How to Make the Best Caprese Salad
- PREP 10min
- TOTAL 10min
Caprese salad (or Insalata Caprese) is a simple salad made with ripe tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil. It’s important to use quality ingredients for the best classic Caprese salad. Check our article for tips on choosing tomatoes, mozzarella, and olive oil.
You Will Need
1 pound ripe tomatoes, see notes
4 to 5 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
Handful fresh basil leaves
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
Directions
Slice tomatoes into thin slices. For a more rustic salad with many shapes and textures, we leave some slices as full circles and slice a few into half-moon shapes. If using smaller tomatoes, like cherry tomatoes, cut in half and thirds, adding a variety of shapes and sizes to the salad.
Tear the mozzarella cheese into smaller chunks.
Pick the basil leaves from the stem. Leave smaller leaves whole and tear larger leaves in half or into quarters.
Arrange half the tomatoes onto a serving plate and lightly season with salt and pepper. Add a light drizzle of olive oil, then tuck some of the basil and a few pieces of the torn mozzarella in and around the tomatoes. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes, seasoning them with salt and pepper and layering in more basil and mozzarella.
Set the salad aside for 5 to 15 minutes. The salt will draw some juices out of the tomatoes, making an incredibly delicious dressing at the bottom of the plate (perfect for sopping up with bread).
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Caprese salad is best served within an hour or two after making. More than that and the tomatoes will lose some of their texture.
- We love using a mixture of sizes, colors, and varieties of tomato. Choose smooth skinned, heavy tomatoes that smell sweet and earthy.
- Burrata cheese is an excellent substitute to fresh mozzarella and has an almost molten middle of cream. If using burrata, layer the seasoned tomatoes and basil first, then place a ball of burrata right on top of the salad. When it is pierced, the creamy inside will fall over the salad.
- Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.