Salad

Caprese Salad

Name: Caprese Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 ripe tomatoes, sliced; 250 g fresh mozzarella, sliced; Fresh basil leaves; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp balsamic glaze; Flaky sea salt and black pepper

Serves 4 Prep 10 mins Cook 0 mins Total 10 mins

Caprese Salad is a salad staple we keep on Scoops & Dishes because it rewards a clear metric method: grams and millilitres, Australian cups (250 ml), and steps you can follow without scrolling past a novel. Serves 4 with about 10 mins prep and 0 mins cook time (around 10 mins total). That is a home estimate — ovens and pans vary, so use colour and texture as well as the clock. Shop first for ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and Fresh basil leaves; those ingredients do the heavy lifting for flavour and texture, while the rest of the list seasons, binds, or finishes the plate. Use it for warm evenings, BBQ sides, and desk lunches that still feel fresh, then dress close to serving so leaves stay crisp. Double for a crowd; keep dressing separate until the last minute. Metric spoons here mean a 20 ml tablespoon and a 5 ml teaspoon. We write salad recipes so you can cook from your phone on the bench: large checkable ingredients, numbered steps, and notes you can skim while the pan heats.

Ingredients

4 ripe tomatoes, sliced
250 g fresh mozzarella, sliced
Fresh basil leaves
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic glaze
Flaky sea salt and black pepper

Method

Alternate tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter.
Tuck basil leaves between slices.
Drizzle with oil and balsamic glaze. Season with salt and pepper.

Tip: Quality ingredients matter most in this simple salad.

Notes

Shopping and mise en place: read the full ingredient list once before you start. For Caprese Salad, ripe tomatoes and fresh mozzarella are the items that decide whether the dish tastes flat or properly seasoned. Weigh where grams are given — volume cups are fine for liquids and some dry goods, but baking ratios are tighter if you use scales. Australian cups are 250 ml; a tablespoon is 20 ml and a teaspoon is 5 ml.
Serving ideas without fluff: dress close to serving so leaves stay crisp. Keep accompaniments simple so the dish stays the hero — a green salad, steamed veg, rice, mash, or crusty bread depending on the style. Metric measures stay consistent across Scoops & Dishes, so once you trust the cups and scales here, the rest of the site cooks the same way.
Method rhythm: step one is “Alternate tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter.”. Do not skip resting, cooling, or draining steps if they appear later — they are usually there for texture. The finish is “Drizzle with oil and balsamic glaze. Season with salt and pepper.”. Taste before you plate; salt at the end often needs a final pinch.
Putting it together for Caprese Salad: work clean, taste as you go, and do not rush browning or reduction steps if they appear in the method. If you are cooking for mixed diets, plate sauces and toppings separately where practical. Keep this page bookmarked if it becomes a household regular — we update wording when cooks report a confusing step. Metric consistency across Scoops & Dishes means once you trust the cups and scales here, breakfast through dessert behaves the same way.
Extra cook's margin: if your pan is thin or your oven runs cool, give Caprese Salad another minute and check again rather than guessing from memory. Salt in small pinches, especially late in soups, sauces, and batters. Wipe up spills before they bake on. When doubling the recipe, brown or bake in batches so steam does not trap and soften crusts. Write any tweak that worked on a sticky note — your kitchen, your pans, your preference — and keep the published metric baseline as the starting point next time.