Easy Peasy Caprese Salad
Make an easy peasy Caprese Salad with the end of season harvest from your herb garden. I will also be sharing, her 3 sister salads made with some other treasures from our garden.
JUMP TO RECIPE
All this week we have been discussing what to do with your end of season harvest of veggies and herbs. My Easy Peasy Caprese Salad is one of my all favorites. Also be sure to catch my Herbivores’ Harvest post where we process the remaining mother load of herbs for the season.
While this particular recipe is not ground breaking, I do find that the simplicity of a fresh caprese salad is always perfect with any meal. The fact that it is simple and easy to make just makes this recipe one that anyone can do.
The first and most important part of this recipe is the freshness factor. Which is what makes it the perfect picked from the garden salad. All you need is tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella cheese and a really good olive oil. 
In this recipe I only use Oliv+Ve, Tuscan Herb Olive Oil from my good friends at Oli+ve in Roswell. For our family nothing else will do. Their fresh certified ultra premium, extra virgin olive oil from artisan batches with 100% natural, organic flavors, are simply the best.
I also really like to use a mix of fresh tomatoes, this year I grew my own variety which consisting of Heirloom San Marzano Roma’s, Sungold Cherry Tomatoes, Black Cherry Heirloom Tomatoes, and Grape Tomatoes. They made a really pretty mix, especially for this easy caprese salad.
Fresh Basil is also key in this recipe and makes a ton of flavor and color difference in this recipe. My tip is to add it at the very end just before serving so it stays nice and fresh and does not get soggy. I also like to roll my leaves and slice them into uniform strips to make a pretty green confetti look for the salad as seen below.
While this salad can be eaten alone, or as a side salad, I also like to use this to top grilled chicken or fish. It makes a perfect appetizer, with some crusty french bread and balsamic glaze for a bruschetta. I even have used it to top off scrambled eggs for an Italian Breakfast brunch, and it can also be used on a flatbread and baked for a quick pizza option. Such a versatile and tasty summertime option.
Caprese Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups Tomatoes ( any variety- the more the merrier) Diced
- 8 oz Mozzarella Pearls
- 1 cup Fresh Basil Sliced into Ribbons
- 4 tbls Oli+ve Tuscan Herb Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Hımlayan Salt
- 2 tsp Fresh Cracked Pepper
Instructions
- Dice Tomatoes into glass bowl
- Add Mozzarella Pearls and coat with Olive oil
- Add salt and pepper store in Refrigerator until ready to serve
- Add Basil Ribbons prior to serving and stir
Okay, so now for her 3 Little Sister Salads, the first one is what I call Texas Caviar. It is basically another cold salad that can be used as a dip, with tortilla chips or it is great on grilled chicken or steak fajitas. You can also make a really nice Tex Mex Salad or Nachos with the same mix. Again very versatile and perfect use of summer time foods from the garden.
Texas Caviar
Ingredients
- 2 cups Garden Tomatoes diced (any variety)
- 1 can Black Beans rinsed
- 1 can Corn rinsed (can used grilled corn- 2 ears removed from cob)
- 2 Avocados chopped
- 2-6 Garden Jalapeños optional-depending on how hot you like it
- 1 Packet Guacamole Mix
- 4 Spring Onions chopped
- 1 Bag Corn Chips
- 1 Lime
- 1 Cup Cilantro fresh, rough chop
Instructions
- Diced up Tomatoes, Onions and Jalapeños into a glass bowl.
- Open Beans and Corn rinse, and add to bowl.
- Sprinkle Guacamole Mix into bowl
- Squeeze juice of one lime into bowl, stir all ingredient together.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour
- Chop avalados into cubes and add to bowl with cilantro. Lightly toss just prior to serving.
The next two recipes are types of pestos, the first one is a basic Italian pesto the perfect way to use up more basil, and it pairs great with the tomatoes again. The second pesto is a Thai Basil Pesto for a more exotic flavor and is wonderful on stir fry dinners containing shrimp, chicken, pork or steak.
Traditional Italian Pesto
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 3 cups Fresh Basil
- 1/2 cup Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
- 2/3 cup Pine Nuts toasted
- 4 tbsp Garlic (4 cloves) minced in olive oil
- 1/2 cup Oli+Ve Tuscan Olive Oil
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.
Notes
Thai Basil Pesto
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 4 cups Thai Basil
- 4 tbsp garlic ( 4 cloves) minced in olive oil
- 1 Lime
- 1 Tbls Lime Zest
- 4-6 Garden Thai Chili Pepers or Jalapeños
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup peanuts dry roasted- unsalted
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.
Notes
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Omg, this looks so delicious! I’m gonna try it tonight. Thank you for the recipe😁
This is such a yummy recipe and love this specialty flavor of olive oil you are using, I need to check them out online.
I love a good Caprese! A perfect summertime salad 🙂
Yum yum yum! I am a sucker for a good salad. This looks delicious:)
Yum! This sounds so tasty and it would be a perfect way to use up some of my moms bumper crop of tomatoes!
I search for some healthy and tasty recipes nowadays. Just want to keep myself healthy with taste and these salads contain all the healthy things. I’ll try texas caviar.
I love the idea of three little sister salads..:). Great recipes Jennifer!
Thank You Vaishali coming from you that is huge honor! You are the queen of recipes!
Yum! I have so many veggies from my garden and not enough recipes to use them for. I’m so going to try that Caprese salad. It sounds delicious!
These recipes sound great! Caprese salad is my all-time FAVORITE, especially in the summer! You’ve really got me interested in the Thai Basil Pesto 🙂
Cassie it is really good and very unique recipe I came up with on my own, it is perfect on chicken or shrimp for a stir fry. 🙂 My husband love Thai Basil Fried Rice, so I came up with a version I could make at home for him since we do not have any Thai restaurants in our local area.
Katie, I hear you they all cam in at the same time here too! LOL
I love delicious salad and it looks so yummmm. Gonna try this soon.
Totally going to try this out!
All of these recipes sound sooo good 🙂 I have never tried the Caprese salad . This one is a must try for me 🙂
Oh I love a good fresh from the garden salad and these are all great! I am looking forward to the rest of your herbivore posts! They really peaked my interest.
This looks so good! The perfect salad for tonight! Love it!
Really great post! I will try this!
Yum I love that you also included 3 other herb based salads in this post too. I love the Thai Pesto what a interesting concept, you may consider making them a separate pin. Great job.
We love a Caprese salad with our fresh tomatoes and basil, but I love the 3 other recipes you have here too! The Thai Basil Pesto is very unique I have always wondered what to do with Thai Basil when I see it for sale and now I know. Thanks my friend!
This would even make a great holiday salad with the red and green plus it might add something semi healthy to the table 🙊
Sometimes it is nice to add something light in during the months of rich heavy foods.
The perfect easy salad for low calorie dinner or vegetarian option.