While many gardeners envision a pantry full of freshly canned sauce when they think of garden tomato recipes, staring longingly into their bountiful tomato garden, my excitement lies with this Fresh Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad recipe. In fact, tomatoes and basil are companion plants, meaning you can plant them together and they benefit each other – not just in your mouth!

We have a number of tomato recipes in our Tomato Gardening Guide, like Fresh Tomato Salsa and Roasted Tomato Sauce, but today I want to share my favorite dish to make, sometimes for lunch and sometimes as an app with wine. The key is fresh garden tomatoes and fresh basil. Since you can’t grow mozzarella in your garden, you’ll have to get that at the store.

Some people like a balsamic reduction drizzled over their tomato, basil and mozzarella, which you can certainly add, but I find it’s a distraction from the sweet summer tomatoes, so I haven’t included it in this recipe. Instead, focus on getting the sweetest, most ripe tomatoes, and fresh basil.

Garden-Fresh Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad

Enjoy the bounty of your garden with this easy Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad you can make with your sun-ripened tomatoes.

• Author: Amanda MacArthur
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: Serves 1 to 2 1x
• Category: Salads & Dressings

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 large ripe garden tomatoes, any variety
• 8 oz mozzarella ball
• 10 large basil leaves
• Salt and freshly ground peppercorns to taste

Instructions

1. Slice your tomatoes, into ¼” slices, then slice your mozzarella in half, then create ⅛-¼” half-moon slices.
2. On a medium plate, layer the tomatoes and mozzarella in a circle, in between whole basil leaves, or if you have an herb cutter, use them to shred the basil into strips and sprinkle over the top.
3. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and freshly ground peppercorns.

More Easy Garden Tomato Recipes

If your tomato plants are growing like crazy, and you need more recipes to use them up, our Tomato Gardening Guide includes a number of recipes that will help you use, preserve, and enjoy your bounty, including:

• Cherry Tomato Salad
• Balsamic Bruschetta
• Fresh Salsa
• Salsa Seafood Soup
• Roasted Tomato Sauce
• Stewed Tomatoes
• Fried Green Tomatoes

What are your favorite ways to use tomatoes from your garden? I’d love to hear your recipes in the comments below. And if you try this recipe, let me know what you think!