Tomato Basil Bocconcini Salad {with Cucumber}
Easy to make this tomato basil bocconcini salad {with cucumber} is tasty and refreshing. It is bright and colorful with a mix of plump and juicy cherry tomatoes, mini creamy bocconcini, fresh basil, and crunchy cucumbers. It is the perfect summer salad side dish.
There is something about biting into a nice crispy, flavourful salad when all the vegetables and fruits are in season. This tomato basil bocconcini salad {with cucumber} is a family favorite around here.
My family and I love salads this time of year thanks to all the fresh fruits and vegetables from the weekly market, salads are put together that more easily. If you want to try some other salads make sure you check out this Berry Melon Spinach Salad, this Creamy Broccoli Salad, and this Tangy Coleslaw.
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I’m always trying to think about my next recipe. It usually starts with browsing the grocery store and thinking up my family’s weekly meal plan. This salad came to light when I added some basil to my basket.
Along with adding in my regular weekly buys, like tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion. I also bought some bocconcini. I got creative and this salad came to life!
INGREDIENT NOTES
- Cherry Tomatoes: These are nice plump; juicy and crunchy they add the perfect texture to this salad.
- English Cucumber: Large English cucumber works best for this cucumber tomato Italian salad. Because you are cutting the cucumber into coins, then stripes, the size of the cucumber matters for this recipe.
- Mini Bocconcini or Pearl Bocconcini: Bocconcini gives this recipe a great texture with its creamy taste.
- Red Onion: The richness of the red onion in this recipe adds a great burst of flavor to this salad.
- Fresh Basil: Fresh basil is the star of the show in this tasty salad dish. It adds such a sweet but amazing zest to this Italian-style salad.
- Dried Dill: Dried dill adds a great color but also another slightly sweet taste to this delicious salad.
- Balsamic Vinegar: A combination of sweetness, with a slight smokiness of balsamic vinegar, helps bring out the flavors of the ingredients in this recipe.
- Red Wine Vinegar: A little tangy red wine vinegar gives this salad a more tart, punchier flavor.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: The sourness of this pairs perfectly with the other liquids to make this salad dressing that much more flavourful.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: To help bring the dressing more depth and flavour extra virgin olive oil does the trick.
- Honey: To give the salad a little sweetness, honey adds the perfect amount!
- Salt & Pepper: To add a little more spice and to balance out the sweetness we use salt and pepper.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare your cucumber by rinsing, drying, and cutting it into ½ inch coins, and then cutting the coins into strips.
- Prepare your onion by finely chopping it into very fine pieces.
- Prepare your cherry tomatoes by rinsing, drying, and cutting them in half length-wise.
- Add bocconcini to a small strainer to strain off the liquid. If you using mini bocconcini, cut them in half (leave pearl bocconcini the size it is).
- In a salad bowl add your cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and bocconcini.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together the dressing which includes, red onion, basil, balsamic vinegar, dill, honey, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. Combine everything together until well combined.
- Add the dressing to the cherry tomato and cucumber mixture in the salad bowl.
- Mix everything together until well combined.
- Let the salad chill/marinate for 2-3 hours before serving.
EXPERT TIPS
Here are a few of my tips for making this spring or summer salad the BEST!
- Leave the peel on the cucumbers: While it is totally ok to peel the cucumbers, leaving the peel on, adds another boost of texture, from the crunchy peel.
- Cherry tomatoes are the best for this salad: You can easily use another tomato like Roma, however, the crunch from the cherry tomatoes combined with the crunchy cucumber is the best combination of textures.
- Fresh basil is best: The fresh basil in this tomato basil bocconcini salad is where most of the flavor is coming from. The sweetness and the zest from the fresh basil add a wonderful taste.
- Don’t skip the honey: The sweetness from the honey balances out the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar while adding a touch of sweetness to maximize the amazing flavors in this dish.
STORAGE TIPS
This tomato basil salad is perfectly stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. This means that this salad is great for meal prep. I recommend draining off any extra juices before serving using a slotted spoon.
VARIATIONS
If you have any food sensitivities or allergies like dairy, you can easily substitute ingredients like cheese for this chopped salad.
Some other ways to dress this cucumber tomato salad up is by using other fresh herbs/spices, and an already-made salad dressing like Italian, etc.
Here are some other variations of substitutes that can be made or added:
- Avocado Chunks
- Crumbled Feta
- Green or White Onion
- Cooked Pasta Noodles
- Black Olives
- Chickpeas
HOW TO PREP AHEAD
Yes, you can make this salad ahead of time! The only thing I would do is add in half of the dressing and save the other half for when you’re ready to serve so the cucumber and tomatoes don’t get too soggy.
Preparing this tomato cucumber salad with bocconcini ahead of time makes for a quick lunch or a grab-n-go for a picnic salad.
Mozzarella and bocconcini are the same. Bocconcini are just smaller-sized pieces of mozzarella that are great for salads or enjoying on their own.
You could simply add a few springs of chopped fresh basil, and a little more salt and pepper as well to make for a great garnish.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH THIS SALAD:
Tomato Basil Bocconcini Salad {with Cucumber}
Ingredients
- 2 cups cherry tomato. halved
- 2 cups cucumber sliced into strips
- ¼ cup red onion finely chopped
- 1 cup mini bocconcini halved
- 8 fresh basil leaves finely chopped
- ½ tbsp dried dill
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tbsp honey
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare your cucumber by rinsing, drying and cutting into ½ inch coins, and then cutting the coins into strips
- Prepare your onion by finely chopping into very fine pieces.
- Prepare your cherry tomatoes by rinsing, drying and cutting them in half length-wise
- Add bocconcini to a small strainer to strain off the liquid. If you are using mini bocconcini, cut them in half (leave pearl bocconcini the size they are).
- In a salad bowl add your cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and bocconcini.
- In a small mixing bowl, prepare and mix, red onion, basil, dill, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper. Combine everything until well combined.
- Add the dressing to the cherry tomato and cucumber mixture in the salad bowl.
- Mix everything until well combined.
- Let salad chill/marinate for 2-3 hours before serving.
Notes
- Leave the peel on the cucumbers: While it is totally ok to peel the cucumbers, leaving the peel on, adds another boost of texture, from the crunchy peel.
- Cherry tomatoes are the best for this salad: You can easily use another tomato like Roma, however, the crunch from the cherry tomatoes combined with the crunchy cucumber is the best combination of textures.
- Fresh basil is best: The fresh basil in this tomato basil bocconcini salad is where most of the flavour is coming from. The sweetness and the zest from the fresh basil add a wonderful taste.
- Don’t skip the honey: The sweetness from the honey balances out the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar while adding a touch of sweetness to maximize the amazing flavours in this dish.
I made this salad to bring to a potluck. It was a hit!
It is always a hit 😉 thank you!!
This is such a quick and easy salad to make absolutely love this one.
Thank you! 🙂