This is one of the best recipes to come out of the test kitchen this summer. We’re obsessed! We know how much you love our Caprese Avocado Salad. We turned it into a Red, White, and Blue version that’ll knock your socks off. Sure, this colorful dish is the perfect patriotic side dish for your holiday backyard barbecues and cookouts, but it’s also so delicious that you’ll find yourself making up holidays just so you can have an excuse to make it.
If you love caprese, just wait until you try our Southwestern Caprese Bites!
Why Our Recipe
- Celebrating the red, white, and blue in a side dish perfectly designed for backyard barbecues and cookouts.
- So delicious that you’ll come up with any excuse to make it!
You aren’t going to have any leftovers when you make this red, white, and blue caprese salad. There sure wasn’t when we made it for these photographs in the studio! This is your new tradition for Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, and Independence Day. Not American? We love you too! Our British and Aussie friends will get in on the action as well. It won’t even matter what nation you are part of because this one is going to be a favorite no matter which part of the globe you find yourself in, no matter what day it is.
Ingredient Notes
- Grape Tomatoes: the perfect choice for beauty, but you can also use cherry tomatoes, or diced Roma tomatoes.
- Strawberries: go with sliced, or quartered
- Blueberries: you’ve got to have that blue, and we love the pop and the flavor, but you could play with blackberries as well.
- Mini mozzarella balls: The item you are looking for may be called mini mozzarella balls, bocconcini, or mozzarella pearls.
- Fresh Basil: fresh is best, but if you want to eliminate that green, substitute with 1 to 2 tablespoons of dried and whisk it in with your dressing.
- Honey: a little bit of sweet
- White balsamic vinegar: a little bit of sour
- Extra virgin olive oil: the fat that conducts the flavor
- Salt & Pepper: and the natural enhancer of flavors that brings it all together.
Tomato Choices
We recommend grape tomatoes for this recipe. However, cherry and Roma tomatoes also do a good job of keep their shape after they are cut. You can also make this salad with any regular diced garden tomatoes. Those do tend to be more juicy, which would make for a watery salad and impact the overall presentation.
Mini mozzarella balls
You can find mini mozzarella balls in the fresh cheese section in most grocery stores in the United States. Just look for them in round plastic containers or vauum-sealed bags. You can generally find them next to other larger balls of fresh mozzarella cheese. Fresh cheeses are generally found in a different section than bricks of mozzarella cheese and shredded cheese. Names you will find for these cute cheese balls may be mini mozzarella balls, bocconcini, or mozzarella pearls.
Vinegar Substitutes
We recommend white balsamic vinegar for its lighter flavor and clear color. Regular balsamic vinegar also tastes delicious but will give the salad a brown tint. Other clear or lightly colored options include mild vinegars such as white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Add a little extra honey if you use these less-sweet vinegars to balance the flavors.
Storage Instructions
If you are not planning on eating it right away, wait to put the dressing on until you are about to eat. If you aren’t going to eat all of it in one sitting, you can only put the dressing on the portion you are eating at that time.
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days.
