The Best Caprese Salad Recipe with Mozzarella Balls

Last updated on June 10, 2019

Grab a fork and dig in to the best caprese salad recipe with mozzarella balls! This caprese cucumber tomato basil salad is packed with flavor. It’s cold, crunchy, and has plenty of fresh mozzarella balls to satisfy a crowd. Serve this make ahead caprese salad recipe at a party, or keep it in the fridge for healthy snacking when hunger strikes. 

Why it’s easy to make this best caprese salad recipe with mozzarella balls

• A traditional caprese salad has many of the same ingredients as this recipe – fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. But traditional caprese recipes require individual plating. And here at Sip Bite Go, most of us don’t have time for that. So this caprese salad recipe is made in one large batch – perfect for a crowd, a party appetizer, or BBQ side dish.
• Even though all of the ingredients are served together for people to portion out themselves, it’s an easy, but still gorgeous salad – just like a traditional caprese salad!
• You can add and subtract ingredients as you’d like. Have a veg in the fridge you want to use up? Toss it right in!
• Buying fresh mozzarella balls and popping them in this recipe is super easy, but is one of the standout ingredients of this dish! It looks fancy without requiring the time of fancy food. That’s my kind of recipe!
• This salad lasts for days in the fridge. Make it on a Friday and enjoy it all weekend. Or make it on a Sunday and have a delicious lunch or dinner side for the week!
• If you are wondering what to do with cucumbers from garden overflows, this is a great recipe.

Ingredients for the best caprese salad

Clean, simple ingredients make up the best caprese salad.

This caprese salad recipe is seasoned with a simple dressing made of garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

The main vegetables are fresh cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red peppers, and a little red onion.

The star of the show, the ingredients that makes this the best caprese salad in my opinion, are the fresh mozzarella balls and fresh chopped basil.

This caprese mozzarella ball salad is insanely fragrant.

Step by step, how to make the best caprese salad recipe with mozzarella balls

Make the dressing by mixing the garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Then combine the dressing with the chopped salad ingredients.

So it stays fresh, serve immediately or chill in the fridge for up to 24 hours before serving.

To keep the salad chilled at a party, sit it on a large ice pack wrapped with an absorbent kitchen towel.

Tasty tips and notes for making best caprese salad recipe with mozzarella balls

• So there is a bit of everything in one bite, cut the ingredients in bite-sized chunks
• You can mix this caprese salad recipe with cooked pasta to make a caprese pasta salad – orecchiette is a great sized pasta shape for this recipe
• The salad can be kept in a sealed container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator
• Add fresh avocado to the caprese salad to make it even fresher
• Add sliced strawberries or peaches if you want to give it a sweet taste
• If you’re looking to add more protein, grilled chicken is a great option 
• If you want to cut back on the calories, you can use less oil and less mozzarella
• Instead of red wine vinegar, you can use balsamic vinegar
• Add ⅓ cup of lemon juice and 1 tsp of dried oregano to give the caprese salad more flavor

This recipe is in my fridge year-round, but I love making it with fresh garden cucumbers in the Summer.

On a beautiful Summer day, I like to scoop a large wooden spoonful of chilled caprese cucumber tomato salad into a bowl, go outside on the back deck, and read during lunch.

Your obsessed with make-ahead salads blogger bud, Jenna.

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• Mexican Pasta Salad with Chili Lime Dressing
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Let me know when you make this make ahead caprese salad. Be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe. It means so much to hear from Sip Bite Go readers and I love seeing photos of your food! Don’t forget to tag me @sipbitego on Instagram so I can see how the recipe turned out. For more ideas you’ll love, sign up for the Sip Bite Go newsletter.

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The Best Caprese Salad Recipe with Mozzarella Balls (Sip Bite Go)

Grab a fork and dig in to the best caprese salad recipe with mozzarella balls! This caprese cucumber tomato basil salad is packed with flavor. It's cold, crunchy, and has plenty of fresh mozzarella balls to satisfy a crowd. Serve this make ahead caprese salad recipe at a party, or keep it in the fridge for healthy snacking when hunger strikes. 

Course Appetizer, Salad

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 8 people

Calories 192 kcal

Author Jenna Passaro

Ingredients

Dressing ingredients

• 2 tbsp garlic diced
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
• S+P about 1 tsp each, to taste

Salad ingredients

• 5 cucumbers seeds removed and diced
• 2 red peppers diced
• 1 red onion diced
• 1 small basket cherry tomatoes halved
• 8 oz mozzarella balls halved
• ½ cup basil cut in thin ribbons

Instructions

1. Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl, set aside.
2. Mix all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Combine dressing with the salad ingredients. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge up to 24 hours before serving.

Recipe Notes

• Cut the ingredients in bite-sized chunks so you can have a bit of everything in one bite and so the flavors can mix
• You can mix this caprese salad recipe with cooked pasta to make a caprese pasta salad - orecchiette is the perfect pasta shape to try
• The salad can be kept in a sealed container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator
• Add fresh avocado to the caprese salad to make it even fresher
• Add sliced strawberries or peaches if you want to give it a sweet taste
• If you're looking to add more protein, grilled chicken is a great option 
• If you want to cut back on the calories, you can use less oil and less mozzarella
• Instead of red wine vinegar, you can use balsamic vinegar
• Add ⅓ cup of lemon juice and 1 tsp of dried oregano to give the caprese salad more flavor

Nutrition Facts

The Best Caprese Salad Recipe with Mozzarella Balls (Sip Bite Go)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 192 Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 15g 23%

Saturated Fat 3g 15%

Cholesterol 10mg 3%

Sodium 27mg 1%

Potassium 350mg 10%

Total Carbohydrates 7g 2%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 4g

Protein 6g 12%

Vitamin A 22.9%

Vitamin C 55.6%

Calcium 13.9%

Iron 4.1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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