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The Caprese Skewers are an elegant and easy twist on the classic Caprese Salad dish. They are an excellent appetizer for a casual get-together or a holiday dinner party.
Are you looking for an easy but flavorful appetizer? Then, these Caprese skewers are just that. The Caprese Skewers are dressed with balsamic glaze and extra virgin olive oil, making them a quick, easy, make-ahead, healthy appetizer for any casual get-together or a holiday party.
They are great snacks or finger food and are very quick to prepare. You only need a few ingredients, but they still look great, and their size makes them easy to eat without additional cutlery.
Almost everyone knows the classic tomato-mozzarella dish, but this simple dish gets a new look with this idea. Here, mini tomatoes and mini mozzarella are skewered together with basil leaves. So you have little tomato and mozzarella skewers.
Bocconcini (the mini mozzarella balls) are combined with the sweetness of basil and the juiciness of the tomatoes. The dressing of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic reduction adds bright and sweet-tangy notes, adds complexity and depth, and brings the different ingredients’ flavors together, creating a refreshing appetizer.
As the weather gets warmer, cherry and grape tomatoes and fresh herbs – basil among them — come into season and are at the peak of their flavor.
They are so easy to make. You can even involve your kids in the preparation, and they will enjoy preparing these colorful skewers.
Ingredients:
- Cherry or Grape Tomatoes – here, I used grape tomatoes.
- Fresh Basil leaves – aromatic and a bit spicy, pairs perfectly with sweet flavor and aroma of tomatoes
- Fresh Mozzarella balls – look for the small ones that are not marinated.
- Extra virgin olive oil and balsamic reduction for drizzling.
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make the Caprese Skewers
- Thread the tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella onto a toothpick or mini skewer.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil balsamic reduction.
- Serve and enjoy!
Tips on how to make the best Caprese skewers:
- Inspect the skewers or the toothpicks you are planning to use and remove any extra pieces of wood to avoid splinters in the food
- Use high-quality ingredients. Whenever you’re making any recipe, especially a simple one with a limited number of ingredients, the quality of your ingredients counts.
- Make them day of. These Caprese salad skewers are at their best on the day you make them, while the basil eaves are still as vibrant and fresh as you just cut them from the stem. If you want to make them ahead of time, then assemble them up to 4 hours in advance and store them covered in the refrigerator. Just before serving, add the olive oil, salt, pepper, and balsamic glaze.
- Have fun. Tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil are a fantastic combination both visually and in their flavor, but threading them into small skewers feels a bit like the crafts we made as kids – another tip: You can even involve your kids in the preparation
- Make a homemade balsamic glaze. You can purchase balsamic glaze at your local grocery store or online or make your own. All you need is a cup of balsamic vinegar which you will pour into a small saucepan and simmer for about 15 minutes. Make sure that you let it cool to room temperature before drizzling the Caprese skewers.
- Get festive pickers. Alternatively, toothpicks are also possible (like I used here).
- You can use colored pepper from the mill, then it looks very appealing. In addition, you can also use sea salt from the mill.
Make-ahead tips:
- It is best to prepare the Caprese Skewers the day you plan to serve them so that the basil leaves are still as vibrant as you just cut them from the stem. You can make them several hours ahead of serving, keep them covered and dress them with olive oil and balsamic reduction just before serving them.
- You can thread the skewers one day ahead of time, but please note that the basil may wilt a bit and not be as vibrant as when making them the day of, but they will still be ok and very presentable.
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Eat Mediterranean Food on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Caprese Skewers with a Balsamic Glaze
Ingredients
- 10 oz Cherry or Grape tomatoes halved
- 8 oz Fresh Mini Mozzarella Balls
- 4 oz Fresh Basil Leaves
- 24 Small Skewers or Toothpicks
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Balsamic Reduction see recipe notes
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Thread a tomato half, a mozzarella ball, a folded basil leaf, and another tomato half onto a skewer.
- Repeat until all tomatoes and mozzarella balls are on skewers.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Serve on a plater and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic reduction
Notes
- Pour 1 cup of balsamic vinegar into a small stainless steel or enameled cast-iron saucepan.
- Cook over medium-low heat, occasionally stirring, for about 15 minutes, until the vinegar has reduced by ½ to ⅔.
- Allow balsamic reduction to cool to room temperature before drizzling over your Caprese skewers. Note: it will thicken a bit more as it cools down.
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and for entertainment purposes only. This information comes from online calculators. Although eatmediterraneanfood.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
In this post, some of the links are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting my website.
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Excellent party hors d’œuvres. Very refreshing…
Thanks!