Caprese salad is our favorite summertime salad. It’s called “Caprese” (pronounced kuh-pray-zay) because it hails from the sun-soaked Italian island of Capri. Our simple, authentic Caprese salad recipe celebrates fresh tomatoes by layering them with milky slices of fresh mozzarella and basil leaves, all drizzled in a simple Caprese dressing of olive oil and balsamic glaze. We love Caprese salads so much that this simple combination of mozzarella, tomatoes and basil has inspired some of our other favorite summer dishes, like a hearty Caprese Sandwich, a slightly sweet Peach and Tomato Caprese Salad, and our favorite way to use cherry tomatoes: Braised Tomatoes With Burrata.
Caprese Salad Ingredients
By the time you’ve gathered your Caprese ingredients, most of the work is done. When a dish is as marvelously simple as this salad is, that usually means that its success depends entirely on the quality of the two or three main ingredients. Caprese salad is composed of three ingredients:
Tomatoes. You can use cherry tomatoes, or big, colorful heirloom tomatoes, or a mix of both. To find the best tomatoes, look for tomatoes without bruising or splitting, but don’t be put off by color or shape—heirloom tomatoes come in many colors and shapes. Sniff and hold the tomatoes. A really ripe tomato will be fragrant, especially near where the stem was, and will be heavy for its size (an indication of juiciness).
Fresh mozzarella cheese.
Basil leaves. Whether it’s fresh from your garden, or fresh from the store, look for basil that’s glossy, perky, bright green.
How to Make Caprese Salad
Whip up a simple Caprese salad dressing by stirring together the balsamic with some olive oil, garlic and brown sugar and simmering it until thickened slightly.
Arrange the tomato slices and mozzarella slices on a platter, alternating tomato slices and mozzarella slices to make for a lovely, colorful, composed salad.
Drizzle with the Caprese salad dressing, and finish with ribbons of fresh basil, and salt and pepper to taste.
Tips + Caprese Salad Variations
A Caprese Sandwich is basically a Caprese salad that you can pack for a day at the beach or picnic.
If you’re a purist (or just think it’s way too hot outside to turn on the stove), you could skip the balsamic glaze and simply dress your Caprese salad with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic.
Caprese salad can be a light dinner, if you just add some good bread (any delicious bread will do, even homemade sourdough!) but it’s also a nice hearty salad to serve with most summer dinners as a Summer Side Dish.
For a seriously hearty riff on Caprese salad, try our Chicken Caprese or Grilled Pork Chop Caprese.
More Classic Summer Salad Recipes
More Easy Deliciousness This Way
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