The Antipasto Caprese Salad Recipe features rich juicy red heirloom tomatoes layered with creamy fresh white mozzarella cheese, and sweet fragrant green basil leaves. The insalata caprese is a tribute to Italy known for its simple, fresh, and colorful cuisine and a homage to the Italian flag.
Panzanella is another simple tomato salad that makes a delicious summertime lunch or dinner dish.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Simple ingredients
- Colorful
- Easy to prepare
- Rich in flavor
- Unforgettable
It's made with only a handful of ingredients and you hardly need a recipe to successfully prepare it. Once you've tasted a genuine insalata caprese, you'll understand why everyone sings its praises.
🛒 Ingredients
- 2 pound Mozzarella Cheese - use either the whole milk variety or the fresh mozzarella.
- 4 large tomatoes - the Beefsteak heirloom variety would taste delicious and it's ideal for slicing and eating.
- Fresh Basil leaves - make sure they are a fragrant, deep green and free from any dark spots.
- A good quality balsamic vinegar is the best. You don't want to go cheap for this antipasto salad.
- Extra virgin olive oil to go along with the balsamic vinegar glaze.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
🗒 Instructions
- Start in the middle of the plate and begin arranging the slices in a circular pattern.
- Begin with one slice of mozzarella, one slice of tomato, one large leaf of basil.
- Once you fill the plate, season with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Drizzle the balsamic vinegar glaze over the salad
- Serve the antipasto immediately.
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
🔪Equipment
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- A sharp knife makes slicing the mozzarella easy with no fear of nicking accidents. We like our ceramic knife because it slices easily and cleanly.
- Wood cutting board. A sturdy cutting surface makes slicing a breeze.
- Large round platter - for arranging the Italian cheese tomato salad.
- Salad serving spoon/ fork - to easily transfer a helping to the individual plates.
You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
Store the marinade in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid in the refrigerator. It will keep for over a week. Discard the marinade that was in contact with the meat.
If you cook the marinade that was in contact with the raw meat for 15 to 20 minutes, you may use it as a basting or serving sauce. Add a bit of butter to it and fresh chopped parsley or cilantro for a flavorful sauce.
Caprese salad is best eaten immediately, or soon after preparation. This is because you want to maintain the crispness and freshness of the ingredients.
It can be stored for a while in the refrigerator but the caprese salad will not taste the same as when freshly made.
If you are expecting people at different times, it is best to hold the balsamic vinegar until your are ready to serve the antipasto salad.
👩🏻🍳Tips
- For a superior Caprese Salad recipe, splurge on the juiciest tomatoes you can find. That's why summer tomatoes are the best for flavor and texture.
- Don't get the cheap mozzarella cheese for this salad. Grab a ball of the fresh, creamy cheese that is packed in water.
- If you have a basil plant in your garden that's all the better. The fresher and greener is all the better.
- No cheap olive oil for this recipe. You want excellent cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on top of the insalata.
- Although balsamic vinegar is not part of the classic insalata Caprese, a good balsamic glaze adds a sweet and tangy note to the dish.
- Flakey sea salt is perfect on the tomatoes as well as freshly ground black pepper.
- This salad is best served at room temperature.
Expert Tip: A sharp knife will make your cutting the tomatoes and mozzarella a breeze. Sometimes you can find the cheese already sliced.
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we're often asked about Caprese Salad recipe.
Because the salad originated on the island of Capri and insalata Caprese means "salad of Capri."
The Caprese salad recipe dates back to post World War I Italy. The first printed mention of the insalata was on a menu at the Hotel Quisisana. A patriotic mason is said to have made the dish as a tribute to Italy. He incorporated the Italian flags three colors, red, white, and green, in the dish's presentation.
The Italian way to say it is: Cah-preh-zeh.
No. It's a healthy option for lunch or dinner. The dish itself is low in calories as long as a person overdo on the mozzarella cheese.
🍽 Serve with . . .
Since we consider this a summertime dish, with the insalata we like to serve:
Grilled Seafood such as our Lemon Garlic Shrimp that is so plump and juicy the meat explodes with flavor
Roasted or grilled chicken like our Pollo Al Mattone or Chicken Under a Brick is butterflied so that it grills evenly. The meat is flavorful and the skin is crisp.
Spiedini di Maiale or Pork Kebabs are quick and easy to make. Prepare them ahead of time by letting them marinate in a delicious sauce. The pork cubes turn out spicy and tasty.
The tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad compliments most main dishes. The simpler they are, the better.
📖Variations
- Use fruit such as peaches, cantaloupe, watermelon for part or all of the tomatoes.
- Instead of featuring in sliced layers for a Caprese salad recipe, use grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes and cube the mozzarella and serve it as a tossed salad.
- Make appetizer kebabs using bocconcini (small mozzarella balls) and cherry tomatoes along with the fresh basil.
- In place of the cheese alternate avocado slices. This is ideal for vegans.
- Try a combination of basil and mint, especially with the fruit combination.
📚 Related Recipes
Italian Summer Salad is full of fresh crisp vegetables that may remind you of Olive Garden's salad.
Unbeatable Beet Salad is one that you can have as a light lunch or dinner. The light vinaigrette is made from bacon flavored olive oil and hickory flavored balsamic vinegar. Delicious!
Fennel Orange Salad is fresh and light with a scrumptious citrus vinaigrette you could almost drink from the bottle.
📞Chiacchierata (Chat)
Do you people watch? We do.
I remember one particular time we were sitting all'aperto (outdoors)at a trattoria and ordering the Insalata Caprese. That day we weren't the only ones wanting to sample the delicious salad in the paradisiacal island of Capri.
Everyone wanted to be outside soaking up the Italian sole (sun) and admiring the deep blue of the Gulf of Naples.
So, as the hungry visitors came to the restaurant they requested to eat "al fresco." Il signore seating the people was trying very hard to hide his smile. He repeated, "You'd like to eat all'aperto?"
They said, "Yes. Al fresco!"
The Italian gentleman didn't say anything else. He just led them to the last available table all'aperto.
What the Italian waiter was gently trying to instruct the visitors was that you don't use the term al fresco. It actually means spending time in jail. But I suppose they didn't get the hint.
If you wish to dine outdoors, you say, "Vorrei mangiare fuori." "I'd love to eat outside."
So if you're ever in Italy, don't say al fresco unless you want to go to prison. And you don't want to do that, I've heard it's very cool. (fresco)
If you love serving antipasto salads, you are going to really be ecstatic over our Italian Potato Salad made with vinegar and olive oil.
Next time you're craving the flavors of this delicious salad, try this easy weeknight dinner, Chicken Caprese Pasta. The chicken and pasta soaks up the delicious pesto flavor in combination with the fresh mozzarella and sweet tomatoes.
📝Recipe
If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Italian Antipasto Caprese Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Mozzarella Cheese whole milk, sliced
- 4 Tomatoes washed and sliced
- 6 oz. Basil Fresh
- ¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Black Pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Starting in the middle of the plate begin arranging the slices like so: one slice of mozzarella, one slice of tomato one large leaf (or two small) of fresh basil.
- Continue in a circle until all the ingredients are used and you have filled the plate in a spiral.
- Season with Salt and Pepper to taste.
- Pour the balsamic vinegar glaze and olive oil evenly over the salad. (This is optional because Classic Caprese Salad does not include a dressing or vinegar.)
- Serve and enjoy immediately.
Notes
- For a superior Caprese Salad recipe, splurge on the juiciest tomatoes you can find. That's why summer tomatoes are the best for flavor and texture.
- Don't get the cheap mozzarella cheese for this salad. Grab a ball of the fresh, creamy cheese that is packed in water.
- If you have a basil plant in your garden that's all the better. The fresher and greener is all the better.
- No cheap olive oil for this recipe. You want excellent cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on top of the insalata.
- Although balsamic vinegar is not part of the classic insalata Caprese, a good balsamic glaze adds a sweet and tangy note to the dish.
- Flakey sea salt is perfect on the tomatoes as well as freshly ground black pepper.
- This salad is best served at room temperature.
Nutrition
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