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Who doesn’t love a good Caprese salad? With fresh tomatoes, soft mozzarella cheese, aromatic fresh chopped basil and of course the best part – balsamic vinegar?!
Whoever came up with this simple yet tasty combo was a genius! Plus, when it’s heirloom tomato season, this salad is on repeat in our house! In the off season though, I wanted to put a fun twist on this classic salad using crisp cherry tomatoes and brussel sprouts.
Plus, I had some Tessemae’s Balsamic Vinegar dressing on hand and was craving it on a salad of some sort. This dressing is my absolute favorite balsamic vinegar because it uses no sugar and only natural ingredients. I really love all the Tessemae’s dressings and recently did a product review of their delicious Caesar dressing that you can check out here.
So with this salad, my favorite part about it is all the textures. The creamy mozzarella with crisp tomatoes… PERFECTION. But for this version, I added in some shaved brussel sprouts to give your mouth an extra little texture to enjoy. It adds a nice crisp but also makes this salad more filling.
Also, if your wondering how we are going to eat raw brussel sprouts, never fear. As you will see in the directions below, the Tessemae’s dressing is slightly heated in the microwave before tossing on the brussel sprouts to slightly wilt them before adding in the tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella.
If you bought whole brussel sprouts, use the fine slicing blade for a food processor to get your brussel sprouts shaved to the right size! Once they are all shaved down, measure out about 6 cups in a separate bowl.
Wash and slice all the cherry tomatoes from the 2 pints in half and set aside in a separate bowl.
Slice each of the mozzarella balls in half and set aside in a separate bowl.
Next you will prepare the fresh basil. I like to take each leaf and lay it flat and form a neat pile of leaves. Then I roll the pile into a burrito and start to slice vertically. This is the easiest way i've learned to julienne herbs. Once you fill up one cup with your julienned basil, set it aside.
Once all your veggies are chopped and ready to toss together, you will measure out the Tessemae's Balsamic Vinegar dressing into a microwavable measuring cup. Then place it in your microwave for about 30 seconds. Make sure it is nice and warm when you take it out because we want to slightly wilt the brussel sprouts with the warm dressing.
Then you will drizzle the warm dressing on the brussel sprouts and carefully toss all together.
Once you've got the dressing tossed all together with the brussel sprouts, you can add in the tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil. Toss it all together and enjoy!
xoxo Ashley
Ingredients
Directions
If you bought whole brussel sprouts, use the fine slicing blade for a food processor to get your brussel sprouts shaved to the right size! Once they are all shaved down, measure out about 6 cups in a separate bowl.
Wash and slice all the cherry tomatoes from the 2 pints in half and set aside in a separate bowl.
Slice each of the mozzarella balls in half and set aside in a separate bowl.
Next you will prepare the fresh basil. I like to take each leaf and lay it flat and form a neat pile of leaves. Then I roll the pile into a burrito and start to slice vertically. This is the easiest way i've learned to julienne herbs. Once you fill up one cup with your julienned basil, set it aside.
Once all your veggies are chopped and ready to toss together, you will measure out the Tessemae's Balsamic Vinegar dressing into a microwavable measuring cup. Then place it in your microwave for about 30 seconds. Make sure it is nice and warm when you take it out because we want to slightly wilt the brussel sprouts with the warm dressing.
Then you will drizzle the warm dressing on the brussel sprouts and carefully toss all together.
Once you've got the dressing tossed all together with the brussel sprouts, you can add in the tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil. Toss it all together and enjoy!