Caprese Salad with Tomato and Mozzarella

Name: Caprese Salad with Tomato and Mozzarella
Ingredients: Salade caprese; 260 g tomatoes; 250 g mozzarella; fresh basil; 25 g pine nuts; 30 ml olive oil; balsamic vinegar; salt; black pepper

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Najat

Photo by Najat

Caprese salad, or insalata caprese, is one of Italy’s most loved classics, and one of the simplest. Slices of ripe tomato and mozzarella, fresh basil, olive oil, and a touch of salt and pepper, no cooking required, just the ingredients doing the talking. This recipe adds toasted pine nuts for a bit of extra crunch.

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What is caprese?

Caprese, or insalata caprese in full, is an Italian salad of sliced tomato and mozzarella, layered with fresh basil and drizzled with olive oil. The name means “in the style of Capri,” the Italian island the salad is said to come from. It’s sometimes described as a raw pizza, thanks to the same combination of tomato, cheese, and basil.

How to make Caprese salad

Caprese salad has so few ingredients that you really taste every single one, so quality makes an immediate difference. Use ripe tomatoes at room temperature. Slice the tomato and mozzarella to the same thickness, around half a centimeter, so everything sits neatly together. Tear the basil leaves in rather than chopping them, it looks nicer and you get more basil flavor in every bite.

Add the olive oil, and a little balsamic if you like, right before serving. Leave the salad sitting too long and the tomatoes start releasing moisture, making the whole thing a bit watery.

More recipes

Looking for more Italian classics or salads? Try these too:

Bruschetta with Tomato: crispy toasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with a fresh tomato mix.
Melanzane alla Parmigiana: layered baked eggplant with rich tomato sauce, Parmesan, and melted mozzarella.
Pasta Arrabbiata: spicy Italian tomato sauce with garlic and peperoncino.
Greek Salad: fresh salad with feta, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and an oregano dressing.
Niçoise Salad: fresh salad with baby potatoes, tuna, egg, and green beans, perfect as a healthy main-course salad.

Ingredients

Portions

Salade caprese

260 g tomatoes, 2

250 g mozzarella, 2 balls

fresh basil

25 g pine nuts, toasted

30 ml olive oil, 2 tbsps

balsamic vinegar

salt, to taste

black pepper, to taste

Tips

Use room-temperature tomatoes. Cold tomatoes straight from the fridge taste noticeably less sweet. Pull them out well ahead of time.

Balsamic is optional, not a requirement. In Italy, caprese is traditionally served with just salt, olive oil, and sometimes a little balsamic on the side, not drizzled over as a fixed dressing. Add it if you like it, but the purist version skips it entirely.

Compensate when ingredients aren’t perfect. Stuck with winter tomatoes or supermarket mozzarella? A touch more balsamic or an extra pinch of salt can make up for less vibrant flavor.

Buffalo mozzarella is the more traditional choice. Mozzarella di bufala, made from water buffalo milk, has a richer, creamier flavor than cow’s milk mozzarella. Regular mozzarella works perfectly well too, buffalo is simply the more authentic option.

Serve with bread. A piece of crusty baguette or ciabatta on the side is almost mandatory, it works as an “oil sponge” to mop up the olive oil and tomato juices.

Instructions

Gesneden trostomaten en mozzarella voor een salade caprese

Prepare all the ingredients for the Caprese salad. Wash the vine tomatoes and slice them into rounds about ½ cm (¼ inch) thick. Slice the mozzarella into rounds of the same thickness.

Salade caprese op een bord met basilicum en geroosterde pijnboompitten

Arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices alternately on a serving platter or plate. Tuck the fresh basil leaves between the slices and sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over the top. Drizzle the Caprese salad with olive oil and add balsamic vinegar to taste. Season with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.

Kant-en-klare salade caprese met tomaat, mozzarella, basilicum en pijnboompitten

Veelgestelde vragen

What's the difference between caprese salad and bruschetta?

They’re different dishes that happen to share similar flavors. Caprese salad is sliced tomato, mozzarella, and basil, dressed with olive oil. Bruschetta is toasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with chopped tomatoes. In Italy, bruschetta is generally treated as its own course rather than something served alongside caprese.

Is caprese salad healthy?

It depends on how you look at it. Caprese salad is full of fresh vegetables and healthy fats from the olive oil, but the mozzarella also makes it more calorie-dense than a typical green salad.

Can you make caprese salad ahead of time?

You can slice the tomatoes and mozzarella in advance and store them separately in the fridge. It’s best to assemble and dress the salad shortly before serving, otherwise the tomatoes release moisture and the dish becomes watery.