Chopped Cucumber Caprese Salad
Fresh tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, sweet basil and pearls of bocconcini cheese. A popular Italian salad brimming with garden veggies!
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Since marrying into an Italian family I have learned a lot about Italian food but the biggest takeaway is that fresh ingredients matter most.
Take this recipe for Caprese salad for example. Just a few simple chopped garden vegetables, some fresh basil and bocconcini cheese and you have an amazing salad at your fingertips that doesn’t even need dressing!
This salad is so fresh and flavourful just a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and you have a delicious salad that is almost effortless!
You can make this salad year round but my Mother in Law has a huge garden and this is always her summer go to salad. She literally just walks into her backyard. Picks a tomato, cucumber and handful of fresh basil leaves and throws this salad together.
I like onion in my salads so have added it to this recipe but it is absolutely optional for you onion haters out there!
What is a caprese salad?
A caprese salad is typically 3 ingredients with a light dressing.
Sliced tomatoes, slice bocconcini cheese and fresh basil. The dressing is very simple olive oil, salt and pepper with some people adding a drizzle of balsamic but the balsamic is not typical.
For this chopped cucumber version I have chopped the veggies instead of them thin. Instead, I have chopped 3 Roma tomatoes, cucumber and onion and have used pearl bocconcini for no other reason than it is so pretty and I like the texture of the small bocconcini balls better. Personal preference.
A simple way to remember a Caprese Salad is it is the colour of the Italian flag – red, green and white!
cucumber Caprese salad ingredients
I prefer to use Roma tomatoes because they are meatier than other varieties. I am not a huge texture fan mainly because I don’t like the mushy seedy centres of hot house tomatoes. Roma tomatoes have fewer “guts” and more of the firmer meaty parts.
You can however use any tomato you like.
can you make this salad in advance?
A Cucumber Caprese Salad Recipe will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days. After that the cucumbers tend to get a little mushy. This salad can not be frozen.
What goes well with A caprese salad?
You can really serve this salad alongside anything or even eat it on its own.
Some of my favourite dishes to pair with this salad are:
- Salmon Croquettes
- Lemon Parmesan Chicken Burgers
- Calamari Fritti
- Flaky Oven-Baked Salmon
- Lemon Basil Pork Chops
- Whole Roasted Chicken with Dijon Herb Butter
Chopped Cucumber Caprese Salad
Equipment
- Chopping Knife
- Large Bowl
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
- Spoon
Ingredients
- 3 Roma tomatoes chopped
- 2 cups cucumber chopped
- ½ cup red onion chopped
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 1 cup pearl bocconcini cheese drained
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Add the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, basil, bocconcini, olive oil, salt and pepper to a large bowl. Mix well and serve.
Nutrition
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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I love this salad. It’s easy and delicious.
Perfect summer salad!!
This salad is the perfect side dish for summer grilling recipes. It’s great the next day too if you have any extras left.
The perfect summer salad! Thank you!
This was a lovely and fresh side dish to a roast chicken I made tonight – we loved the flavours.