Caprese Zoodle Salad

a bowl of zucchini noodles, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls with a balsamic dressing.

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5 from 9 votes

Everything you love about a Caprese salad, but made with zoodles!

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Italian

Diet Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

zucchini sweat time 30

Total Time 1

Servings people

Calories 294kcal

Author Tracy

Equipment

Mandoline
or Spiralizer
small saucepan

Ingredients

8 cups zucchini zoodles approximately 4 whole zucchinis
10 oz cherry tomatoes approximately 2 cups
8 oz fresh mozzarella pearls
1.5 cups balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup fresh basil packed chopped, or approximately 1 oz of just leaves, or about 2.5 oz of total basil from a package with stems.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Prep Zucchini: Zoodle zucchini with either a mandoline or spiralizer. Add to a large colander and sprinkle with kosher salt. Place in a sink or over a bowl to collect the released liquid. Let sweat for 30 minutes or up to a few hours.
After at least 30 minutes, shake off excess liquid and then use paper towels to gently squeeze out any additional liquid from the zucchini zoodles.
Balsamic Glaze: While the zucchini is sweating, create the balsamic glaze by adding the balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan. Heat on medium to bring to a boil and then reduce to low/medium-low to a very low simmer to reduce. Let simmer for approximately 20-30 minutes until it has reduced to about 1/3 of a cup.
Assemble Salad: Add sweated zoodles, mozzarella pearls, tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and pepper to a large bowl and mix well. Drizzle on balsamic glaze and mix well.
Serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Make Ahead

Zoodles: You can prep the zucchini noodles up to 2-3 days in advance. After sweating, add to a container lined with a paper towel and store in the fridge.

Balsamic Glaze: Make ahead and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Salad: You can prepare the assembled salad a few hours in advance, but we recommend anything longer to just have all the components prepped and stored separately and then assemble a few hours before you're ready to serve.

Substitutions

Zoodles: If you don't have access to fresh zucchini, a premade can be used too - like these! Thaw before using.

Tomatoes: Use another small sweet tomato, like grape or an assortment of cherry and grape. If using grape tomatoes we suggest slicing them in half. Or you could use chopped of your other favorites, but we prefer smaller sweeter tomatoes.

Mozzarella: Make your own, or use pearl-sized mozzarella or sliced/cubed fresh. Make sure that they're not marinated.

Balsamic: You can make your own balsamic glaze, or buy it premade.

Zoodle Tips

If using a mandoline, be sure to use the hand guard.

If your zucchini have large seeds, scoop out the seeds so as to not include them in your noodles. Although you should use zucchinis that won't have large seeds, the best size is 5 in - 8 inches long.

Nutrition