Strawberry Caprese Salad with Avocado and Fresh Basil

Caprese Salad with strawberries is a burst of flavor in every bite! Incredible mini bites of tomato, cheese, and strawberries all folded into balsamic is an eruption of flavor in every. single. bite.

Caprese Salsa or Caprese Salad? 

Prep is the name of the game for this recipe! Make sure you cut down your ingredients into bite sized pieces so you can easily get a little bit of tomato, cheese, strawberry and avocado in each bite. 

This recipe is great to eat alone as a refreshing side dish salad with its mini bites of fresh fruit and veggies, or serve as an amazing salsa with chips.

Its very versatile and just packs tons of flavor! 

Strawberry Caprese Salad Salsa

Scroll to the bottom for a printable version of this post, including all measurements and instructions, so you can follow along in your kitchen without being on your phone. 

Here is what ingredients you need to gather to get started: 

• balsamic vinegar
• strawberries
• grape tomatoes
• pearl sized mozzarella cheese balls
• avocado
• fresh basil
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• tortilla chips for serving (OPTIONAL)

RELATED RECIPES: 

• Fresh cut Tomato Caprese Pizza
• Mini Caprese Lady Bug Appetizers with Tomatoes and Mozzarella
• Easy Hot Caprese Pasta with Black Olives
• Ensalada Caprese with Sweet Sliced Pears
• Mini Caprese Sandwich Appetizer Sliders

NOTE: I have had this Caprese salad up for a long time and recently made it again today and decided to change the formerly 1 cup strawberries to the entire pint of strawberries.

If you have made this salad in the past, please note the change. This took the salad from a few servings to a serving salad of approximately 5 cups, and so much easier to serve to a crowd. Because I made that alteration, you may want to double your balsamic vinegar but I personally like it still the same reduction. 

Tools used to make this Caprese Side Dish

1. Amazing knives – you must have a great set of slice knives and it really shows when you are cutting veggies all day! Having a great set of knives in your kitchen will make prep easy and stress low
2. Prep Bowls– Large prep mixing bowls are a must to make sure you really can mix your veggies, flavors, and dressing all together without pieces of your salsa falling over the sides
3. Serving Bowls: I love the mini salsa bowls you can do for individual tables or serving just like the restaurants. You can get them in black but these are my favorite and bring a lot of festivity to the party

Cheese, Mozzarella, and Strawberry Prep! 

• The cheese is Galbani Mozzarella Fresca, perline/pearl sized. You drain the liquid the then cut the balls into quarters.
• This makes about 3-4 cups of salsa. The time consuming part is the reduction. And maybe the cutting of the fruits/veggies.
• I would serve asap because of the avocado turning brown.
• I did double this reduction and saved half of it for an Appetizer Platter. I think you could easily prep this balsamic reduction done the day before and drizzle when ready to serve if you want to cut down on some time.

Balsamic Reduction Recipe

To get started you will need to first make your balsamic reduction.  As you pour the balsamic vinegar and heat on the stove, it reduces the liquid and starts firming up into more of a syrup.

• In a small saucepan add vinegar.
• Heat on medium low for 8-12 minutes. This can actually be less on a gas stove because it heats so quickly, so just watch it. 
• Stir occasionally until mixture begins to thicken.
• Remove from heat and let cool.
• Mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.

Strawberry Caprese Salad with Fresh Basil

After done with your balsamic reduction, move on to this step of the recipe. In a large mixing bowl, add cut up strawberries, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, avocado and fresh cut basil.

Stir all ingredients to mix well.

Drizzle salad with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Mix ingredients well again.

Place into a serving bowl and drizzle with balsamic vinegar reduction.

Serve immediately.

These types of salad/dips, because they use avocado, are best served and enjoyed at the same time of meal prep.

As always, your feedback is welcome! Please let me know how you enjoyed this recipe or any changes you made that are delicious. 

Strawberry Caprese Salad with Avocado and Fresh Basil

Yield: 5 cups

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 18 minutes

Caprese Salad with bites of strawberry and cherry tomatoes is a burst of flavor in every bite! Incredible mini bites of tomato, cheese, and strawberries all folded into balsamic is an eruption of flavor in every. single. bite.

Print

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 pint strawberries, washed, stems removed and cut into small pieces
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1 container, 8 oz, petite/pearl sized mozzarella cheese balls, quartered
• 1 avocado, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper
• tortilla chips for serving

Instructions

BALSAMIC REDUCTION

1. In a small saucepan add vinegar. Heat on medium low for 8-12 minutes. Please note that this can reduce quickly and quite a bit if your stove is particularly hot (like gas stoves). I have made it where it only took 5 minutes.
2. Stir occasionally until mixture begins to thicken. Remove reduction from heat and let cool.
3. Mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.
4. This can be made a day ahead of time.

CAPRESE SALAD RECIPE

1. Meanwhile, In a large mixing bowl, add cut up strawberries, chopped tomatoes, chopped mozzarella cheese, cut up avocado and fresh basil.
2. Stir caprese salad to mix well.
3. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Mix strawberry caprese salad well again till all ingredients are covered.
5. Place into a serving bowl and drizzle with balsamic vinegar reduction on top. If serving to a large crowd, its ok to mix in but note that Balsamic is not that pretty and will take your salad from a bright red and beautiful salad to brown (which is why its better to serve as a topping per bowl)
6. Serve this recipe immediately.
7. Will keep in fridge for about 2 days, but note that the avocado will brown in the fridge (still tastes the same)

Notes

Makes a delicious chunky, hearty dip OR a great mini bite refreshing side salad. Additionally, I love this caprese salad version on bruschetta!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 Servings
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 146Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 177mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 6g

Nutritional information is automatically calculated with ingredients and serving size and may not be accurate. Please always double check with your own nutritional apps as well.

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