we’ll need for our bruschetta, corn salad, and Caprese Salads are going to have to come to us courtesy of family members, farmer’s markets, or roadside produce stands.

Whether or not you have a garden in your own backyard, you’re going want to take whatever steps necessary to procure yourself some fresh cherry tomatoes and basil to make yourself this Caprese Salad.

Balsamic Reduction

Caprese salad is simple. It’s composed of four main ingredients: fresh tomato, mozzarella, basil, and a balsamic glaze. It’s that glaze (or balsamic reduction) that you drizzle overtop that really sets this salad apart from others.

You don’t want to use just straight balsamic vinegar; that would be too thin and it doesn’t pack the same potent punch that a reduction does. Instead, you’ll need to cook your balsamic vinegar on the stovetop (I like to add a bit of honey to mine for some depth of flavor) until it’s reduced to one third of its original volume.

Heads-up! Cooking vinegar stinks. Literally. Your house is going to smell like cooked vinegar, so open a window if you can. If you plan on serving this Caprese Salad to guests in your house, I strongly recommend you make the glaze the day before. This will give the odor a chance to dissipate. Since it takes several hours for the glaze to thicken after it’s been cooked, this isn’t a bad recommendation anyway, whether or not you’re expecting company.

What Kind of Mozzarella to Use for Caprese Salad

If you can get your hands on it, I recommend using mozzarella “pearls” (I used these in my video). These are small, bite-sized balls of mozzarella that are usually available in your grocery store’s specialty cheese section. Drain them and pat them dry and toss them into your salad. Easy-peasy.

If you can’t find mozzarella pearls, you should be able to find larger balls of mozzarella, ones that are probably about the same size as cherry tomatoes. These are a bit big and what I love most about this Caprese Salad is that everything in it is bite-sized (no knife necessary!), so in keeping in line with this, I recommend cutting the mozzarella balls into thirds. That’s what I did with the mozzarella in the photos you see here.

How do You pronounce “Caprese”

I’m throwing this tip in here for those of you who have been reading this as “kuh-prees” all along. Been there, and been embarrassed by it when the waitress at the restaurant asked me if I meant “kuh-prey-sey”.

“kuh-prey-sey” is the correct pronunciation (though some countries do pronounce it “kah-pray-zee”). Now did everyone know that and no one ever told me?

Enjoy!

Other Recipes You Might Like:

• Taco Salad
• Macaroni Salad
• Broccoli Salad
• Potato Salad

Be sure to check out my Caprese Salad video at the bottom of the recipe! If you enjoy watching, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 150 recipe videos that you can watch for free!

Caprese Salad

A simple caprese salad broken into bite-sized pieces, perfect for an evening in or for bringing to a party or potluck! 

Be sure to check out the how-to VIDEO just below the recipe!

5 from 4 votes

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Course: Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 5 cups

Calories: 316kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

Balsamic Glaze¹

• ▢ 1 cup (235 ml) balsamic vinegar
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons honey

Caprese Salad

• ▢ 1 lb (455 g) mozzarella pearls² well-drained and gently patted dry
• ▢ 2 pints (570 g) grape or cherry tomatoes sliced in half
• ▢ ⅓ cup basil ribbons³ see note
• ▢ finely ground sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

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Instructions

Balsamic Glaze

• Combine balsamic vinegar and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat.
  1 cup (235 ml) balsamic vinegar, 2 Tablespoons honey
• Stirring occasionally, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook (stirring occasionally) until the mixture is reduced in volume to ⅓ cup (⅓ of its original volume).
• Allow to cool completely before drizzling over salad. Glaze will continue to thicken as it cools.

To Assemble Salad

• I recommend assembling this salad within 30-60 minutes of serving. To assemble: Combine mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil ribbons in a bowl and use a spatula to gently toss until combined. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper, to taste and stir again. Place in a serving dish.
  1 lb (455 g) mozzarella pearls², 2 pints (570 g) grape or cherry tomatoes, ⅓ cup basil ribbons³, finely ground sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• Once ready to serve, drizzle with completely cooled balsamic glaze. If desired, you may toss the salad, but it looks much prettier if left untossed.

Notes

¹The balsamic glaze will need to cool completely before it's properly thickened so that you can drizzle it over your salad. It will take a minimum of one hour to cool completely. Cooking the vinegar is also going to really create quite a smell in your house, I recommend preparing the glaze a day or so in advance of serving this salad (and opening a window!) so your guests won't have to smell the balsamic vinegar cooking.

²If you can’t find the small mozzarella pearls (which I used in the recipe video, below), you can purchase 1 lb of larger mozzerella balls and cut them into quarters or thirds (which I did for the salad in the photographs, above)

³The number of basil leaves this will require varies greatly depending on the size of the leaves. Use fresh basil leaves, rinse and gently pat dry, then use a knife to cut into thin ribbons before measuring into ⅓ cup (don’t pack into cup)

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 278mg | Potassium: 295mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 3300IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 390mg | Iron: 0.7mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

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