Caprese Salad with Balsamic Reduction

YUM! I only had grape tomatoes and small fresh mozzarella balls, so I went w/ it. The flavors were wonderful and the basalmic reduction really added something special to this...so light and refreshing! I will def be making this again~YUM! Thanks for sharing. :)

First time I tried this, it wouldn't reduce to 1/3 cup even after simmering for 30 minutes. When it cooled off it was very gluey in consistency. Tried again, and followed directions exactly (simmered 10 mins), and after it cooled it was the PERFECT consistency. It does NOT reduce down much so I only make about 1/2 the recipe, but it makes a delicious caprese and is SUPER EASY.

This recipe was excellent. Now that I know how easy it is to make a Balsamic Reduction, I will be making it more often.

Easy, yummy, loved by all. What else is there to say?

Balsamic reduction was entirely too sweet for my taste otherwise the recipe is delicious and simple. Next time I will start with 1 Tablespoon of honey and adjust accordingly. Fresh quality ingredients are key and the finished dish makes a nice presentation. Ideal dish for fresh garden tomatoes and homegrown basil. I like to add Kalamata olives and steamed asparagus spears. (recipe made for *RECIPE GROUP*).

Good recipe, but was a little shocked that it calls for 1 cup of balsamic vinegar. And then adding honey on top of that? They must be using a really cheap, watery balsamic. I would recommend investing in a really good balsamic, only using about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup and reducing it a little with NO honey. A good balsamic will be sweet enough and rich enough on it's own. It's better to just reduce it a little in order to thicken it so that it sticks to the tomatoes and mozzarella. Wonderful.

First timer on the balsamic reduction. It took longer for the "reduction" part than 10 minutes for me. I was afraid I'd ruined it. But it tasted marvelous. My son and husband loved the salad and the reduction. I'll be doing this once a week until summer ends.

Excellent recipe, will make again. I made a salad with the ingredients by simply tossing them together about 30 mins before dinner. I got rave reviews from our company. Very fresh tasting. One thing I didn't realize was how strong the kitchen smelled of vinegar while making the reduction. It made eyes water. If you can, open a window while making it or cook it well before company comes so you can air out the room. Just a side note, but it is very tasty.

Nothing screams summer to me more than a nice caprese salad! I cut back the balsamic to about 1/4 cup and just added about 1 tablespoon of honey. Even after reduced slightly, it was more than enough for a light drizzle. Perfect! UPDATE: When you work at home, you can play with your lunch! I am getting into the Valentine's Day groove, and used a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut the tomatoes and the mozzarella! Fun, and "lovely" to eat!

Oooooh that was good! Be sure to buy good quality tomatoes from a local Farmer's Market if possible. Quality makes all the difference! I accidentally used 1/3 cup honey, but it was fantastic anyway!

My sister has made this for years! It really is an impressive dish. Beautiful colors and textures. Very refreshing!

Recipe Group Selection: 25, May 2013 ~ I was the only one in my family that enjoyed this. The guys said it was nothing special, but they are not as big of tomato fans as I am. I felt the honey taste overpowered the balsamic taste. I do think this recipe makes for a very pretty presentation dish, but I will cut the honey amount in half the next time.

I loved this. The reduction was easy to do in the microwave. We grew a new tomato this year "Golden Jubilee" that was fantastic in this recipe.

I used roma tomatoes because they're less watery. I unfortunately didn't have fresh mozzarella so I used the regular stuff and it was still yummy (although fresh would have been way better). I didn't change anything else and it was a hit, much better than a standard caprese salads for sure. The honey was the what made it so delicious. Otherwise it would've just been another regular caprese salad.

Simple and delicious! I personally loved the balsamic reduction but drizzled very little on the main dish (for people who might not like the sweetness of it) and served a bowl of it on the side for those who might want more. Yummy!

Caprese salad is easy, delicious and healthy. The balsamic and honey drizzle just made it even more amazing. I do recommend using tomatoes and basil that have never been refrigerated if possible. I also recommend not having leftovers. Although still very tasty, no comparison to the taste of fresh vs. after sitting in the fridge. Love this!

This is always a favorite treat of mine when the tomatoes are at it's juiciest. And this recipe is just yum-O! TY I love the taste of balsamic reduction on tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella.

I made this for recipe group pick the week of May 27. I halved this which made it hard to keep track of when the reduction was at 1/3 but I ended up with about 1.5 oz. The honey was getting low so I only ended up with half and thought it could use more, but not much. I would probably go for 2/3 or 3/4 the amount rather than half. The cheese had next to no flavor. I won't make it again unless I can find an Italian buffalo mozzarella, even though the recipe doesn't specify. It was good, but for our taste it wasn't great.

A Caprese salad is always a perfect summer salad to me. I never got around to doing this for the May 24, 2013 Recipe Group Selection, but better late than never. Yum!

Solid recipe. Like others, though, the reduction took closer to 20 to 25 for the reduction

wonderful recipe I enjoyed making. Using the microwave for reduction turned out well, and probably faster. Took 5, 2 minute cycles in a 3 cup glass measure (1100 watt microwave) to reduce to 1/3 cup. Used nicely ripened Campari tomatoes to best approximate "SUMMER TOMATOES", fresh local organic hydroponic basil and lovely BelGioiso fresh mozz. A beautiful presentation! Tastes vary..you may enjoy the honey in this, our family did not, so we'll continue to stick with the traditional EEVO/balsamic drizzle we've always used. Good balsamic vinegar is expensive, so using a whole cup was a great experiment..... It is April here in NE..can't wait for REAL summer tomatoes :-)

Great recipe...took it to a gathering at a friend's and it was a big hit...what's nice is that I had some lactose-sensitive eaters and they could pick around the cheese which left extra for those that like it. It was such a pretty dish to pass!

Very good except that I didn't care for the honey in the reduction

You can't reduce 1 1/4 C of liquid to 1/3 C in 10 min. by simmering. It took over 1/2 hour. And now it's too stiff to "drizzle." That can't be right. Did the author intend to say reduce 'by' 1/3 C instead of reduce 'to' 1/3 C?

Very good, but I wish I would've read the reviews beforehand. Although the balsamic reduction was much easier than I thought it would be (had never tried before) - and good, it was much too sweet for me. I'd reccomend starting with half the amount of honey and then increasing from there if desired. Overall a great recipe. I will make again, but just adjust the sweetness.

This is delicious. I wanted to try it but didn't have any mozzarella so I used shredded Swiss -was very good. Next time I'll try mozzarella. I cut the dressing in half and there was still dressing left over. But I like very little dressing on my salad. I also put a thin bed of spring greens under tomatoes. Tomatoes were fresh from my garden - yum!

Hands down FANTASTIC!

I usually drizzle balsamic on my caprese salad. Such a nice twist!! Everyone loved this..

Excellent balsamic reduction! I'll never use anything but, for my caprese salad! Very easy to make! --just don't overcook!!

These are so yummy! My husband hates balsamic vinegar and he came back for seconds. The balsamic reduction with the honey made all the difference. It didn't have a strong vinegar taste. I will be making these again. Next time I will try not to forget the olive oil, oops! They were so good we didn't even notice it was missing.

I love this salad with a good balsamic reduction. However, I prefer to make my reduction using sugar (white or brown) and I didn't care much for the honey.

I thought the vinegar reduction was done, but the recipe said reduce to 1/3rd cup, so I kept boiling it. It wouldn't reduce down nearly that far, and it ended up scorching-what a mess, I wasted a bottle of balsalmic, my homegrown tomatoes, real mozerrella nd fresh basil, not to mention hours of clean up.

It was a little too sweet, but good. Next time, I will add less honey. :)

Wonderful recipe! I'd never tried Balsamic reduction before, but it was really easy and tasted awesome!

Instead of the basil I cooked up some pancetta and it added a great flavor to this already yummy salad.

Love this recipe!! I have actually made it 3 times now.

I made the balsamic reduction as advised,which was perfect. I I used a generous portion of basil which made it exceptional. I used toothpicks and put a slice of tomato, a piece of mozzarella, a piece of basil and another slice of tomato and then sprinkled the basil reduction over all and then more basil. This made it an easy appetizer to pick up.

This is a delicious recipe! The balsamic reduction gives it an added punch.

I would totally skip they honey balsamc vinegar takes on it's own delicious sweetness when it's reduced that I would not want to make an sweeter.

This didn't work out because it never reduced!! I had used a high quality balsamic and I agree that too sweet.

This reduction was excellent over open face ciabatta bread sandwiches that had tomatoes, onion, basil, garlic, olive oil, and arugula.

Made recipe exactly, except it took way longer than 10 minutes for the vinegar to reduce to one third cup. When it did, the flavor was good, but the consistency was like hard candy immediately after cooling slightly. I will try this recipe again, but will follow advice of other reviewers and start with half as much vinegar and honey, and simmer for ten minutes without worrying about how much it reduces.

I love Caprese salad. So when I found this recipe I'm super excited. First of all it tastes fantastic. I made it for quick lunch for myself and that is the only downfall that I saw. I did not give the reduction enough time to cool. It did end up thicker as it cooled but I put it on warm still and it was still very thin. Next time I will let it thicken more in the refrigerator before putting it on to the salad. I can'ta wait to serve this to my guests and I highly recommend it.

I made this after buying some heirloom tomatoes at my farmers market and making my first batch of mozzarella. It was a beautiful salad & one I'll be making again & again. The reduction was easy and really highlighted the ingredients.

Best simple balsamic reduction recipe!!!

I used to do a similar recipe and just drizzle balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes, basil and cheese. This is way...way better! Thanks for sharing this.

Lovely. I used 2 tsp of sugar instead of the honey, and it was delicious.

Quick and easy appetizer with a delicious result. Using fresh ingredients is the key. I make this all the time for parties and family gatherings.

I made this and tried to get it as close to that of tomato caprese at Carabas. I cut back on the honey, I think I used 1/4. But I also used burrato (spelling might be wrong), it is a creamy white cheese ball. It spreads smooth on toasted Italian bread.

So easy and delicious! I always assumed a balsamic reduction took a long time to reduce. Not at all, it was done in 10 minutes and really added to the recipe. I added cubed italian bread. Will be making this regularly during tomato season!

This was excellent! The balsamic reduction was so easy & much better than just throwing balsamic dressing on it like I used to. Used up some garden tomatoes & I ate the whole batch for dinner with a nice glass of wine to accompany it! Will definitely be making for future get together a.

So so so good! Perfect the way the recipe states. Will definitely make again.

I used a high quality, small batch balsamic vinegar and it never reduced more than a tablespoon or two. I went long past the ten minutes and now have a cup of a nearly solid paste.

This is so yummy. The balsamic dressing is de'lish.

Very easy to make & very tasty. Some said balsamic reduction took much longer than the 10 min but I didn't find that, thickened quickly. Will make again, compliments from the company who enjoyed.

Excellent

very easy, the reduction came out terrific, my neighbor could not stop raving about it and wanted the recipe.

Fantastic

do not forget anything!

I love it! I absolutely love balsamic vinagre and with honey it’s even better. Very refreshing.

I should have read the reviews before making this. The balsamic reduction didn't reduce the way the recipe said. When it did get to 1/3 cup ( after 30 minutes) it was very thick and sticky, and almost tasted burnt. Lesson learned: next time I will only cook for 10 minutes as the recipe advised and not worry about the amount of liquid. I'm sure that will make it perfect.

Super easy and super delicious. We loved the sweetness that the honey gave the reduction. I had to simmer mine for more than 10 minutes. Probably more like 20 minutes. Definitely making this part of the regular rotation.

Excellent salad!!! Great for summer!!!

Fantastic, I will say though that this made SO much glaze we didn't use. This could easily be halved and be plenty. Thanks!

It was gone so fast I barely got to taste it. Big hit.

This salad is easy to make and delious to eat.

Delicious. I only used 1/4c balsamic vinegar and 1T honey. That made plenty to drizzle over top. I let vinegar cool before drizzling it and then put platter in refrigerator to chill before serving.

Excellent-just watch your stove while the balsamic is boiling. It makes quite a mess if you’re not watching.

Easy! Simple and good!

It was easy to make the balsalmic reduction and tasted great. I just added a little garlic to the the recipe and only made a half recipe to try it out. I would definitely love to make more. I made a caprese salad as a snack for hubby and he loved it ! He definitely wants more.

Read all the reviews & started out with less honey and reduced for 10 minutes the first time. Not nearly sweet enough for me and too thin...so I added more honey (probably used 1/3 cup total) and reduced 10 more minutes and it turned out perfectly. The sweetness was a perfect complement to the tart tomatoes, the 'boring' mozzarella (think this is boring cheese, no flavor at all), and the basil. It was the perfect thickness too - if it were thinner, it would run once you drizzled it. This was thick enough to stay exactly where you drizzled it and look very nice, not messy. Delish!

Love it , delicious and easy.

This was very easy to throw together. Great for entertaining and you can do it ahead of time too.

This was a great recipe - easy and very tasty. The reduction of Balsamic vinegar and honey did not get thick , but the taste was very good

I enjoyed trying this. I thought that my reduction turned out a bit too sweet but other than that I thought it was good.

This was easy to make. Tasted as good as it looked.

I found the balsamic and honey mixture to be a bit too sweet for my tastes. I also felt like I ended up with much too much of the dressing. Other than that, it was good.

So fresh and yummy. As another person has stated doesn’t do well as leftovers but fresh wow. I made the reduction early in the day as someone recommended. Best advice I read. Paired this with chef johns salmon in parchment and oven brown rice with carrots and mushrooms for a tasty and healthy meal for date night. Will be making again.

I want to give this 3 stars but my hubby liked it so he wins and because I didn't hate it, I just didn't really care for the balsamic reduction. I will definitely admit that I could have done it wrong because it took way longer than 10 minutes. I probably won't make it again and I don't know that it was memorable enough for my husband to request it. We shall see.

I made it as per the directions and it was very good. I would make it again.

Wow! So simple and so delicious! It was just two of us for dinner, so I made a half-recipe and we still had plenty. I also held back a small amount of the reduction, so we could top off our servings just before eating. Tip: use the freshest basil possible.

The key to this being amazing is quality ingredients. Don't go cheap at the store. I used framboise instead of wine which gave the reduction a nice tart raspberry undertone. Great for parties.

First time ever making. I am not a huge of tomatoes and I loved them. I needed a little more basil but still really good.

How can you go wrong with a classic? You can't. Perfect for those hot nights when your desire to cook has been kidnapped by the heat. Thank you for posting the recipe.

The only change I made was using cherub tomatoes and sun bursts instead of regular tomatoes. I loved the balsamic reduction and overall flavors were a huge hit with my family. I served with some toasted French bread slices.

I loved it! So yummy!

Salad was very good. Balsamic glaze excellent.

Everything was amazing with the exception of the balsamic reduction instructions. 10 minutes...GOOD, 1/3...BAD. If you reduce to 1/3 and allow to cool it becomes the consistency of gooey caramel and won't drizzle. Also makes about double what you need for most folks, but like life, I likes it saucy!!

So delicious! Like another reader suggested I didn't use as much honey as the recipe called for and I'm glad I didnt. It was delicious just how I made it. I only had a small bottle of balsamic vinegar so I used a 1/2 c. BV with only 1 TBSP of honey and it was perfect, especially since I was the only one eating it. I had 5 slices and had to make myself stop at that. I will be making this again very, very soon.

Loved the flavor

This has become a staple in our house. I use the small salad mozzarella balls and grape tomatoes instead of big slices. I also only make half the honey vinegar dressing, and I don't boil it as long as the directions say or it gets much too thick.

I love the balsamic vinegar reduction on Caprese salad! I tend to leave out the olive oil, though. I think it's tastes great without it, and I don't need those calories...

This was great. I followed the balsamic reduction directions and only simmered for 10 minutes as others suggested and it was perfect. I didn't use all of it, rather saved it in the refrigerator and made the salad a few more times using the vinegar. So great and now will be a regular in my rotation, thanks for sharing!

Great, easier than my previous recipe. For balsamic reduction

Love! This surely cannot be resisted.

Made it for a dinner party and it was devoured! The dressing is especially good!

This is good. Very very good. The honey is the secret.

Delicious....I will not use as much honey next time.

Didnt have honey, used brown sugar.