Tomato Mozzarella Salad is full of traditional Italian flavors and makes the perfect appetizer salad or side dish to hearty dinner dishes!
This Italian side Salad is light and refreshing because it uses such fresh ingredients. If you like this salad, you should also give my Chopped Salad and Cucumber Tomato Salad a try too!
Why You’ll Love This Salad?
- Uses fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil topped with a balsamic drizzle to make a light and harmonious side dish.
- Few ingredients and low prep time has it ready to serve and you enjoying your guests in no time at all.
Sabrina’s Tomato Mozzarella Salad Recipe
This simple salad is perfect for a quick lunch or side. Tomato Mozzarella Salad, also known as Caprese Salad, is a traditional Italian dish. Along with the classic Italian flavors and ingredients, it also has the colors of the Italian flag. There is red from the tomato, white from the mozzarella cheese, and green from the basil leaves. This is a tasty side no one will turn down!
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 3 vine tomatoes , sliced
- 2 balls fresh mozzarella cheese , sliced
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh basil , julienned
Instructions
- Add tomato slices and mozzarella slices in alternating order.
- Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, then drizzle over the tomato and mozzarella.
- Sprinkle the basil over the top and serve.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note
The best way to cut your basil is to chiffonade it. To do this, you stack all the leaves on top of each other. Then you roll them up tightly like a cinnamon roll. Simply run your knife down the line quickly, making really thin slices that will turn out looking like the pictures.
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About this Recipe
There’s nothing like the flavorful taste of fresh summer tomatoes. Pairing the tomatoes with mozzarella cheese, basil, and a light olive oil dressing is the perfect way to showcase their tart, sweet and tangy flavor. The bright colors of the tomato contrasting with the other ingredients makes for a beautiful presentation. If you love this easy Caprese Salad, be sure to try Chicken Caprese Tortellini Salad, for a more filling dish with the same amazing flavor combinations. Adding more filling ingredients like pasta and chicken is a great way to make this your main dish for lunch or dinner.
Pairing Suggestions
This light, delicious side dish is perfect to serve with your favorite Italian dinners like Easy Skillet Lasagna or Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs. The lightness of the dish makes it perfect to serve with heavier Italian dishes like Chicken Parmesan Pasta, or Pasta with Alfredo Sauce. It is also ideal for lighter summer dishes like Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken. Whatever you serve with it, Tomato Mozzarella Salad is sure to shine.
How to Store
- Serve: To keep salad fresh don’t leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: This delicious salad is best served fresh, but you can keep it for 2-3 days in the fridge. Cover the salad in plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container.
- Freeze: Without the dressing you can freeze the salad in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let the tomatoes and mozzarella thaw in the fridge completely before whisking together a fresh dressing and drizzling it over the top.
Ideas to Serve
Usually, Tomato Mozzarella Salad is arranged in layers and served on a plate, but you can also make it into an appetizer with skewers. Just stick the ingredients on kabab skewers with the tomato, cheese, and basil leaves alternating. This version will work better if you use cherry tomatoes instead of full vine tomatoes. It’s an easy dish that’s perfect to arrange on a tray for a beautiful party appetizer.
Variations
- Cheese: If you don’t have mozzarella cheese, you can use goat cheese, provolone cheese, caciocavallo, Queso Oaxaca, or Bel Paese.
- Tomatoes: Although big, juicy red tomatoes are perfect for this recipe, you can always try different kinds like cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, or roma tomatoes. As long as they are fresh, you’ll have a delicious pairing for the mozzarella cheese.
- Seasoning: Along with basil you can add in oregano, rosemary, parsley, thyme, chili flakes, or garlic powder. It’s such a simple recipe that it’s easy to experiment with and try different flavors to see what you like best.
- Dressing: You can change up the dressing with different ingredients like lemon juice, or lime juice. To replace balsamic vinegar you can use white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. The replacements will change up the flavor, but the bold taste of tomato and mozzarella will still shine through.
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