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Perfect Caprese Salad Recipe

Published July 3, 2020. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

There’s nothing like a delicious Caprese salad made with fresh ripened tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, fresh herbs, and full-flavored extra virgin olive oil.

Summertime is full-on tomato season so I’m always trying to take advantage during these peak season months to make things like summer salads or even just salsa in my Baja fish tacos.

bowl of sliced tomatoes, cheese and herbs

Caprese Salad

The Caprese salad of course has its roots in Italy and was birthed during the 1920s. A chef at Hotel Quisisana post-WWI wanted to pay tribute to everything that was Italy, including its country’s colors, and invented the Caprese salad.

This is an incredibly simple salad consisting of few ingredients, including:

Tomatoes
Buffalo Mozzarella
Oregano
Basil
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Some people like to add balsamic reduction to their Caprese salad, which is definitely not traditional but you can if you like those flavors.

What Kind of Tomatoes to Use?

There are no bad tomatoes to use in a Caprese salad, the biggest thing is to make sure they are ripe but firm. They should also be in peak season, so no please don’t make this recipe during the winter months. Here is a list of tomatoes that are readily accessible at your local grocery store that would be great to use:

Heirloom
Cherry
Grape
Vine-Ripe
Beefsteak
Roma
Cocktail

What’s the Best Cheese to Use?

A Caprese salad is classically made with mozzarella made from Buffalo’s milk. In the states, it can be sometimes a challenge to find real buffalo mozzarella, but it’s well worth it. The ball of mozzarella we get here tastes more like hardened milk instead of the robust flavors you can get from buffalo’s milk.

If you can’t find it, it’s not a deal-breaker but if you do, I can promise you that it will make this dish that much more flavorful.

How to Make a Caprese Salad

Follow these simple instructions for making this amazing recipe:

Slice up your tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella into bite-size pieces.

Mix together the tomatoes and mozzarella on a serving plate, bowl or tray.

mixing together mozzarella and tomatoes in a bowl

Sprinkle on dry oregano, sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper.

adding dry oregano onto tomatoes and cheese in a bowl

Generously drizzle on some good extra virgin olive oil.

drizzling olive oil over tomatoes and cheese

Finish the Caprese salad by adding on some fresh basil leaves.

adding fresh basil leaves to tomatoes in a bowl

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: This salad is meant to be eaten right away. If you keep all of the ingredients prepared and separate you can make this up to 1 day ahead of time.

How to Store: Cover in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. This will not freeze well.

chef notes + tips

When it comes to selecting olive oil I like to purchase imported from Italy and always extra virgin for full flavor.
This salad is malleable, so if you want more tomatoes, cheese, herbs, olive oil, and salt and pepper then please customize it to make it your own.

tomato caprese salad in a bowl with bread

More Amazing Salad Recipes

Be sure to follow me on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest, and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!

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