This Caprese Wreath is a staple and easy Holiday appetizer that’s a show stopper every time. So easy to put together with no cooking required, yet so festive! Bring on the flavors of Caprese Salad in a fun, shareable and delicious wreath.
Who can resist the flavors of Caprese? Sweet cherry tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, baby mozzarella cheese and a sweet balsamic dressing. We have turned our popular Caprese Salad into Caprese Skewers, Caprese Sandwich, Caprese Pizza, Burrata Caprese, and even a Strawberry Caprese Salad.
And while these are all classic summer recipes when tomatoes are sweet and at the peak of their season, we find a Caprese wreath perfect for the Holidays. It’s just a crowd pleaser recipe and such a show stopping appetizer for any gathering.
Why You’ll Love Caprese Wreath
- It’s super festive and adds a show stopping appeal to any table.
- You have all the flavors and taste of the classic Caprese Salad which is a favorite for so many people!
- No cooking is required, and it’s such an EASY appetizer to put together.
- Easy to eat and share as they are skewered similar to our Caprese Skewers. So no matter how you serve it, you’ll still have a beautiful looking wreath.
- You can make it ahead of time, because they dressing is served separately.
- This recipe is light and refreshing, so it makes the perfect addition to heavy Holiday meals.
- You can have your kids, friends and guests help you assemble this!
- It’s basically a handful of 3-5 ingredients depending on how fancy or simple you want it to be.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Fresh Mozzarella. We used baby mozzarella cheese, also known as bocconcini. They’re slightly larger than the size of the cherry tomatoes so it feels ideal to use them. You can however use the larger fresh mozzarella cheese and cut it up to the size of the tomatoes you’re using.
- Cherry Tomatoes. Those were ideal as baby cherry tomatoes are sweeter than regular tomatoes, and also are lower in acidity. So they compliment the cheese and basil so beautifully.
- Fresh Basil. If you’re lucky to have some garden basil, this is the perfect use for them! We bought larger bunches of fresh basil from greenhouse as it’s not seasonal. You’ll need plenty of basil leaves here as they are the base of the wreath and they’re also part of the mozzarella and tomato skewers.
- Dressing. The most simple way is to add in some balsamic syrup and olive oil here, similar to our Caprese Salad and Caprese Skewers. For a festive vibe, we’ve served this with a balsamic cranberry vinaigrette which can be found here.
- Seasoning. Absolutely nothing more than sea salt and pepper is required here.
How to Make Caprese Wreath
- Start by choosing the serving plate or board. We love a large round wooden board for this recipe, as it feels more welcoming in our opinion. But, it’s completely your choice.
- Once you have your board, you’re going to take the abundance of basil leaves, and arrange them in a circle. Make the basil feel like the border of your wreath, all around the board leaving the center empty.
- Then you’re going to skewer your caprese.
- Start with a basil leaf, a cherry tomato, a bocconcini, another basil leaf, baby yellow or orange tomatoes. And finally another basil leaf.
- The arrangement is also up to your taste, we love a variety of tomatoes, bocconcini and plenty of basil leaves in between.
- You can leave the caprese wreath as you can see above and season it with balsamic syrup and olive oil. Or include the dressing.
- To include the dressing, place the dressing you’re using in a glass bowl. Now put it in the center of the wreath.
- Your Caprese wreath is now ready to serve or keep in the fridge.
Tips For Making Caprese Wreath
- Make sure to buy quality ingredients for this recipe. As you can see it’s fairly an easy and simple one which use primarily three main ingredients. Use sweet quality tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, quality olive oil, balsamic and fresh mozzarella cheese.
- The yellow mozzarella doesn’t work for this recipe, it has to be fresh.
- You can choose the larger size ball of fresh cheese and dice it up to a similar size to the tomatoes.
- To make simpler, skip the skewering and simply arrange the tomatoes and bocconcini over the basil leaves. Overlap them in a way to have the colors shine.
- The skewers make this wreath easy to serve, so you won’t mess it up each time someone is serving. And best of all, it makes it easy to transport. So it’s ideal to bring as a dish if you’re not hosting.
- The dressing can be something as simple as balsamic syrup and olive oil, as we used in the Caprese Skewers. Or if you want a festive one, make the cranberry balsamic dressing used in our sweet potato salad.
How to Make This Ahead of Time
You can totally make this caprese wreath ahead of time, especially when skewered. Simply arrange all the platter, and keep the dressing in the center. Cover the entire board or plate with plastic wrap tightly and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
To serve it, simple take it out and serve it as it is or pour some dressing over it.
How to Store Leftovers
The BEST way to use leftovers here is to turn them into a Caprese Sandwich or a Caprese Pizza! If you haven’t dressed up the wreath (which is our favorite option). Then simply add croutons and turn leftovers into a large plate of Caprese Salad.
Caprese Recipes
Burrata Caprese
Caprese Pizza
Sandwich
Caprese Salad
Pistachio Fried Caprese Bites
Strawberry Caprese Salad
Caprese Wreath
Ingredients
Caprese
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes different colors
- 2 cups Bocconcini cheese
Dressing
- 1 teaspoon sea salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons balsamic syrup
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
Wreath
- 3 cups basil leaves
Instructions
-
Start by choosing the serving plate or board. We love a large round wooden board for this recipe, as it feels more welcoming in our opinion. But, it's completely your choice.
-
Once you have your board, you're going to take the abundance of basil leaves, and arrange them in a circle. Make the basil feel like the border of your wreath, all around the board leaving the center empty.
-
Then you're going to skewer your caprese.
-
Start with a basil leaf, a cherry tomato, a bocconcini, another basil leaf, baby yellow or orange tomatoes, and finally another basil leaf.
-
The arrangement is also up to your taste, we love a variety of tomatoes, bocconcini and plenty of basil leaves in between.
-
Place the dressing you're using in a glass bowl and put it in the center of the wreath.
-
Your Caprese wreath is now ready to serve or keep in the fridge.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Tips For Making Caprese Wreath
- Make sure to buy quality ingredients for this recipe. As you can see it's fairly an easy and simple one which use primarily three main ingredients. Use sweet quality tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, quality olive oil, balsamic and fresh mozzarella cheese.
- The yellow mozzarella doesn't work for this recipe, it has to be fresh.
- You can choose the larger size ball of fresh cheese and dice it up to a similar size to the tomatoes.
- To make simpler, skip the skewering and simply arrange the tomatoes and bocconcini over the basil leaves. Overlap them in a way to have the colors shine.
- The skewers make this wreath easy to serve, so you won't mess it up each time someone is serving. And best of all, it makes it easy to transport. So it's ideal to bring as a dish if you're not hosting.
- The dressing can be something as simple as balsamic syrup and olive oil, as we used in the Caprese Skewers. Or if you want a festive one, make the cranberry balsamic dressing used in our sweet potato salad.
How to Make This Ahead of Time
You can totally make this caprese wreath ahead of time, especially when skewered. Simply arrange all the platter, and keep the dressing in the center. Cover the entire board or plate with plastic wrap tightly and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
To serve it, simple take it out and serve it as it is or pour some dressing over it.
How to Store Leftovers
The BEST way to use leftovers here is to turn them into a Caprese Sandwich or a Caprese Pizza! If you haven't dressed up the wreath (which is our favorite option), then simply add croutons and turn leftovers into a large plate of Caprese Salad.
Such a creative way to serve some fresh veggies for winter events! Looks beautiful and tastes great
A healthy and delicious appetizer to make. I will definitely make this for our Christmas party!