Here’s a delicious summer salad made with creamy burrata cheese, summer tomatoes and beets, fresh basil leaves, and flavorful basil oil! The perfect summer side dish!
Do not be concerned with the fruit of your action- just give attention to the action itself. The fruit will come of its own accord. ~Eckhart Tolle
This Burrata Salad recipe is one of my favorite summer salads. It’s always a hit in our catering business, and the reviews below say it all! The beets and basil oil level it up, giving it an unexpected twist! The salad highlights heirloom tomatoes and colorful beets, both at their peak right now! Basil is in season, too, so it makes perfect sense why they taste so good together. Fresh burrata cheese brings it all together!
But First, What is Burrata?
Burrata is an Italian ball of cheese, typically made with buffalo milk similar in appearance to fresh mozzarella cheese, but with a cream like interior, the texture of ricotta.
Burrata Salad Ingredeint Notes
- Tomatoes- Use vine-ripened summer tomatoes or heirlooms tomatoes if possible; they are so pretty here. Use the best you can find! The better the tomato the more flavorful the salad. Feel free to mix in cherry tomatoes and yellow pear.
- Beets: Colorful beets are a nice addition to this salad. Golden beets or Chioggia beets are a nice touch here! Feel free to forgo the and add more tomatoes if you prefer or try peaches!
- Creamy Burrata cheese: Creamy balls of goodness, burrata cheese is a must! If you must substitute, then I would go with fresh mozzarella balls. Burrata from cow’s milk is just fine, but if you can find buffalo milk burrata, even better!
- Arugula– a few leaves of arugula add a peppery bite.
- Basil Oil: Make the 5-minute basil oil! Made with fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil!
- Balsamic Glaze: optional, adds beautiful drama to the plate.
- Salt and Black Pepper
How to make Burrata Salad
Step One: Cook the Beets if using. The beets can be roasted or blanched. I prefer blanching in summer, to keep the house cooler. Just boil them until just tender, and the skins rub right off, under cool running water.
Cut into disks or wedges and toss with olive oil, balsamic, salt, and pepper.
Step two: Slice the Burrata and place it on a platter.
Step Three: Make the Basil Oil. It just takes a minute to make using the blender.
Step Four: Assemble the Burrata salad. Place burrata cheese on a platter, and drizzle with basil oil. Start layering the platter. Tuck the beets in and around the burrata. Then add the colorful tomatoes.
Layer the tomatoes and beets.
Tuck in basil and arugula if you like, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Step Five: Before serving, drizzle with more flavorful Basil oil and Balsamic Glaze if you like.
What to serve with Burrata Salad
Serve with good crusty bread or a warm, sliced baguette to mop up all the deliciousness. These entrees would go nicely:
- Grilled Eggplant with Greek Relish and Creamy Polenta
- Italian Grilled Chicken
- The Best Grilled Chicken
- Blackened Salmon Sandwich
More Favorite Burrata Recipes!
- Basil Oil
- Grilled Beets with Pesto
- Broccoli Manicotti with Burrata
- Cooling Recipes for Hot Summer Days
- Delicious Beet Salad Recipe with Feta & Pistachios
- 20+ Fresh Beet Recipes!
Burrata Salad Recipe
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8
- Category: Salad
- Method: Assembled
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A beautiful Burrata Salad with tomatoes, beets, basil, and flavorful basil oil, drizzled with balsamic glaze – perfect for summer dinners and gatherings. Elegant and flavorful.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb beets ( red and yellow are pretty)
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1-2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 balls of fresh Burrata cheese
- 2 lbs heirloom tomatoes, sliced
- a handful of arugula or a 1/2 cup basil leaves, torn, or make basil ribbons
- pinch flaked salt
- cracked black pepper
- Garnish: Basil oil (or sub olive oil) and/or Balsamic glaze or balsamic syrup
Basil Oil
- 1/2 cup basil leaves, packed tight (or sub-part Italian Parsley)
- 1/2 cup light olive oil (make sure it is not bitter!)
- 1 fat garlic clove
- squeeze of lemon juice
- generous pinch of salt
Instructions
- Cook the Beets: Place beets in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil ( If very large, slice in half, for faster cooking). Lower heat, cover, and simmer gently until fork tender ( but not overly soft). Rinse in cold water, or place in an ice bath. You could do this ahead.
- Make the Basil Oil – Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until combined.
- Peel the beets (skins should rub right off under running water) and cut into slices or wedges, place in a bowl and toss with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Assemble the salad: Spoon Basil oil on a platter. Slice the burrata cheese into ½ inch thick slices, and carefully place on a platter. Drizzle with a little salt and basil oil. Arrange the beets on the platter around the burrata. Slice the tomatoes, or cut them into wedges, and tuck them in and around the beets and burrata, paying attention to color. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pepper. Scatter a handful arugula sprigs or fresh torn basil around the platter. Refrigerate until serving.
- Drizzle the whole platter with basil oil right before serving or use a balsamic syrup.
- This is quite good served with sliced warm baguette or crusty bread.
Notes
Salad can be assembled ahead and refrigerated- drizzle with basil oil and balsamic glaze right before serving.
To make balsamic glaze, place 1 cup balsamic vinegar in a small pot to simmer on low, uncovered on the stove. Reduce this by half, slowly (about 20 mintues) or until the vinegar coats the back of a spoon. It will thicken as it cools. For extra sweetness, stir in a little maple syrup if you like.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: with basil oil
- Calories: 206
- Sugar: 9.3 g
- Sodium: 403.1 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.6 g
- Fiber: 3.8 g
- Protein: 7.7 g
- Cholesterol: 23.7 mg
gent
Not only is this salad delicious it is so beautiful! Basil Oil is now going to be a summer staple in our kitchen.
Great to hear Kelly!
This salad is so delicious!!! I made it today followed the recipe as is added some pastitsios and lots of fresh basil and tomatoes from my garden.
Thank you so much for this recipe.
Love the additions Lucille!
Great salad. This isn’t quite tomato season here right now in New England but this salad can nicely mask sub-optimal tomatoes. I’m talking about tomatoes that are 80-90% there. The only thing I would do different is to roast the beets instead of boiling them. Not that the boiled beets were bad, just that I think it might be even better roasted.
Glad you gave it a go! I opted for boiling to keep the house cool- it gets scorching hot here in the summer months. Roasting is a great option, though.
Loved these.
Thanks John
Where did you get that beautiful serving plate and serving utensils?!
Hi Lauren! The platter is from Akiko Pottery in Seattle. She has a website. I can’t remember where I got the serving utensils though. 😉
Absolutely delicious. I used honey mustard dressing and balsamic glaze and added some small pieces of pineapple. Was an absolute winner with garlic prawns tonight
Thanks, Barbara! Glad you enjoyed this!
Made this dish today, and it was delicious. The perfect salad for fresh basil, beets and summer tomatoes. I forgot to make the basil oil yesterday, so I made the balsamic syrup instead. The salad was so good that I’m going to make the basil oil and have it again in a couple of days. Thank you!
Awesome Kim!
This was the BEST gourmet salad I have ever made. The presentation and flavors were Absolutely divine. My husband is a physician and he thoroughly enjoyed it!
I appreciate the tip for removing the skin from the beets.
Oh great to hear! It’s one we used in catering a TON, such pretty colors
Beautiful, and I’m sure delicious also, salad! Also my favorite for summer.
This is delicious. One of my go-to summer salads! Thank you for the recipe!
Hello everyone, it’s my first visit at this web site, and piece of writing is genuinely fruitful in support of me, keep
up posting such posts.
What a beautiful salad!! It sounds so amazing!
how can your recipes be printed without all the pictures
Are you clicking on the “print button” inside the recipe box at the bottom of the post? The button is on right side, under the small picture. Once you click there, it should bring up just the recipe to print. I have tons of pictures, so I can see how that would be a problem. 😉