Marinated Cherry Tomato Mozzarella Salad
This marinated cherry tomato mozzarella salad is everything I love about summer food: no cooking (unless you want a crostino or two), fresh ingredients, and vibrant flavor. The cherry tomatoes marinate with olive oil, lemon, garlic, salt, and pepper for an hour or more if you so choose, so the flavors marry together well.
Your Next Big Summer Dinner Obsession
This post may contain affiliate links. That means I may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you! Affiliate Disclaimer
This marinated cherry tomato mozzarella salad is everything I love about summer food: no cooking (unless you want a crostino or two), fresh ingredients, and vibrant flavor. The cherry tomatoes marinate with olive oil, lemon, garlic, salt, and pepper for an hour or more if you so choose, so the flavors marry together well.
Tossed with fresh basil, then add some mozzarella pearls – I buy these BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella Pearls (not sponsored at all, just my favorite) to make this marinated cherry tomato mozzarella salad even easier to put together. Of Course, cubing any 8oz of fresh mozzarella is perfect as well. It’s such a bright and delicious way to eat and enjoy the flavors of summer! It’s just as delicious a day later after hanging out in the fridge.
About the Ingredients
Because the ingredients are simple and few getting the best and freshest is a must in this case. Every ingredient will be tasted and noticed. I’m not saying you should buy organic all, or the most expensive, but just make sure they’re good quality. Farmer’s markets are great for basil, tomatoes, and garlic. If you’re lucky enough to have an olive oil store in town, definitely check them out! You will be surprised by how different olive oils can taste! Each ingredient is noticeable in this marinated cherry tomato mozzarella salad.
- Cherry Tomatoes are my preference for this salad. If you’re growing Roma or beef steak, just simply cut them into cubes of tomatoes and use those. Just make sure they’re the ones you love. The tomatoes are truly the star of this marinated cherry tomato mozzarella salad.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil gives a light flavor without taking over the taste. If you really enjoy the taste of olive oil, by all means, use a more robust one for your salad.
- Garlic fresh is the way to go with this. I do not recommend using powder. The powder has a slightly different taste. Trust me when I say… fresh is best for this.
- Basil once again, fresh is the best. Dried will have a different texture, flavor, and everything. Basil is readily available in most places, and you can always grow your own, they actually do quite well in your home.
- Fresh Mozzarella I have found this to become more readily available in stores. One of my favorite brands is BelGioioso which is a Wisconsin Brand I always buy (seriously, I am not paid at all to say that. I really do love the brand that much).
- Fresh Lemon the citrus from the lemon and the zest makes all the difference. It helps add that zip you need to cut the oil (much like in salad dressings).
Storage
This is a salad that I recommend eating right away once you add the mozzarella. If you don’t att the mozzarella right away (if you plan on making the marinated cherry tomato mozzarella salad ahead of time, I recommend you not add the mozzarella until you’re ready to serve). You can make the salad (minus the mozz) up to 2 days ahead.
Once you add the mozzarella, the longer it sits, the harder the cheese will get. the taste will be there, but that soft chewiness you love about fresh mozzarella will not be there. So serve and eat this marinated cherry tomato mozzarella salad right away.
Enjoy it with Crostini
Make this a fun appetizer and serve the salad on freshly made crostini for a perfect summer app at any bbq or party.
ENJOY and Share!
Let me know what you thought of my Marinated Cherry Tomato Mozzarella Salad recipe! Your star ratings with your comments are tremendously helpful! I love seeing friends and family come together over food. If you take a picture, tag me on Instagram or Facebook! Use @alwaysjennsmith & #alwaysjennsmith. Or share it on this post’s Pinterest Pin!
Looking for another salad to add to your summer cookouts? Check out:
Marinated Cherry Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 people 1x
Description
This marinated cherry tomato and mozzarella salad is everything I love about summer food: no cooking (unless you want a crostino or two), fresh ingredients, and vibrant flavor. The cherry tomatoes marinate with olive oil, lemon, garlic, salt, and pepper for an hour or more if you so choose, so the flavors marry together well. Tossed with fresh basil, then add some mozzarella right before serving. It’s such a bright and delicious way to eat and enjoy the flavors of Summer!
Ingredients
- 12 oz Cherry Tomatoes – sliced in half/quarters depending on size (I like rainbow ones of the color, but red is fine.)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic (finely diced)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (thinly sliced)
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella
- Salt (to taste)
- juice from half of a fresh lemon (this is a bout 1–2 tablespoons)
- Lemon zest (optional)
Instructions
- Combine cut tomatoes, oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest, and basil in a medium bowl and marinate in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
- Salt the marinated tomatoes to taste, then toss with the mozzarella.
- Serve immediately* with optional Crostini.
Notes
*This salad can sit for 2-3 days without the mozzarella in it, once the mozzarella is in, you can not go more than a day or the cheese will release its liquid and becomes hard.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Nutrition
- Calories: 251.54
- Sugar: 2.92
- Sodium: 413.84
- Fat: 19.8
- Saturated Fat: 8.43
- Carbohydrates: 5.72
- Fiber: 0.68
- Protein: 13.55
- Cholesterol: 44.79
Want to remember this post? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest Board!
Β©Photo, Prop Styling, and Food Styling by Jenn Smith
This Blog Post is Β©2022 Always Jenn Smithβ’; Jenn Smith, LLC (FKA Smith Country, LLC) See below for details
Please Be Respectful
All rights reserved. You may NOT sell, trade, share or redistribute this recipe in any way or use any of my photographs for your site. If you are linking back to this post to a list of recipes, giving credit for the recipe to myself and my site, you may use ONE photo. You must site me and my blog as the creators of the recipe and give credit for the photo. Β©2022 Always Jenn Smith; Jenn Smith, LLC
Jenn Smith of Always Jenn Smithβ’; Jenn Smith, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As well as the Apple affiliate program now called the Performance Partners Program.
This site displays third-party ads and contains affiliate links, See terms and conditions for ALL affiliates.
If you have any questions feel free to comment below or e-mail me directly.
Thank you for visiting!
