Caprese Salad is the perfect easy side dish for any BBQ. Simple, delicious, and healthy! Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil, and Balsamic Vinegar. A family favorite! This Chopped Caprese Salad Recipe (Tomato Mozzarella Salad) is my go-to side dish for everything Summer!
Caprese Salad
Caprese Salad is the type of recipe I can’t live without. I’m kind of embarrassed to admit how many dinners at our house consist of tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella.
Some of our favorites are Stuffed Caprese Chicken Sandwich, White Chicken Caprese Lasagna, and Cheesy Caprese Dip!
Pat and I both LOVE the flavor combination, and more often than not, our evenings are pretty simple.
You would think a food blogger cooks every night, but this food blogger loves the simple things, and this super easy Chopped Caprese Salad Recipe is a favorite at our house!
I’ve dressed it up just a smidge by using a quick and easy balsamic reduction drizzled on top. You just can’t go wrong with this favorite salad recipe.
This Caprese Salad Recipe can also be served as a main course if you’re in the mood for a fresh and simple dinner or lunch. It’s one of Pat’s favorite things to take to work!
What is Caprese Salad?
Caprese Salad is traditionally made with tomato, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and balsamic dressing. We have changed things up a bit but kept it classic. It’s one of my very favorite recipes on the site!
I originally published this recipe back in 2015 right after we had returned from a trip to Italy and Spain. I have never loved the photos so I decided it was in need of a reboot!
You could find the flavors of cheese, tomatoes, and fresh herbs on every corner and I was so in love. Well, with that and gelato. I didn’t come back lighter!
Can this Caprese Salad can be made ahead?
YES! Here’s how to make Caprese Salad ahead:
- Chop up the mozzarella cheese, basil and cherry tomatoes
- Store in the fridge until ready to serve. (up to 24 hours)
- When ready to serve, drizzle on the balsamic dressing (in this case the BALSAMIC REDUCTION that is TO DIE FOR)
- Serve and enjoy!
How to make Chopped Caprese Salad
You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!
This Caprese Salad recipe is ALWAYS loved by all. Double or triple the recipe to serve at a family get together or work BBQ. It’s so versatile and delicious with so many foods.
I also want to try Caprese Salad Skewers and Caprese Salad Pasta! Can you imagine how good? We ordered Caprese (tomato & mozzarella) flavors in different variations at almost every meal on our trip.
Now that we have a baby, this Chopped Caprese Salad is such a quick side or even meal to whip up in no time while still having all the flavor. The fresh basil is a MUST so don’t let me catch you using dried basil on this! Pinky promise?
How long will Tomato Mozzarella Salad last in the fridge?
I recommend eating within 24 hours but this Caprese Salad will stay good in the fridge for 2-3 days. It can get a bit juicy, so drain before serving.
It’s always better the fresher you can serve it, but we do love this as leftovers. No shame in your game!
Low Carb and Gluten Free Caprese Salad
The fact that this Chopped Caprese Salad is low carb AND gluten free makes it the ultimate recipe to bring to any occasion. I love that almost anyone can enjoy it, regardless of special diet.
Bring on the happy customers. We don’t have a lot of Gluten Free Recipes, but this is definitely one of my favorite options.
What to serve with this Caprese Salad Recipe
This tomato and mozzarella caprese is great on its own or even used as a fresh salsa for chicken or fish! Balsamic chicken anyone?? Save some of this and throw it on a burger…YUM! We love to serve it with our Swiss Chicken or Caesar Chicken
More Serving Ideas:
You get the idea, the possibilities are endless. Here are some ideas of what we usually serve it with.
This Chopped Tomato Mozzarella Salad version is super easy to eat, making it the favorite version at our house! What are your favorite Summer flavors?
I would love to hear about them so I could maybe spice up our dinner routine. But for now, I’ll stick with my chopped caprese salad. Works great for me. :)
More Caprese Recipes
Once you’ve made this chopped caprese salad, be sure to make all of our other caprese recipes as well! We just love these flavors and can’t stop coming up with more recipes.
If you make this Caprese Salad Recipe, be sure to upload a photo in the comments or leave us a rating. We love to hear how you love our recipes! Enjoy.
Caprese Salad Recipe (Chopped)
Ingredients
- 10 ounces cherry or cherub tomatoes chopped in half
- 8 ounces whole milk mozzarella cherry sized. Chopped in half or fourths
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1/2 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the balsamic vinegar and honey to a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Once it’s reduced by approximately half and thickened to your liking (about 10-15 min), remove from the heat. Be careful it doesn’t get too thick, but a bit syrupy is good.
- Toss all ingredients except for the reduction in a bowl. Drizzle with the reduction, adding a little at a time, tossing, tasting, and then adding more to your liking.
- Enjoy!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
Nutrition Information
Thank you made this a couple of years ago for potluck
Requested ever year for valentine’s potluck
Thank you for a simple to follow and delicious recipe
I’m so glad you and everyone else enjoyed it as well!!
Had this at a restaurant a few years ago and it was delicious. Had a craving for it tonight it was wonderful and quickly made!
Thanks, Tywanda! Glad I could help your craving :)
You don’t put tomatoes in the fridge. Adding them at the end will take a whole two minutes and you won’t lose the flavor.
Loved the balsamic reduction!
So glad!
This really is the ultimate dinner salad, looks incredible!
Thank you!
Hey there, stumbled upon this recipe when looking for caprese salads and this was such a winner! I made it pretty much as instructed; the only difference was I added chopped and skinned cucumbers as per another recipe which just added more crunch. Seriously, that balsamic honey reduction? This is 100% going into our hosting recipe repertoire. Thanks for posting!
Awesome, I’m so glad you loved it! Love adding cucumbers…that is such a good idea!
Mmm….caprese! If this is what you ate in Italiy, I think Italy and I would get along just fine. :)
Great post I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this interesting and knowledgeable article.http://thesawexpert.com/sliding-compound-miter-saw-reviews/
This is really a great stuff for sharing. Keep it up. Thanks for sharing.
My favorite. Here is a suggestion I take a inexpensive bottle of balsamic vinegar and pour I the whole bottle in a saucepan and cook to reduce by half when cool pour back in to the bottle and use that on my career salad give a whole new taste to the salad. I keep the remaining in the fridge for later use.