Burrata Caprese salad is a spin on the classic Caprese salad. You’ll love this easy summer salad – juicy sweet tomatoes, fragrant basil, creamy burrata cheese, fruity olive oil, citrusy lemon juice, and a touch of sweet and sour balsamic glaze. It’s quick to make and bursting with summer flavors!
What is Caprese Salad
Caprese Salad is an Italian salad made traditionally with just tomatoes, mozzarella di Bufala, fresh basil leaves, olive oil, salt, and pepper. It means in Italian “a salad of Capri”. Capri is a beautiful island located near Naples in the Central/South of Italy.
This recipe is a spin on the classic salad, using burrata cheese instead of mozzarella. I also added a sweet balsamic glaze and a drizzle of lemon juice.
If you like all things Caprese, try also this Caprese pasta salad.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this delicious burrata Caprese salad
Tomatoes – preferably Heirloom tomatoes or other good quality sweet summer tomatoes. They’re the star of the dish so make sure they’re really of good quality. If making this salad outside of tomato season, it’s best to use cherry tomatoes.
Burrata cheese – burrata is an Italian cheese similar to mozzarella. It looks like mozzarella but it’s filled with soft and gooey creamy cheese in the middle. It’s absolutely amazing. If you cut a ball of burrata with a knife, a creamy filling oozes out.
If you can’t find it, substitute it with mozzarella or better: mozzarella di bufala (a creamier and better tasting kind of mozzarella).
If you like burrata, try also this burrata pasta or this summer Panzanella salad!
Fresh basil leaves
Olive oil – good-quality extra virgin olive oil, preferably fruity.
Salt – I prefer to use flaky sea salt which adds flavor and crunch. Use regular salt if you don’t have it.
Freshly ground black pepper
Balsamic vinegar – is optional. Don’t just drizzle balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes – it will be too harsh. You need to cook it for about a minute until slightly thickened. It will lose its sharp taste and gain sweetness. Thickened glaze, in opposed to vinegar, will stay better on the tomatoes. You may be surprised that the recipe calls for just one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar but too much of it can overpower the delicate tomato and burrata flavors.
Make sure to use good-quality balsamic vinegar. This may sound obvious, again, but really, the cheapest balsamic vinegar can taste really bad.
Lemon juice – adds a refreshing, citrusy flavor to the salad. Add just a little to balance the sweetness of the balsamic glaze and the natural sweetness of the tomatoes. It really makes a difference here, so don’t omit it.
What you could also add
- basil pesto
- avocado
- thinly sliced cucumbers
- red onion
- sliced fresh peaches (they’re really good here!)
- homemade croutons (to transform this into some sort of Panzarella salad)
- grilled chicken
- prosciutto ham
How to make burrata salad step by step
Before you start: Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature – tomatoes will have a better texture and the burrata will be more creamy.
STEP 1: Cut the tomatoes into wedges and arrange them on a large plate.
You can also cut the tomatoes into slices, but I prefer thick wedges that are more convenient to eat.
STEP 2: Place the burrata ball in the middle or tear the burrata into smaller pieces and arrange it between tomatoes (I prefer the latter).
STEP 3: Sprinkle the salad with basil leaves (I like to leave smaller leaves whole and slice larger leaves).
STEP 4: Drizzle the salad with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
STEP 5: Cook the balsamic vinegar in a small pot until slightly thickened (it doesn’t have to be so thick as store-bought balsamic glaze products, just slightly thickened, we also cook the vinegar to tame its harsh taste and give it sweetness).
STEP 6: Drizzle the salad with the glaze.
Drizzle with lemon juice to taste.
Enjoy!
Storage
This salad doesn’t take long to prepare and tastes best freshly prepared. But, if you have good-quality tomatoes that are not watery, it should be completely fine if prepared 30-60 minutes in advance. I even ate mine the next day and it was ok.
Serving suggestions
- grilled / pan-fried chicken
- toasted sourdough bread or grilled cheese sandwich
- cheesy stuffed shells
- Caprese chicken
- Caprese pasta
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Burrata Caprese Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds (675g) tomatoes, preferably Heirloom tomatoes or other good quality sweet summer tomatoes
- 7 ounces (200g) burrata cheese
- 1 twig basil leaves about 10 leaves
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- flaky sea salt coarse salt
- freshly ground coarse black pepper
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- lemon juice to taste, about 2 teaspoons
Instructions
- Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature (tomatoes have a better texture and the burrata will be more creamy).
- Cut the tomatoes into wedges and arrange them on a large plate.
- Place the burrata ball in the middle or tear the burrata into smaller pieces and arrange it between tomatoes.
- Sprinkle with basil leaves (I like to leave smaller leaves whole and slice larger leaves).
- Drizzle the salad with olive oil.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Cook the balsamic vinegar in a small pot until slightly thickened. Drizzle the salad with the glaze.
- Drizzle with lemon juice to taste.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Balsamic glaze and lemon juice are optional but I like to add them.
- If you don’t have good-quality summer tomatoes, use cherry tomatoes.
- Instead of burrata, you can use mozzarella. I would especially recommend mozzarella di Bufala.
- This salad is also very good with sliced ripe peaches.
- Calories = 1 serving (1/4 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
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