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Table of Contents
- What Makes This Burrata Caprese Different?
- My Favorite Burrata for Caprese Salad
- Does Caprese Salad Need Dressing?
- Burrata Caprese Salad Ingredients
- How to Serve Burrata Caprese Salad
- 10 Tips for The Best Burrata Caprese Salad
- What to Serve with Caprese Salad
- FAQs
- Show Me Your Caprese Salad
- Burrata Caprese Salad with Chicken & Avocado Recipe
Traditional Caprese salad is one of my favorite appetizers, but sometimes I want it to be the whole meal. So I took the tomatoes, basil, and cheese I love and gave them the full Meg treatment: creamy burrata, grilled chicken, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and balsamic glaze, all arranged on a shareable platter.
It’s fresh, filling, naturally gluten-free, high in protein, and ready in under 20 minutes. And when I use rotisserie chicken, there’s no cooking required!
Traditional insalata Caprese is made with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper. My version swaps the mozzarella for burrata and adds chicken and avocado, turning the classic appetizer into an easy lunch, dinner, or party platter.
For more recipes like this one, check out my Whipped Burrata Dip, Caprese Skewers, Panzanella Salad, and round-up of The Best Burrata Recipes for Every Season. If you’re looking for more fresh meal ideas, take a look through all my favorite salad recipes!
What Makes This Burrata Caprese Different?
- Burrata instead of mozzarella. You get that creamy stracciatella center that becomes almost like a dressing once the burrata is torn open.
- Chicken makes it a meal. Traditional Caprese is generally an appetizer or side; adding chicken gives this enough protein to stand on its own.
- Heirloom cherry tomatoes are perfectly sweet. Cherry tomatoes are ideal for their size and delicate sweetness, but I specifically use heirloom tomatoes because they’re juicier, tastier, and more tender! This is because most store-bought tomatoes are specifically bred to travel, keep well, resist disease, or produce maximum yield. No matter what kind of tomato you choose, the best thing you can do to ensure the best flavor is to buy when tomatoes are in season, which is July through October. (Pro tip: shop at your local farmer’s market!)
- Avocado adds even more creaminess. It works especially well with the acidic tomatoes and balsamic.
- It’s built for sharing. Instead of alternating tomato and mozzarella slices on a plate, everything is beautifully arranged on a platter or board.
My Favorite Burrata for Caprese Salad
In our house, burrata is a top-tier cheese. I use it so often that I have tried a bunch of different brands; what I’ve learned is not all burrata is created equal! When I shop for burrata, I rotate between my top three favorites:
- Trader Joe’s Burrata: I love to shop at Trader Joe’s (I even made Trader Joe’s Charcuterie Boards for different budgets), so I was ecstatic when I realized how delicious and creamy their burrata is! I use this one most often. Plus, Trader Joe’s also sells Burrata Filling (AKA stracciatella), which makes an amazing spread.
- BelGioioso: This burrata is a great, reliable option that you can find at almost every grocery store! You can even find this burrata at Target.
- Belfiore Cheese: You can find this delicious option at stores like Whole Foods, which is also one of my favorite places to buy cheese (hence my Whole Foods Charcuterie Board)!
Does Caprese Salad Need Dressing?
Traditional Caprese salad doesn’t need a separate dressing. The tomatoes and mozzarella are drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, which mixes with the tomato juices, salt, and basil to provide plenty of juicy flavor. That said, the reason I love using burrata is that the creamy center mingles with all of the above goodness and adds a creamy texture and flavor to the “dressing” when it’s torn open.
Personally, I always add balsamic glaze to my caprese salads–it’s not traditional, but I love the sweet acidity it adds, especially in contrast with rich, creamy burrata. But feel free to swap in a dressing or a drizzle to tailor the flavor to your preferences.
Burrata Caprese Salad Ingredients
Even though it’s not traditional, this caprese salad is the version I always come back to. It’s easy to customize and it feels both wholesome and filling! Feel free to swap out (or add!) any of the ingredients based on your tastes, but the one ingredient I never skip is the tomatoes.
In this recipe, I used:
- Burrata
- Cherry tomatoes
- Avocado
- Grilled chicken
- Fresh basil
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Balsamic glaze (I love the Whole Foods balsamic glaze, but Colvita and Bertoli also make great options!)
Alternate Ingredients To Swap or Add
Whether you have taste preferences or leftovers you want to use up, try:
Produce
- Peaches
- Strawberries
- Watermelon
- Grilled eggplant
Greens
- Arugula
- Fresh Mint
- Microgreens
- Watercress
Protein
- Rotisserie chicken (no cook!)
- Grilled shrimp
- Prosciutto
- Grilled steak
- Chickpeas
- White beans
Dressing
- Lemon vinaigrette
- Basil vinaigrette
- Champagne vinaigrette
- Hot honey + olive oil
- Pesto
- White balsamic vinaigrette
- Olive oil + truffle oil (just a little! truffle oil can be overpowering)
How to Serve Burrata Caprese Salad
- Add tomatoes to top and bottom of board. Add burrata below tomatoes.
- Cut burrata into quarters.
- Pull burrata apart.
- Arrange burrata in two separate rows.
- Add chicken below one row of burrata and avocado below the other.
- Add remaining tomatoes to the center.
- Top everything with basil and salt. Top burrata with olive oil and pepper.
- Drizzle burrata with balsamic glaze.
10 Tips for The Best Burrata Caprese Salad
- I always use room temperature burrata
- Avoid cutting the burrata too soon! I like to cut it after assembling and just before serving.
- I like to salt the tomatoes before assembling the board
- I usually serve tomatoes at room temperature because I rarely refrigerate them (I only put them in the fridge if they’re super ripe and I want to keep them longer)
- Always use high-quality extra-virgin olive oil. It should come in a dark glass bottle (not plastic!), it’s best if the oil is from the same place rather than a blend (for instance, I always choose California Olive Ranch Olive Oil that’s “100% California” over their “global blend”), and small producers often make higher-quality, more flavorful oils (for these, I love to shop on Olive Oil Lovers!).
- Wait until just before serving to drizzle with the balsamic
- I always tear the basil or chop with a very sharp knife! A dull knife can bruise the leaves. because chopping
- Don’t prep the basil too far ahead of serving
- Shop for tomatoes based on what’s available and ripe at the market
- I love to use flaky salt for that extra crunch
What to Serve with Caprese Salad
This salad is delicious and filling all on its own, but it also pairs beautifully with:
- Grilled sourdough (with Bread Dipping Oil)
- Garlic bread
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Cheesy Pull Apart Bread
- Italian Antipasto Platter
- Tinned Fish Board
Beverage Pairings
You don’t have to have drinks ready to go, but they’ll take your hosting game up a notch! For this salad, I like…
Alcoholic
- Light, citrus-forward white wine, like Vermentino or Pinot Grigio
- Dry, sparkling wine, like Prosecco or Rosé
- Aperol Spritz
- Hugo Spritz
- French 75
- Crisp lager, like Peroni or Stella Artois
Non-Alcoholic
- Lemonade
- Sanpellegrino Blood Orange Italian Sparkling Drink
- Spindrift Grapefruit Sparkling Water
- NA Aperol Spritz
- Ghia Le Spritz Blood Orange
FAQs
Caprese salad (or insalata Caprese) is a simple dish that originated on the island of Capri. It’s traditionally served by alternating sliced tomatoes and sliced mozzarella and topped with fresh basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Burrata is a soft cheese similar to mozzarella, but where mozzarella is firm and sliceable, burrata is not. The casing of burrata is made from mozzarella and the inside is filled with a soft and creamy cheese called stracciatella (shredded mozzarella curds and cream).
Summer is the best season to make caprese salad because tomatoes are in season July-October, and shopping seasonally is best for flavor and the planet. There are good greenhouse options to buy in the Spring and Fall, but winter is going to be the hardest season! Shop for tomatoes that have thinner skins and sweeter flavors to make the most of it.
Burrata should be served at room temperature because it lets the outer layer soften and the inner cream gets a silkier texture and buttery flavor. Take it out of the fridge 30 to 60 minutes before serving!
The only part of this burrata caprese salad that should be made ahead of time is the chicken! The rest of the ingredients are super fresh and fragile and should be prepped just before serving.
Once you serve this caprese salad, it should only stay out for 2 hours at room temperature.
You can keep leftover chicken and maybe even tomatoes, but the rest of this board (avocado & burrata) is so soft and fragile that it won’t keep well!
Since it’s a fresh, soft cheese, burrata has a much shorter lifespan than other cheeses. Make sure to check the expiration date when shopping so you can enjoy it for the maximum number of days.
Cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes are both small, but cherry tomatoes are round, juicy, and more delicate, whereas grape tomatoes are oval, firm, and have a longer shelf life.
– Cherry tomatoes: round, juicy, and sweet with a thicker skin
– Grape tomatoes: acidic in taste and small and oblong in shape, the lower water content makes them hardy
– Sungold: a variety of cherry tomato known for its orange color and sweet, fruity flavor
– Campari: slightly bigger than cherry tomatoes, with a good balance of sweetness and acidity
– Kumato: Similar in size to campari, these dark, brownish tomatoes have a thick skin and a savory, tangy flavor
– Beefsteak: juicy and rich, these large tomatoes hold their shape well and could be cut into smaller pieces
Show Me Your Caprese Salad
I hope this post inspires you to make a burrata caprese salad. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the snacks and spreads you create from my tips. If you make something inspired by this post, please tag me at @ainttooproudtomeg so I can see and share!
And, if you liked this recipe, please rate and review.
Burrata Caprese Salad with Chicken & Avocado
Ingredients
- 16 oz burrata
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes halved (about 1½ pints)
- 1 large avocado sliced
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts grilled and diced
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves torn
- ,Extra-virgin olive oil to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Balsamic glaze to taste
Instructions
- Add tomatoes to top and bottom of board. Add burrata below tomatoes and cut into quarters.
- Pull burrata apart and arrange in rows.
- Add chicken below one row of burrata and avocado below the other.
- Add remaining tomatoes to the center.
- Top everything with basil and salt. Top burrata with olive oil and pepper.
- Drizzle burrata with balsamic glaze.
