This Easy Tomato Burrata Salad Recipe is a must make if you love the flavours of creamy cheese, tomatoes, basil and balsamic! Ready in just minutes.

If you’re looking for a salad that’s a little different, super delicious and quick and easy to make, this Burrata Salad is it! This salad is like a Caprese Salad, but with extra creaminess from using Burrata cheese.

a top down view of a burrata salad in a white bowl. the salad has yellow, orange and red cut cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, pea shoots, fresh ground pepper, and olive oil. in the centre of the salad is a ball of burrata cheese. the salad bowl sits on a blue and white checked cloth napkin

What is Burrata?

Before we get started, let’s talk about Burrata cheese. You might be wondering when you see Burrata cheese, what the difference is between it and a fresh Mozzarella ball? Well, they are both fresh semi-soft Italian cheese. But Burrata has a soft solid outside layer (curd), and a soft, creamy middle inside, so basically it’s like a cheese pouch filled with a rich and soft centre of cheese. A Mozzarella ball is a soft, semi-solid ball. Both taste similar, but I think Burrata is a little more flavourful and I love the creaminess of it. The word ‘burrata’ translated from Italian is buttered…so you can imagine from that how tasty it is.

Why use Burrata Cheese?

It’s all about the creaminess. The most delicious thing about Burrata cheese is the soft and creamy centre. When you break it open, that rich creamy centre spills out into your salad, so you get this beautiful cream mixed in with the tomatoes, basil and balsamic. SO delicious. Ready to try this Burrata salad recipe?

a top down view of half of a white bowl of burrata salad. the salad has yellow, orange and red cut cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, pea shoots, fresh ground pepper, and olive oil. in the centre of the salad is a ball of burrata cheese. the salad bowl sits on a blue and white checked cloth napkin

How to eat this salad.

When you’re ready to dive into this deliciousness, use a spoon to ‘cut’ into the Burrata cheese ball, and scoop out some cheese and cream with the tomatoes. Add extra balsamic to your individual salad if you like.

a top down, close up view of a burrata salad in a white bowl. the salad has yellow, orange and red cut cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, pea shoots, fresh ground pepper, and olive oil. in the centre of the salad is a ball of burrata cheese. the salad is drizzled with balsamic vinegar reduction

Perfect as an appetizer, light lunch or side salad.

There are many ways to enjoy this salad. It makes a great appetizer, it’s lovely as a light lunch, and it’s delicious as a side salad for dinner! For dinner it’s really good with pasta dishes (like lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, pizza, or served alongside roasted chicken or grilled steak.

Recipe Tips:

Burrata: You can find Burrata in most grocery stores, but I have the best luck (obviously) at finding them in Italian markets.
Make sure you drain the water the Burrata is stored in.
Serve Burrata at room temperature. Do not heat it up!
Tomatoes: You can use any type of tomato for this salad. I like to use grape or cherry tomatoes because they’re sweet and flavourful. Sliced heirloom tomatoes are nice too.
Basil: Use fresh basil for this salad. I have the amount listed as 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, but feel free to use more (or less).
Balsamic: This salad is delicious served with a balsamic glaze reduction or even just balsamic vinegar. I prefer the reduction because it’s sweet and flavourful. I just buy a pre-made reduction, they’re easy and delicious. You can even make a balsamic vinegar/olive oil vinaigrette.
Olive Oil. After I have the salad put together, I drizzle it with a little extra virgin olive oil. Add it according to your tastebuds.
Garnish: I like to garnish this salad with fresh pea shoots. This is optional but they taste really good and look nice.
Serve with: Have extra balsamic reduction (or vinegar) available. You can also serve this salad with baguette slices.
Additional Options: You can add other ingredients to this salad like arugula, fresh sliced peaches or even spinach.
Make Ahead. This salad is best served right away, but it can be made about an hour before you want to serve it…if you leave it any longer the tomatoes will release their juices and the salad will get runny. Just make sure you keep it covered so the cheese doesn’t dry out. OR assemble everything except the cheese and add it right before you serve it.