A recipe for a festive and delicious appetizer or salad wreath made with mozzarella pearls, cherry tomatoes, basil, arugula, hazelnuts, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.
Caprese Holiday Wreath Appetizer (or Salad)
Course: SaladsCuisine: Italian4
servings30
minutesIngredients
8 oz. mozzerella pearls
Best-quality olive oil
Dried oregano and thyme (optional)
Red pepper flakes (optional)
6-7½ oz. basil
2½ oz. baby arugula (optional)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, some of them halved
1/4 cup hazelnuts
Best-quality balsamic vinegar
Directions
- (Toss the pearls very lightly with oil, herbs, and red pepper. Set aside.)
- Place an inverted, 5-inch-diameter bowl in the center of a 14-inch-diameter, round serving plate. Choose the prettiest basil leaves and arrange them on the plate with the (arugula), tomatoes, and cheese. (You may not need all the basil.) Stud the wreath with hazelnuts. At this point, the wreath can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated until serving time. You may have to zhuzh it a bit after removing the plastic.
- Remove the inverted bowl. Drizzle the wreath with oil. Sprinkle with flaked salt and coarsely cracked pepper. Place the balsamic nearby, or decant some into a small, attractive container and place it into the center of the wreath with a small serving spoon.
Notes
- Substitutions: baby spinach for the arugula
Intro
How many ways are there to make a holiday wreath appetizer? Google found took just 0.27 seconds to find seventy-eight thousand of them. I’ve reviewed them all and have produced the best one. Or did I just stumble onto one of them while scrolling through Instagram, and decided to make it? You decide.
Social Learning
Tips & Tricks
If you decide to dress the pearls, do it very, very lightly. I think the appetizer tastes better this way. However, undressed pearls are maybe prettier.
This is the time to use your best olive oil. If all you have is the kind you cook with, go out and splurge on something more refined. I used a lemon-infused oil from Sonoma Pantry, and it was fantastic with the other ingredients. The same goes for the balsamic: it should be exceptional. I used an 18-year-old balsamic from Olive & Well. None of my guests seemed to want vinegar, though, which I thought was crazy.
Ideas for Further Cooking
You could make a wreath in this way out of just about anything. It’s hard for me to imagine a salad that couldn’t be arranged in this fashion, for instance, or a charcuterie. I mean, even an assortment of cookies.
The Backstory
I can always trust my go-to grocery store to be out of basil when I most want it. Whole Foods always seems to have plenty. Basil, especially in these amounts, is expensive. You can make the wreath less expensive – but no less delicious, imho – by using a mixture of basil and arugula. If you do, you’ll have more of a salad on your hands than you do an appetizer, which may or may not be desirable, depending on what you have in mind. Another alternative would be to increase the amount of tomato and cheese rather dramatically and use a much smaller amount of basil to accentuate the wreath.
Caprese Holiday Wreath Appetizer (or Salad)
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! unless otherwise credited. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. References: Market Basket, No Biggie, Simple Healthy Kitchen, Simply Scratch. Thank you, Kesor. Make It Like a Man! is ranked by Feedspot as #15 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs.
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Beautiful! you have a lot of patience! I would throw it all in a bowl! I like to use a good Kalamata olive oil in a situation like this. But I love the infused oils as well.
Thank you, Mimi!
Very beutiful and delicious recipe!
Thank you, Carla!
Your appetizer salad looks festive, perfect for the holidays.
Thanks, Karen!
Such a beautiful salad! A work of art! 🙂
Thanks you, Ronit!
Very pretty!
Thanks, Angie!
It looks very festive, Jeff.
Thank you, Gary!
What a beautiful dish for the holiday!
Thanks, Lori!
You’ve created such gorgeous and crazy healthy party starter. It really is quite stunning. Also, I loved your idea to use mozzarella pearls and hazelnuts… yum!
Thank you, Heidi!
A nice portion of this, when placed between two slices of a good rustic bread, would make a delicious sandwich.
Oh, that would be nice! Hadn’t thought of it!
Okay, you could sell that one, and people would line up to grab one this time of year. Handsome display, and it looks delicious. Terrific idea. thank you.
Thank you, Judy!
A very attractive and appetizing way to draw us to some healthy food ingredients :)! Love mozzarella . . . may try when friends arrive . . .
Thanks, Eha!
You are right, Jeff – that is a lot of basil. I sure hope you didn’t have to use Whole Foods for all of it! But in the end it was worth it…this is such a stunning and fun holiday recipe! And I do appreciate that you went through all 78,000 recipes and narrowed it down to the best one. You deserve an extra present from Santa for that!
Well, I may have skipped a few…
This is both incredibly festive and beautiful. Oh, and how can you beat the flavors? You know, whenever I think I’ve come up with a creative idea for a recipe, I Google it. Turns out I am not as creative as I think…
Isn’t that the truth? There isn’t much that hasn’t already been thought of.
Arugula is a great addition to replace some of the basil!
Thanks, Tracy!
Love this and also forwarded the link to my DIL
Thanks, Anne!
I love how creative and versatile this idea is! Turning a simple appetizer into a festive wreath feels so special. I’m totally sold on the idea of adapting it for charcuterie or even cookies, what a fun way to add flair to any gathering. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you, Raymund!
This is a show stopper! So easy, yet so clever and beautiful. Love it …
Thank you, Judee!
La présentation est magnifique, une belle couronne de Noël
Merci
You’re welcome, Delphine!
Ok, not only is this my favorite salad, but how cute you made it too! You’ve solved my dilemma of what to bring to the family dinner this year!
It’ll be a hit for sure!
Although I’m not a huge fan of holiday-shaped recipes, I must admit that I’m guilty myself – I made once a wreath cheese ball and once a tree-shaped cheese ball. Yes, guilty, twice LOL.
Loving this version – it looks elegant unlike many theme-shaped recipes. And needless to say, it’s delicious!
Twice, Ben! There’s going to be a third time, I can just feel it! 🙂
I love the final result, it’s a very festive proposal, which will look wonderful on the table.
Thank you, Javier!
What a gorgeous appetizer, Jeff. I just love the way you created a wreath of it.
We spent the month of November in Spain. Unfortunately two weeks after we arrived. I picked up a terrible stomach virus, which I haven’t been able to shake, so I’m a little bit behind commenting on all my favourite blogs. I hope you understand..
Oh, no worries! I admire all the travelling you do. It’s inspriring! Hope you recover soon!
What a beautiful appetizer! I know it would be the hit of any party. Almost too pretty to eat!
Thank you, Abbe!
Food and art, combined in one holiday inspired dish. Loove it.
Thank you, Karen!
Un délice ta recette !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bon week-end
Thank you, Mauricette!
Hi Jeff. I’m quite behind as life has been busy. That said, holidays or not, this is a beautiful appetizer (or meal)! I’d serve this wreath any time. So fun and festive, not to mention healthy and tasty. Happy 2025! 🙂 Valentina
Thank you!