Caprese is proof that a recipe does not need a long ingredient list — it needs good tomatoes. Thick slices of ripe tomato layered with fresh mozzarella, whole basil leaves tucked between them, a thread of good olive oil and a balsamic glaze that clings instead of pooling: that is the whole dish, and on a warm evening it eats like a complete meal. It sits in our Healthy & Low-Carb collection because it genuinely is — mostly protein, healthy fat and tomato, with very little carbohydrate.
The photograph is exactly how we serve it: overlapping slices on a flat plate, nothing hidden under dressing. That presentation is not fussiness, it is seasoning strategy. A flat layer means every slice gets its own pinch of flaky salt and its own drizzle, instead of the top slice taking all the flavour and the bottom ones steaming in tomato juice. Serve it next to our Tomato Bruschetta and you have used one basket of tomatoes two completely different ways.
Buy the mozzarella in a ball packed in water, not the firm low-moisture block you would grate onto pizza. The soft ball tears and slices into milky rounds that stay tender against the tomato. If the only tomatoes available are pale and firm, wait a day and make something else — Caprese has nowhere to hide, and honest recipes should say so.
Salt the tomatoes first, briefly
Tomatoes weep. Slice them, lay them on a plate, sprinkle with half the salt and give them ten minutes while you slice the mozzarella. A spoonful or two of pink juice will collect — pour it off (into a soup pot or a Bloody Mary, never the sink if you can help it) and your finished salad will sit in a glossy glaze instead of a watery puddle. Ten minutes is enough; an hour draws out too much and the slices go soft and tired-looking.
Glaze from a bottle is the honest shortcut
Reducing balsamic vinegar at home works, but it takes twenty minutes, fills the kitchen with eye-watering steam and reduces a whole bottle to a few spoonfuls. A good store-bought balsamic glaze — the thick, squeezable kind — does the same job in four seconds and keeps for months in the cupboard. We use it here without apology. What we will not substitute is the olive oil: this is the one salad where the peppery, green flavour of a decent extra-virgin oil is actually tasted, so use the best bottle you have.
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lb / 680 g), sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 (8 oz) ball fresh mozzarella (225 g), sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves (24 g), large leaves torn
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (30 ml)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze (15 ml), store-bought or reduced
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt (3 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (0.8 g)
Amounts are for the yield below. US customary measures first, grams in brackets for scale users.
Step-by-step instructions
- Slice and salt the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes into 1/4-inch rounds, discarding the stem ends. Lay them on a tray, sprinkle with half the salt and rest for 10 minutes. Pour off the collected juice.
- Slice the mozzarella. Pat the mozzarella ball dry, then slice it into rounds the same thickness as the tomato. If the ball crumbles at the edges, chill it for 10 minutes and slice again with a serrated knife — cleaner cuts, same flavour.
- Layer the salad. On a flat serving plate, overlap tomato and mozzarella slices in a ring or rows, tucking a basil leaf between every second slice so the green shows at the edges, exactly as pictured.
- Dress just before serving. Drizzle the olive oil in a slow thread over everything, then the balsamic glaze in a zigzag. Finish with the remaining flaky salt and the black pepper.
- Rest two minutes, then serve. Give the salad 2 minutes for the oil and tomato juices to mingle, then serve at room temperature — never straight from the fridge, which dulls both the tomato and the cheese.
Nutrition estimate
| Nutrient | Per serving |
|---|---|
| Calories | 218 kcal |
| Protein | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 7 g |
| Fat | 16 g |
| Saturated fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 430 mg |
| Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
Nutrition figures are estimates calculated from standard ingredient data for the yield stated. Your actual values will vary with brands, substitutions and portion sizes — treat them as a guide, not a guarantee.
Storage & reheating
Caprese is a make-and-eat salad: assembled leftovers soften and weep within a few hours. If you must work ahead, slice the mozzarella and wash the basil up to a day in advance and keep them chilled separately; slice and salt the tomatoes, assemble and dress only when you are ready to serve. Leftover dressed salad keeps 1 day in the fridge and is best chopped into pasta or onto toast rather than served as slices again.
Easy Caprese Salad with Balsamic Glaze
Ripe tomatoes, milky mozzarella, basil and a glossy balsamic glaze — no cooking at all.
Ingredients
Tick ingredients off as you prep, and tap a step below to mark it done as you cook. Scaling adjusts the listed amounts - seasoning to taste stays your call.
Instructions
- Slice and salt the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes into 1/4-inch rounds, discarding the stem ends. Lay them on a tray, sprinkle with half the salt and rest for 10 minutes. Pour off the collected juice.
- Slice the mozzarella. Pat the mozzarella ball dry, then slice it into rounds the same thickness as the tomato. If the ball crumbles at the edges, chill it for 10 minutes and slice again with a serrated knife — cleaner cuts, same flavour.
- Layer the salad. On a flat serving plate, overlap tomato and mozzarella slices in a ring or rows, tucking a basil leaf between every second slice so the green shows at the edges, exactly as pictured.
- Dress just before serving. Drizzle the olive oil in a slow thread over everything, then the balsamic glaze in a zigzag. Finish with the remaining flaky salt and the black pepper.
- Rest two minutes, then serve. Give the salad 2 minutes for the oil and tomato juices to mingle, then serve at room temperature — never straight from the fridge, which dulls both the tomato and the cheese.
Recipe by Ahsan ul Haq · FryDaily. Printing? This card is designed to print cleanly on its own.
