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Tomato Basil Avocado Mozzarella Salad with Balsamic Dressing - you'll love this refreshing, healthy, Mediterranean style salad. Made with fresh ingredients, it's perfect for the Summer!
This recipe is simple and uses just a few ingredients: tomatoes, fresh basil, avocado, Mozzarella cheese, and easy homemade balsamic dressing.
One of my favorite salad dressings ever is just a simple dressing with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and honey. It goes really well with these salad ingredients:
This salad is perfect as a stand-alone meal if you're not too hungry, it makes a great appetizer, and it's also great to bring for cook-outs, picnics, and potlucks.
Enjoy!
Tomato Basil Avocado Mozzarella Salad with Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients
Salad ingredients:
- ½ pound red grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (2 cups)
- ½ pound yellow grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (2 cups)
- 2 avocados , diced
- 8 ounces small fresh mozzarella cheese balls
- ½ cup fresh basil , chopped
Dressing ingredients:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey , warmed
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients, except Mozzarella cheese balls. That is, combine halved red and yellow grape or cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, chopped basil.
- In a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients: whisk olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey until nice and smooth.
- Add the salad dressing to the large bowl with salad, sprinkle with a small amount of salt, and toss to combine. Taste and season with more salt, if needed. Add Mozzarella cheese balls on top only at this point - so that they don't brown from the dressing.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
You can use white balsamic vinegar...it won’t discolor anything.
Good idea! Thanks for the tip!
Can this be made ahead? Adding the mozzarella right before serving?
You can make this ahead, but keep the salad dressing separate and add it right before serving.
I would hold off on cutting the avocado too far in advance, it turns brown pretty quick & brown avocado is not pretty.
I made a small batch of this recipe for my dinner tonight & it was so darn good, I put the gazpacho I had poured back in the fridge & made a 2nd small batch. Just for me! I did enjoy it over a handful of fresh spring greens & substituted balsamic reduction I already had made (vs making the dressing for just me) but that dressing looks so perfectly matched, I can hardly wait to serve the complete recipe along side crab cake & fried green tomato stacks this weekend.
Thanks so much for a light, satisfying dinner that was so good, I had to have seconds.
Good point - I would hold off on cutting the avocado if making this salad in advance. So glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Great recipe!! I even added onion and cucumber to it.
Thank you! I am glad you liked it!
Wow. I'm obsessed with this salad. Everyone loves it!
Thank you!
Thank you for such a sweet comment! I am glad you've been enjoying this salad. 🙂
Fabulous recipe! The addition of the honey gives the dressing a nice flavor!!
Thank you! I am glad you liked the salad and the dressing!
Yum! I love when people can make healthy food look good and appealing to kids! This is perfect. Thanks for sharing.
You're very welcome! Enjoy!
To prevent the "brown" appearance, use WHITE balsamic vinegar.
To prevent the "brown" appearance, use WHITE balsamic vinegar!
This salad is amazing! Light and perfect for the summer! I would love to feature it on a salad feature on my blog. Thanks!
This is such a beautiful salad! I absolutely love the mozzarella balls in this and the dressing is insanely good.
I made this for a baby shower...it was a huge hit! I added the avocado and mozzarella at the last minute. It was perfect! Definitely a keeper!
Thank you, Kim! I am glad you enjoyed the recipe and flattered to hear it was a hit at the baby shower!!!!!!!
Use white balsamic
This sounds and looks absolutely delicious. I just may have to whip up a batch the next time I stock back up on salad supplies. Thank you for this recipe!
I was going to make this to take to a dinner tonight bit after reading the comment, I don't want to if everything turns brown!
I wrapped the avocado separately in parchment with the avocado seed and mixed in prior to serving.
I made this but I have to say, mine did not look pretty, in fact it looked fairly unappetizing. Once you add the balsamic and stir it in with everything, mine turned brown. No white mozzarella. No more green avocado. It tasted great but I wouldn't want to serve this to others looking the way it does!
Amy, I updated the recipe to reflect a very good point you brought up about Mozzarella turning brown. While I personally don't care if my Mozzarella turns brown :), I did update the recipe to add Mozzarella cheese balls AFTER the dressing is mixed in the salad.
Couldn't you also just use white balsamic?