Caprese salad, made with the ripest sliced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese slices layered together, is easily my favorite summer salad. Finished with flakey salt and balsamic glaze, it’s summer on a plate. With three main ingredients, it’s easy, fast, goes with everything, and everyone loves it.
Over the years, my love for caprese salads has inspired me to create a lot of caprese-inspired recipe, like a caprese sandwich, a peach caprese salad, and even more main-dish caprese riffs, like a chicken caprese and grilled pork caprese.
Caprese Ingredients
- Tomatoes. 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. A really ripe tomato will be fragrant, especially near the stem, and will be heavy for its size, which means it should be ripe and juicy.
- Fresh mozzarella cheese. Slice the mozzarella to about the same thickness as you slice the tomatoes so you can layer them evenly.
- Basil. Whether it’s fresh from your garden, or fresh from the store, look for basil that’s glossy, perky, and bright green.
- Salt. Salt brings the tomatoes and mozzarella to life! Use a high-quality flaky sea salt, like Maldon, if you can.
- Balsamic glaze. The dressing is optional, but I really love the sweet tang that balsamic glaze adds to the finished salad. You can make it yourself, or buy it. Or, finish the salad with a simple drizzle of oil and balsamic vinegar instead, for an easier short cut.
Caprese Salad, In 5 Easy Steps
- Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella into evenly sized rounds.
- Arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter, alternating tomato slices and mozzarella slices to make a lovely, colorful, composed salad.
- Tuck the basil between the slices.
- Time for the flakey salt!
- Drizzle with balsamic dressing if you’re using it, or simply a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Essential Tips for the Best Results
- Take mozzarella out of the fridge 30 minutes before you make the salad. Room temperature mozzarella will be a little more flavorful and has a better texture.
- Truly ripe tomatoes are best stored on the counter, stem side down. If you’ve got freshly picked tomatoes from a garden (your garden, maybe!), that’s even better.
- Slice the tomatoes with a very very sharp knife.
- If your tomatoes have been in the fridge, bring them to room temperature before serving (20-30 minutes should do it).
- Buy the very best ripe tomatoes you can find if you don’t have home-grown ones. The farmers market is usually the best place for finding delicious, colorful varieties.
How To Serve + Variations
- A Caprese sandwich is my favorite way to take the flavors of a caprese salad on the go for a beach day or picnic.
- If you’re a purist (or it’s too hot to turn on the stove), skip the balsamic glaze and dress your Caprese salad with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt.
- Serve Caprese salad as a light summer dinner with good bread (or homemade sourdough!) and a green salad.
- Or serve it as a Summer Side Dish, with most any summer dinners. It goes with almost everything!
More Mozzarella and Tomato Recipes
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