Baby Kale Caprese Salad

I love this Baby Kale Caprese Salad with with marinated fresh Mozzarella, tomatoes, and lots of fresh basil. And if you can find the little mozzarella balls, they are perfect for this salad!

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This Baby Kale Caprese Salad is a spin-off on everyone’s favorite summer Caprese salad that combines tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella. And if you enjoy salads with fresh kale, this is a delicious Caprese salad variation.

I marinated the mozzarella cubes in a balsamic and herb dressing and used a generous amount of fresh basil leaves mixed with the baby kale, and this was a salad that helped me capture those summer flavors in a salad that’s filled with healthful ingredients.

What is Caprese Salad?

Caprese Salad is an Italian favorite named after the island of Capri. The salad traditionally has fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar, but this flavor combination has become so popular that now there are endless variations of salads with Caprese in the title.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

• fresh mozzarella
• baby kale leaves
• fresh basil leaves
• cherry tomatoes
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• good quality balsamic vinegar, I like Colavita Aged Balsamic Vinegar (affiliate link)
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• olive oil
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), or other all-purpose seasoning blend
• Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link)

Want More Interesting Caprese-Style Salad Recipes?

Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad

Grilled Zucchini Caprese Stacks

Tomato, Olive, and Fresh Mozzarella Salad

How to make Baby Kale Caprese Salad:

(Scroll down for complete printable recipe with nutritional information.)

1. Cut the mozzarella into cubes, about 1/2 inch square.  (Or if you can find Fresh Mozzarella Pearls, they’d be perfect for this salad.)
2. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), and Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link) to make the dressing.
3. Put the mozzarella cubes into a plastic bag with a few tablespoons of the dressing and let the cheese marinate while you prep the other ingredients.
4. Crisp the kale in ice cold water in the salad spinner (affiliate link), and spin dry.  (I like to pull off the long stems, but it’s certainly not necessary!)
5. I used about 2 cups (not packed) of fresh basil leaves, which I also gave a good wash in the salad spinner.
6. I chopped a few of the largest basil leaves, but I left most of them whole.
7. Toss the kale and basil leaves together with the rest of the dressing.
8. Cut cherry tomatoes in half; I used about 1 cup.
9. Arrange the dressed kale/basil mixture into serving bowls and top each with some of the tomatoes and some of the marinated cheese. 
10. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve.

More Salad Ideas with Fresh Tomatoes:

Check out 20 Summer Tomato Salads for more amazing salad ideas using fresh tomatoes!

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Yield: 4 servings

Baby Kale Caprese Salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

I love this Baby Kale Caprese Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Tomatoes, and lots of fresh Basil.

Ingredients

• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes about 1/2 inch square (see notes)
• 5 oz. baby kale leaves (I pull off the larger stems)
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Dressing Ingredients:

• 3 T good quality balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. Spike Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. Italian Herb Blend

Instructions

1. Cut the fresh mozzarella into slices and then into cubes about 1/2 inch square.
2. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), and Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link); then whisk in the olive oil.
3. Put the mozzarella cubes into a plastic bag, add a few tablespoons of dressing, and let the cheese marinate while you prep the other ingredients.
4. Pull off the larger kale stems if desired and put kale into salad spinner and cover with cold water (to crisp the kale.)  Drain the water and spin the kale dry.
5. Wash the basil leaves in salad spinner and spin dry.  (You can chop the basil leaves if they’re large, but I left most of them whole.)
6. Put the kale and basil leaves in a large plastic bowl and toss with the rest of the dressing.
7. Cut cherry tomatoes in half.
8. Divide dressed kale/basil into serving bowls.  Top each one with some of the marinated cheese and some of the tomato halves.
9. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve.

Notes

I would definitely use Fresh Mozzarella Pearls if you find them.

Recipe created by Kalyn when she was obsessed with baby kale!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 230Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 638mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 12g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet Suggestions / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Caprese salad with kale is loaded with healthy low-carb ingredients, and should be great for low-carb or Keto diets. As long as you use low-fat mozzarella (sometimes called “part-skim”), this salad would also be approved for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2013. It was last updated with more information in 2022.

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