• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Sarah Pflugradt logo

  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Main
    • Sides
    • Soups
    • Dessert
    • Vegan
    • Vegetarian
  • About
  • Media
    • Substack
    • Books
  • Fueling & Performance

Caprese with a Kick Salad

Jun 29, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

There couldn’t be a more perfect summer salad. The Caprese salad is a quintessential recipe to have in your recipe box. There are so many different variations of this salad, and you can’t go wrong, as most of them just add more nutrients and vegetables to your salad.

That’s what I did with this salad. I added the classic ingredients of tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and extra virgin olive oil, but here’s where the Caprese with a Kick Salad comes in. I added red onion, Italian seasoning, and a dash of red pepper flakes—the kick.

How and When to Make This Salad

This is the type of salad I make when I need a quick salad to go with lunch or dinner. It comes together in less than 10 minutes—five minutes if you’re quick with a knife. This is also a favorite of potlucks.

Here’s why it works for both:

You don’t want to make this too far in advance. Tomatoes are highly water soluble, which means that the salt in the dressing will pull the water out of the tomatoes. This is great to keep this salad moist, but you can’t make this the day before. You’ll have sad tomatoes and a watery, lifeless salad. 30 minutes is idea, one hour in advance is max.

Use What You Have

I used specific ingredients, but you can have this exact salad, using ingredients that may already have.

  1. Tomatoes: I used cherry, but any type of tomatoes works.
  2. Mozzarella: I used the mozzarella ball, but if you have a block of fresh mozzarella, you could cut this into cubes and it works just fine.
  3. Onion: I used red onion, but I have also made this salad with sweet yellow onions. It’s delicious!

Pick up all of these ingredients at the store the next time you visit and you’ll have a quick side almost ready to go one night this week.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Caprese with a Kick Salad

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Print Recipe
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 5 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

12 ounces cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 cup mini mozzarella balls, whole

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a bowl and toss

Notes

This can be made up to one hour in advance of serving.

  • Author: Sarah
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sarah_pflugradt on Instagram and hashtag it #sarahpflugradtnutrition

IGPosts, Sides, Vegetarian

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Footer

Need More Emails? Subscribe to my newsletter

  • Recipes
  • About
  • privacy policy/disclaimer
  • contact me

Copyright © 2025 Sarah Pflugradt on the Cravings Pro Theme