This bright, fresh and flavorful Tomato Mozzarella Salad Recipe is a perfect way to showcase your height of season harvest. Bite sized balls of creamy cheese, sweetly acidic tomatoes, and fresh basil combine forces to create heaven on a plate.
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Why You Will Love This Mozzarella Salad
Perfect for either a light meal or a side, this delicious tomato mozzarella salad is the perfect dish to make right now. As a no-cook recipe, you can avoid the heat of the kitchen and as summer is in full swing, there's nothing more appealing than this!
This Mediterranean inspired salad features fresh, summer ingredients for a zhuzhed-up version of Caprese. While fresh mozzarella and tomatoes are still the stars of the show, my balsamic dressing is adorned with piquant red onions, lemony parsley, and earthy oregano.
Despite having an off-the-charts flavor quotient, this yummy tomato salad is also super easy to put together. In just 10 minutes, you'll have a show-stopping dish that the whole family will love.
If you love summer tomatoes like I do, then try some of our finest tomato salads - Marinated Tomatoes, Heirloom Tomato Salad, Cucumber Tomato Salad, Pico de Gallo, Tomato Corn Avocado Salad.
Ingredients
The ingredients needed here are similar to what you'd find in a Caprese salad. Here's everything you'll need:
- Cherry Tomatoes - I say cherry tomatoes here, because they are the fresh, and the most flavorful tasting tomatoes year-round. However, feel free to swap in with grape tomatoes or any of your heirloom garden varieties! The more colors here, the better.
- Mozzarella - I love to purchase small balls of fresh mozzarella (known as bocconcini) for this salad. That said, you can easily swap in torn pieces of a larger piece of fresh mozzarella or burrata instead.
- Basil - Fresh basil is a good friend of tomatoes. If you have it available, I highly recommend adding it to this salad.
- Balsamic Vinegar - Use the best quality vinegar that you can afford.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - If possible, try using a cold-pressed olive oil for the best flavor.
- Onion - Finely minced red onion adds a bit of bite to the traditional tomato and mozzarella salad. Feel free to reduce the piquancy a bit by soaking the cut onion in cool water for 5-10 minutes, then drain thoroughly. You can also swap in mild shallots or sweet yellow onions.
- Parsley & Oregano - The added layers of flavor from these two herbs is a welcome variation. They can also act alone in the event that you don't have basil on hand.
- Salt & Pepper - Don't forget this seasoning combo - it is crucial for any savory dish.
How to Make Tomato Mozzarella Salad
You're going to love how simple this salad recipe is - you don't even have to make the dressing separately!
Place ALL the ingredients (tomatoes, mozzarella balls, onion, herbs, salt, pepper, vinegar, and olive oil) in a large bowl.
Gently toss to combine well and allow the salad to sit for 10 minutes.
Give 1-2 gentle toss again, garnish with some fresh basil and serve. Enjoy!
FAQs
Fresh is generally best when it comes to salads like this one. That said, it should hold at room temperature for 4-6 hours, making it a lovely dish for bringing to a pot luck.
If you still want to get ahead, feel free to prep the ingredients and refrigerate separately for up to 24 hours in advance. Toss just before serving.
Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 1 day in airtight container.
This lovely dish is wonderful as a stand-alone light meal. It also pairs beautifully with just about anything you'd find at a barbecue - grilled chicken, steak, and shrimp are all great mains for this yummy side.
Absolutely! The parsley and oregano offer a lovely herbaceous flavor to act as a foil to the sweet acidity of the tomatoes.
That said, remember the old adage: what grows together, goes together. There's a reason that basil and tomatoes are happy neighbors in the garden as well on the plate just like this tomato basil salad!
Optional Add-Ins & Variations
While this tomato and mozzarella salad recipe is pretty perfect as is, there are always options to customize in the kitchen. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Out of basil? Try tossing in a few spoonfuls of pesto as a replacement. The result will be intensely Italian flavored.
- Feeling Greek for dinner? Try incorporating some other bold flavors like olives, cucumbers, green peppers, or feta.
- Add more veggies! If your CSA is overflowing, try adding more seasonal favorites. Arugula, asparagus, avocado, artichoke, cucumber, radish or sweet corn would all make lovely additions.
- Add some protein! Want this to be an entrée? Bulking up with more veggies and adding in chickpeas, grilled chicken or steak is the way to go.
More Summer Inspiration:
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📖 Recipe
Tomato Mozzarella Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
- 1 cup Mini Mozzarella Balls (halved)
- 3 tablespoons Red Onion (chopped)
- 10-12 leaves Fresh Basil plus few for garnish (thinly sliced)
- ½ tablespoon Parsley (chopped)
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
- 1½ tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients (tomatoes, mozzarella balls, onion, herbs, salt, pepper, vinegar, and olive oil) in a large bowl.
- Gently toss to combine well and allow the salad to sit for 10 minutes.
- Give 1-2 gentle toss again, garnish with some fresh basil and serve.
Notes
- Salad should hold at room temperature for 4-6 hours, making it a lovely dish for bringing to a pot luck.
- If you still want to get ahead, feel free to prep the ingredients and refrigerate separately for up to 24 hours in advance. Toss just before serving.
- Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 1 day in airtight container.
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