This Easy Caprese Salad is a favorite year round, but especially when tomatoes and basil are fresh from the garden.

What is a Caprese Salad?

A traditional caprese salad is so simple: fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We wanted more of a salad with lots of fresh baby greens so we added our favorite mixed greens and tossed them with a delicious homemade dressing. Finish this salad off with a balsamic glaze, you can make the balsamic glaze at home, or Trader Joes has a good one. The colors and flavors of this salad are so good. If you have fresh garden tomatoes you MUST use them in this salad.

Ingredients for this Easy Caprese Salad:

mixed greens (green leaf, butter leaf, red leaf, romaine) use your favorite
1 lb. baby mozzarella balls, cut in half (aka: Bocconcini)
1 lb. cherry or grape tomatoes washed and halved, or roma tomatoes sliced
10-12 large basil leaves, sliced thin
cracked black pepper to taste
balsamic glaze (Homemade or from Trader Joes)
For the Homemade salad dressing:
1/2 teaspoon garlic minced 4 teaspoons dijon mustard
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

How to make this simple Caprese Salad:

Add all salad dressing ingredients into a medium sized mason jar with tight-fitting lid. Shake to combine. Drizzle over the mixed greens and toss to dress the greens.
Add the dressed greens to your serving dish place the mozzarella balls, tomatoes, and basil on top. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper.
Drizzle with the balsamic glaze.
Serve immediately.

How to Chiffonade Basil:

Are you familiar with the term chiffonade? This recipe calls for basil to be cut into long thin strips. The proper term is chiffonade, and it’s super simple to do. Just stack all the fresh basil leaves together in one pile. Tightly roll the leaves together and then with a good sharp knife cut rows of thin strips of the leaves. You can then sprinkle it over the top of this salad.