Salad

Name: Nectarine and Burrata Caprese Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2-3 lbs ripe heirloom tomatoes (see notes); 2 ripe yellow nectarines (see notes); 8 oz burrata; handful of fresh basil leaves; kosher salt and pepper, to taste (see notes); 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil; balsamic vinegar, to taste

Nectarine and Burrata Caprese Salad

August 26, 2019 by laurenpacek Leave a Comment

This salad is a Summer classic, turned up a notch and a half

Nectarine Caprese Salad is a lot of things, all in one dish. It’s sweet, savory, creamy, and tangy. It’s an incredibly delicious and light Summer dish that can be served as a side or eaten as a main course.

FYI – this post contains affiliate links

This is classic Caprese Salad taken to the next level

You’ve had Caprese salad at some point, right? It’s a classic. Think super ripe tomatoes, creamy fresh mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil.

This salad retains all of the classic elements of a Caprese salad (tomatoes, cheese, basil). However, we’ve elevated some of the ingredients and added others.

Fresh mozzarella vs. burrata – what’s the difference?

For starters, we’ve swapped (perfectly delicious) fresh mozzarella out for burrata. But, what’s the difference between these two cheeses?

Mozzarella is made from cow or water buffalo milk. It’s semi-soft, creamy, and just plain old delicious.

Burrata is mozzarella that is formed into a pouch and–get this–FILLED WITH SOFT STRINGY CHEESE CURD AND CREAM. Bonkers, right??

Basically it’s decadent AF and you want it in your Caprese salads (and life). I used it in this Creamy Corn and Bucatini with Burrata recipe, too. 115% decadent.

Nectarines also help to make this Caprese special

And, of course, we’re adding sweet nectarines to our Caprese, as well. You can use either yellow or white nectarines, depending on your preference. I’m a yellow nectarine kinda gal, so I went with those.

Nectarines add a sweet pop of flavor to this traditionally savory side dish. They also taste particularly amazing with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Sweet and savory, am I right?

I’m right.

What else is in this Caprese?

On the produce front, besides the burrata and nectarines, there are super ripe heirloom tomatoes (a variety of colors and sizes is nice) and sweet basil from my herb garden.

Kosher salt and pepper bring the flavor, while olive oil and balsamic vinegar do their jobs to make things rich and tangy, respectively.

How does this recipe come together?

It’s so easy to make this Nectarine Caprese Salad with Burrata. Layer your heirloom tomatoes and nectarines in a big serving bowl or on a platter. Nestle the burrata down in there, too. Scatter those beautiful basil leaves over the top.

Liberally season with kosher salt an freshly ground black pepper. Now is definitely not the time to be stingy. Drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar just before serving and then do the damn thing. By which I mean “EAT!”

Break into that super creamy burrata, scoop up some of the produce, and have at it. Summer in a bowl/on a plate/in your stomach.

What inspired this recipe?

You have my overactive food brain and a trip to Trader Joe’s to thank for this recipe.

I went into TJ’s for some burrata but before I could reach the cheese section, I was confronted with a stack of crates of nectarines and a variety of super ripe heirloom tomatoes. I mean, what was I supposed to do?

Nectarine and Burrata Caprese Salad

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

2-3 lbs ripe heirloom tomatoes (see notes)
2 ripe yellow nectarines (see notes)
8 oz burrata
handful of fresh basil leaves
kosher salt and pepper, to taste (see notes)
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar, to taste

Instructions

Slice the tomatoes and nectarines into wedges. Arrange on a platter or in a large bowl.
Nestle the ball(s) of burrata into the tomatoes and nectarines.
Scatter fresh basil over the top and add salt and pepper.
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve immediately.

Notes

I used a variety of heirloom tomatoes, ranging from cherry tomato-sized to medium-sized chocolate tomatoes. Use whatever you like/have on hand.
You could use white nectarines here, if that's what you have or prefer. I'm a yellow nectarine kinda gal.
Now is not the time to skimp on seasoning, especially kosher salt. Trust.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 394Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 465mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 10gSugar: 25gProtein: 20g

Will I need anything special to make this recipe?

I’m having a love affair with this Diamond Crystal kosher salt
A cutting board, because you gotta cut all this produce up somehow
A pretty platter for serving
OR if you really want to treat yourself (you’re worth it), pop over and check out Hallyburton Pottery. He made the beautiful serving bowl that you see in these pictures.

Pin this recipe for later!

Roasted Beet, Apple, and Goat Cheese Salad

July 30, 2018 by laurenpacek 2 Comments

This Roasted Beet, Apple, and Goat Cheese Salad has quite a lot going for it. The beets are earthy and sweet, the Granny Smith apples are tart and crunchy, and the goat cheese is creamy and a little tangy. Throw some grilled chicken on top (totally optional!) and drizzle with balsamic vinegar (or a vinaigrette if you aren’t as much of a fan of straight up vinegar as I am) and you have yourself one delicious, filling, salad.

I’ve been making this salad for my lunches at work for the past couple of weeks. To be honest, it is even giving my usual favorite lunch salad (Strawberry Balsamic Salad) a run for its money!

This salad can totally be part of a meal prep situation, too. Just roast your beets and grill your chicken (if using) on Sunday; toss the beets, chicken, some greens, and cheese in a bowl the night before work; and slice your apples just before eating. Sprinkle with salt, drizzle with dressing, and eat!

5 from 1 vote

Roasted Beet, Apple, and Goat Cheese Salad

Prep Time

10 mins

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 salad

Author: Lauren Pacek

Ingredients

3 cups mixed greens
1/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup roasted beets, see notes
1/2 - 1 small Granny smith apple, sliced thin
.5 oz goat cheese, crumbled
grilled chicken, optional
1 small pinch kosher salt
balsamic vinegar or balsamic vinaigrette, to taste

Instructions

Combine all ingredients (minus vinegar/vinaigrette) in a bowl.
Drizzle with vinegar/vinaigrette to taste. Toss everything together and eat!

Recipe Notes

Notes: The recipe for roasted beets can be found here

Looking for more beet-y goodness? Check out this Strawberry Pecan Salad with Beets and Poppyseed Dressing, Beet Risotto with Goat Cheese, and simple Roasted Beets!

Rainbow Chicken Salad with Almond Honey Mustard Dressing

February 23, 2017 by laurenpacek 2 Comments

This salad is equal parts sweet and savory, and entirely delicious.

I know that some people automatically think of salads as being “sad desk lunches.” While this certainly can be true, this particular salad definitely does not conform to that stereotype.

This salad has a little bit of everything: fresh greens, sweet red grapes and blueberries, filling chicken, and a savory dressing. The sweet freshness of the salad and savory dressing play really well together. Plus, while it doesn’t have all of the colors of the rainbow, it’s also very colorful and pretty.

Along these lines, I’ve shared a few savory-sweet salads with you in the past. See the Strawberry Pecan Salad with Beets, Watermelon Avocado Salad, or Strawberry Balsamic Salad for other delicious examples.

Sad desk lunch be gone!

This salad is based on a recipe from Pinch of Yum.

Rainbow Chicken Salad with Almond Honey Mustard Dressing

Prep Time

20 mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 salad

Ingredients

For the salad (makes 1 salad)

2 oz. cooked chicken, shredded or cut into bite-sized pieces (rotisserie chicken is a time-saver)
1 cup red grapes halved
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup almonds, slivered or sliced
lettuces/greens of your choice

For the dressing (makes enough for 4-5 salads)

4 tbs almond butter (sub peanut butter if desired)
1 tbs olive oil
1 orange, juiced
3 tbs water
2 tbs stoneground mustard
1 tbs honey
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 garlic clove

Instructions

Assemble the salad in whatever vessel you choose. I prefer a bowl. Set it aside while you make the dressing.
Combine all dressing ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Blitz until smooth. Taste and add more salt as needed.
Pour the dressing over the salad and enjoy.

Strawberry Pecan Salad with Beets and Poppy Seed Dressing

May 26, 2016 by laurenpacek 3 Comments

This Strawberry Pecan Salad with Beets is fresh, delicious, and chock full of spring produce. I topped this salad with a tangy and sweet homemade poppy seed dressing.

Salad need not be boring. Banish that notion from your mind. This salad–along with this Mediterranean Chopped Salad, Greek Power Bowl, and Strawberry Balsamic Salad–is proof. #saddesklunch be gone!

For this little number, I loaded up some arugula and baby greens with lots of berries and roasted beets. Then I added some crunchy toasted pecans and some salty feta cheese. Top all of that with a tangy-sweet homemade poppy seed dressing, and you’re in business.

Strawberry Pecan Salad with Beets and Poppyseed Dressing

Prep Time

10 mins

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 salad

Author: Lauren Pacek

Ingredients

For the dressing (makes enough for 4-5 salads)

1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbs honey
3 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs plain Greek yogurt
1 tbs poppy seeds
salt and pepper, to taste

For the salad

3 cups greens of choice
fresh basil, sliced into thin strips
5-6 strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup roasted beets, see notes
1/4 cup pecans, toasted
1/4 cup feta cheese

Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk all of the ingredients for the poppy seed dressing together. Taste and add more salt or pepper as desired. The dressing will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for ~5 days. Set aside for a moment.
Add all of the salad ingredients to a bowl. Drizzle with 1-2 tbs dressing.

Recipe Notes

Notes: The recipe for roasted beets can be found here

Mediterranean Chopped Salad

May 10, 2016 by laurenpacek 4 Comments

This Mediterranean Chopped Salad is full of big savory and sour flavors. It’s very filling and will keep you going until dinnertime.

Haaaayyyy! I’m clawing my way back from grant submission-induced online inactivity.

The first recipe I wanted to show you this week is this Mediterranean Chopped Salad, which I’ve been making for a few years now.

Don’t worry, we’ll be back to donuts and cookies soon enough.

Need more salad action? Check out this Greek Power Bowl, Strawberry Balsamic Salad, and Watermelon and Avocado Salad, to name just a few.

They, along with this chopped salad, are all light enough for the warmer weather, but still substantial enough to keep you going until dinner time.

Mediterranean Chopped Salad

Prep Time

15 mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American, Mediterranean

Servings: 4 salads

Author: Lauren Pacek

Ingredients

For the salad

1 medium English cucumber
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 14 oz. can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
4-5 cups lettuces of choice

For the vinaigrette -

3 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

To make the salad

Cut the English cucumber in half, lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Cut each cucumber half into thirds, and chop into bite-sized pieces.
Add the cucumber to a large bowl along with the halved tomatoes, chick peas, chopped olives, crumbled feta, and greens. Toss everything together.

To make the vinaigrette

Whisk together the red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the proportions to your liking.
Add the vinaigrette to the salad once you are ready to eat.

Want to make this salad even more filling? Throw some avocado or baked falafel on top. You can’t go wrong.

Farro Caprese Salad

April 11, 2016 by laurenpacek 3 Comments

This farro caprese salad is fresh and summery. It’s perfect for upcoming warmer weather.

Farro is, hands down, my new favorite grain. It’s an ancient grain that’s roughly nutritionally equivalent to quinoa. However, I find its chewy texture to be much more interesting. It’s kind of nutty, and is great in salads. I can’t lie, I even ate it as a hot breakfast cereal one morning with some brown sugar and cinnamon. Pretty tasty.

Though you could definitely make this salad any time of the year, Caprese anything screams “summer” to me. This salad is doubly summery, to me, with the addition of baby arugula.

I’ve made this to take to work all week for my lunch, but this would also be perfect for cookouts and BBQs, or as a side dish for dinner.

This salad is inspired by one that I saw on Pastiche.

This can be eaten cold, at room temperature, or warm (think melty strings of mozzarella).

Farro Caprese Salad

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

For the salad

14 oz bag Italian pearled farro
4 cups water
2 tsp olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
8 oz fresh mozzarella, cubed
1 handful fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
2 handfuls fresh baby arugula

For the vinaigrette

1.5 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

To make the salad

Place the farro and water in a medium-sized sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain the remaining water from the pot, add the olive oil and salt, and toss to combine. Allow the farro to cool to room temperature.
Add the cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and arugula to the cooled farro. Toss everything together.

To make the vinaigrette

Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
Pour the vinaigrette over the farro and toss to coat everything evenly.

Greek Power Bowl

October 23, 2015 by laurenpacek 6 Comments

This Greek Power Bowl has just about all of the bases covered: creamy, crunchy, savory, tangy, filling but not too heavy. It will fill you up and keep you powered until dinner time!

One of the things that I really like about this salad (I mean, besides all of the amazing toppings) is that I use shredded Brussels sprouts as a part of the salad base! Just trim the stem off of your sprouts, remove the tough outer leaves, and pass them through your food processor, using the shredding disk. Toss them in with whatever other salad greens you’d like to use. Trust me, you want to try it.

All in all, it’s a pretty healthy salad. The hummus might add some calories, but the tzatziki is guilt-free as long as you use 0% Greek yogurt.

Greek Power Bowl

Prep Time

5 mins

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: 1 salad

Author: Lauren Pacek

Ingredients

2-3 cups greens
1/2 cup English cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1/8 cup feta cheese
3 falafel, see notes
2-3 tbs hummus
2-3 tbs tzatziki sauce, see notes

Instructions

Add the greens, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, feta, and falafel to a bowl.
Top with hummus and tzatziki.

Recipe Notes

Notes:

The recipe for baked falafel can be found here.
The recipe for tzatziki sauce can be found here.

If you are looking for other Greek-inspired salads, take a look at my Mediterranean Chopped Salad!

Watermelon and Avocado Salad

July 6, 2015 by laurenpacek 2 Comments

After getting my first taste of balsamic vinegar on watermelon in the Watermelon Nectarine Caprese Salad that I made a little while back, I was hooked. There’s such a delicious contrast of flavors going on – sweet vs. tart.

I knew that I couldn’t stop there.

We got our first good watermelon recently, and I couldn’t help but cube it up and toss it into a salad, add some avocado, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

If you haven’t tried this flavor combination before, wait no longer, and let this be a gentle introduction!

You’ll need (makes 2 side salads or one large main dish salad):

2-3 cups greens (I used arugula)
2 cups watermelon, cubed
1 avocado, sliced or cubed
1-2 oz. feta cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
balsamic vinegar and olive oil

This is super simple. Ready?

Toss all ingredients, except for vinegar and oil, together in a bowl or on a plate. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Or, if you’re like me and are really into sour/tart flavors, just go with balsamic vinegar only.

This salad is so light and refreshing, yet pretty substantial thanks to the addition of avocado.

Watermelon Nectarine Caprese Salad

June 29, 2015 by laurenpacek 9 Comments

Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of the summer months. The heat, the humidity, the presence of lots of insects… Shudder.

I am, however, a huge fan of summer produce.

Caprese salads (and all things Caprese, really) are my jam. You’ve seen me blog about chunky Caprese salad, and then Caprese salad pasta, Caprese salad skewers, and most recently, strawberry Caprese salad.

Like so many of my posts, this one was inspired by Joy the Baker. She blogged about Watermelon Peach Caprese Salad recently, and I couldn’t wait to put my spin on it.

You’ll need:

watermelon, sliced
heirloom tomatoes, sliced
nectarines, sliced
fresh mozzarella, sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
fresh basil

Arrange the watermelon, tomatoes, nectarines, and mozzarella on a platter or in a dish. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and top with fresh basil.

Strawberry Balsamic Salad

June 11, 2015 by laurenpacek 7 Comments

Hands down, this Strawberry Balsamic Salad is my favorite salad. As soon as it gets to be even remotely close to berry season, I’m making this for my lunches at work.

It’s sweet, tart, super healthy, and somehow manages to not get old even after eating it day in and day out. Every now and then I’ll also toss an avocado into the mix (highly recommended).

I list ingredients without proportions/amounts, since you can use more or less of everything to suit your tastes.

Strawberry Balsamic Salad

Prep Time

10 mins

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 salad

Author: Lauren Pacek

Ingredients

baby arugula
mixed greens
basil sliced into ribbons
strawberries sliced
grape or cherry tomatoes halved
English cucumber seeds removed and cut into quarters
feta cheese
slivered almonds/chopped walnuts
salt, to taste
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Toss everything, minus the vinegar and olive oil, together in a bowl. Dress with vinegar and olive oil and go to town!