Make this easy Tomato Caprese Salad any time for a fresh taste of summer. It takes just a few minutes to put together, but tastes so fancy!
Tomato Caprese Salad
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There is something about the flavors of tomato, mozzarella, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar that just make me so happy. This salad looks – and tastes – fancy, but it is so easy to put together. It only has five ingredients – you probably have one of them (and maybe 2 of them) at home, and you can find the other three in the produce department in your grocery store.
There are two tricks to this salad. The first is to use fresh basil. Yes, you could, if you really wanted, substitute dried basil for the fresh basil. But it doesn’t have the same texture, and it doesn’t bring the same “fresh” flavor to this salad. You can usually find fresh basil in the produce section of your grocery store any time of the year.
The second trick is to use fresh mozzarella. This is not the pre-shredded stuff or the blocks of mozzarella cheese back in the deli case. Look for fresh mozzarella in the “fancy cheese” section of your grocery store (mine is near the front in the produce department). If you can find it, grab the fresh mozzarella “pearls” – this is just smaller pieces of fresh mozzarella. If all you can find is a larger ball, go for it, just chop it into bite-sized pieces before you add it to the salad.
Did you know that you should not store tomatoes in the refrigerator?
Of course, once your tomatoes are chopped and in this salad, the leftovers should be refrigerated.
Toss everything together in a big bowl and you’re done! Prep this dish right before you plan to serve it. The balsamic vinegar mixes with the mozzarella and it doesn’t look quite so pretty after a little while. But don’t worry, it still tastes great!
Enjoy!
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- 1.5 pounds fresh tomatoes
- ⅓ cup fresh basil, chopped (look in your produce department)
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls (look in the "fancy cheese" case in your grocery store)
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- Wash, core, and roughly chop tomatoes and place in a large bowl.
- Gently toss tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and salt.
- Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
- Serve immediately.
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