Caprese Melon Salad with Prosciutto and Mozzarella
Caprese Melon Salad with Prosciutto and Mozzarella is the kind of recipe that earns a permanent spot on a summer table.
It comes together in about 20 minutes and needs no cooking at all, which makes it a natural fit for a barbecue, a potluck, or a pool party where you would rather be outside than standing near a hot stove.
Caprese Melon Salad With Prosciutto And Mozzarella For Easy Summer Gatherings 21
The flavors are familiar and easy to love: sweet melon, salty prosciutto, creamy mozzarella, fresh basil, and halved cherry tomatoes, all tossed with a light oil and vinegar dressing. Serve it as a side next to grilled fish, or let it stand on its own as a main dish when the weather is hot and appetites are light.
This version follows the original Caprese Melon Salad recipe, which is built around cantaloupe and honeydew scooped into little balls with a melon baller. If you are putting together a summer menu, it is a smart one to keep in rotation.
Melons are wonderful, and they are also easy to take for granted. The author behind this salad loves them and still almost never slices one and eats it plain.
Over time, one preference became clear: melons are at their best when they are folded into a recipe with other flavors around them. With the right ingredients, a melon goes from watery and a little bland to flavorful and genuinely delicious.
That is exactly what happens in this salad. Salty prosciutto, creamy mozzarella, peppery basil, and bright cherry tomatoes give the melon something to push against, and a simple oil and vinegar dressing ties everything together. It is the kind of balance that makes people go back for a second scoop.
Caprese Melon Salad With Prosciutto And Mozzarella For Easy Summer Gatherings 22
There is a smaller idea here worth keeping in your back pocket. If you have extra honeydew after making the salad, spoon it into a bowl and drizzle it with raw local honey. Add a pinch of salt and a splash of pineapple vinegar.
Salt, sweetness, and acidity each pull out a different side of the melon, and the combination tastes far more interesting than plain fruit.
Salt, sweetness, and acidity are the three levers that turn a plain melon into something worth remembering.
Caprese Melon Salad With Prosciutto And Mozzarella For Easy Summer Gatherings 23
This is a useful lesson for the rest of the season too. Once you know how much salt and acid can do for a sweet melon, you will start reaching for them every time you cut one open.
If you like this style of pairing, Classic Prosciutto and Melon takes the same sweet and salty idea in an even simpler direction.
One more note about the melon itself. The recipe recommends cantaloupe and honeydew, but it is not strict about it, and the same approach works with other melons you find at the market. What matters is that the fruit is cut into pieces small enough to eat with a fork alongside the prosciutto and mozzarella.
Salad with Summer Melons
Melons are one of the healthiest foods of summer. They are mostly water, which is part of why they feel so refreshing on a hot day, and they also bring vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes, including potassium and magnesium. Just one cup of honeydew melon provides 53 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.
Cantaloupe and honeydew are the two melons the recipe calls for, and both appear in the ingredient list. The recipe is flexible, though. Any melon can be used, so if your market has something else that looks good, you can try it. Watermelon, charentais, and muskmelon are all listed as options.
Melon
How it fits this recipe
Cantaloupe
One of the two melons used in the recipe card
Honeydew
The other melon used in the recipe card, and a strong source of vitamin C
Watermelon
Listed as an option, since any melon can be used
Charentais
Listed as an option, since any melon can be used
Muskmelon
Listed as an option, since any melon can be used
Scooping the fruit into balls is not just for looks. Even, bite sized pieces pick up the dressing more evenly and make the salad easier to serve with a spoon at a party. A melon baller is the one tool the recipe really leans on.
Caprese Melon Salad With Prosciutto And Mozzarella For Easy Summer Gatherings 24
Because melon is so mild, the rest of the ingredients carry a lot of the flavor. Ciliegine mozzarella brings creaminess, prosciutto brings salt, basil brings a fresh herbal note, and halved cherry tomatoes add a little acidity of their own. Together they turn a fruit salad into something that belongs on the dinner table.
If you enjoy melon with salty cured meat, Cantaloupe and Prosciutto Salad with Burrata is another recipe to look at. It follows the same sweet and savory path with a different cheese.
For another take on the same idea, this Melon Prosciutto Salad Idea is a good comparison point when you want to see how different cooks balance the dressing.
Caprese Melon Salad with Prosciutto and Mozzarella
The heart of this recipe is the assembly, and it is about as easy as summer food gets. The light, fresh flavors in the salad pair beautifully with grilled seafood such as scallops, shrimp, or white fish. For a more substantial meal, serve it on the side of grilled seafood or even grilled chicken.
The author’s secret to making this summer melon salad so delicious is homemade pineapple vinegar. It is worth trying if you happen to have some, but any vinegar will work in the recipe, and a great substitute is red wine vinegar.
Ingredients
1 small cantaloupe
1 small honeydew melon
1 cup ciliegine mozzarella
1/4 cup fresh basil, rinsed and chopped
3 ounces prosciutto, sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
For the dressing
Caprese Melon Salad With Prosciutto And Mozzarella For Easy Summer Gatherings 25
1/4 cup pineapple vinegar, or any vinegar you have on hand
1/4 cup olive oil
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
Instructions
Cut the melons and scoop the fleshy fruit into little balls using a melon baller.
Add the melon balls to a large salad bowl with all the other salad ingredients and toss to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. The dressing is intentionally very light, but you can double the dressing ingredients if you prefer more.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
Keep the salad chilled until you are ready to serve.
Prep time is 20 minutes and total time is 20 minutes. Nothing is cooked, so there is no cook time and no oven temperature to watch.
A melon baller is the one tool worth having on hand for this dish. It turns the fruit into even, bite sized pieces that hold the dressing and look generous on a serving platter.
The dressing is meant to be light. Taste it first, then double the ingredients if you like a wetter salad.
If you prefer a little more dressing, whisk a second batch with the same 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, and pinches of salt and pepper. Red wine vinegar is the easiest swap for pineapple vinegar, and it works just as well here.
Caprese Melon Salad With Prosciutto And Mozzarella For Easy Summer Gatherings 26
Once the salad is tossed, keep it chilled until you are ready to serve. It is at its best cold, which makes it a good choice for a potluck, a barbecue, or a pool party where the food sits out while people graze.
A few ways to serve it:
Alongside grilled scallops, shrimp, or white fish for a light summer dinner
Next to grilled chicken when you want something more filling
On a potluck table as a side dish that needs no reheating
On its own as a main dish on a very hot day
One note on nutrition. The source does not publish specific nutrition values for this recipe. The site states that nutrition information is auto calculated and estimated as closely as possible, that it is not responsible for errors, and that the recipe has been tested for accuracy even though results can vary.
If you want to compare versions, this Caprese Melon Salad Recipe takes a similar approach with melon, mozzarella, and basil.
Summer Lemon Kale Salad with Brined Salmon
If you like the idea of a chilled salad that still eats like a full meal, Summer Lemon Kale Salad with Brined Salmon is another recipe from the same summer salad collection.
The name tells you most of what you are getting: bright lemon, sturdy kale, and salmon that has been brined before it reaches the bowl.
It is a good one to keep in mind for the nights when you want greens and seafood on the same plate.
Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad with Strawberries and Basil
Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad with Strawberries and Basil is another summer salad from the same collection. It keeps the same sweet and savory logic as this melon salad, with goat cheese standing in for mozzarella while berries and basil bring the bright notes. If you have watermelon on hand and want something a little different, it is worth a look.
Peach Tomato Burrata Salad with Snow Peas and Kale
Peach Tomato Burrata Salad with Snow Peas and Kale rounds out the collection with a mix of stone fruit, tomatoes, creamy burrata, crisp snow peas, and kale. It is a good reminder that the formula behind this melon salad works with more than melon: something juicy, something creamy, something fresh, and a simple dressing to bring it all together.
join us on insta
For more no cook summer salads, easy assembly meals, and fresh ideas for hot days, follow along on Instagram. New recipes, quick tips, and seasonal produce notes show up there first.
FAQs
What is caprese melon salad?
Caprese melon salad is a no-cook summer salad that merges caprese ingredients with the Italian pairing of prosciutto and melon. Cantaloupe and honeydew are scooped into balls with a melon baller, then tossed with ciliegine mozzarella, fresh basil, sliced prosciutto, and halved cherry tomatoes in a light vinegar and olive oil dressing. It is served chilled as a side dish or a light main.
How do you make caprese melon salad?
Prep takes 20 minutes and total time is 20 minutes, with no cooking required. Scoop 1 small cantaloupe and 1 small honeydew melon into balls with a melon baller, add them to a large bowl with 1 cup ciliegine mozzarella, 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, 3 ounces sliced prosciutto, and 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes, then toss. Whisk the dressing, pour it over, toss again, and keep the salad chilled until serving.
What dressing goes on melon salad?
The dressing is a light, bright mix of 1/4 cup pineapple vinegar or any vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper. It is intentionally more acidic than a standard vinaigrette, so whisk it until it looks cloudy and taste before pouring. Red wine vinegar, white balsamic, champagne vinegar, or fresh lemon juice all substitute well, and the dressing amounts can be doubled for a heavier coat.
Can I make caprese melon salad ahead of time?
The salad is best the same day, so assemble it close to serving and keep it chilled. Cut melon keeps three to four days refrigerated in a sealed container, and food safety guidance says to refrigerate cut melon within two hours, or one hour if the room is above 90°F, holding it at 40°F or below. Because salt and acid pull water from the melon and tomatoes, dress it just before serving.
Caprese Melon Salad with Prosciutto and Mozzarella Caprese Melon Salad with Prosciutto and Mozzarella is the kind of recipe that earns a permanent spot on a summer table. It comes together in about 20 minutes and needs no cooking at all, which makes it a natural fit for a barbecue, a potluck, or a pool party where you would rather be outside than standing near a hot stove.
Total Time:20 min
Ingredients
Scale
1 small cantaloupe 1 small honeydew melon 1 cup ciliegine mozzarella 1/4 cup fresh basil, rinsed and chopped 3 ounces prosciutto, sliced 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half 1/4 cup Pineapple vinegar (or any vinegar) 1/4 cup Olive oil Fresh cracked pepper Sea salt
Instructions
1-Cut the melons and scoop the fleshy: Cut the melons and scoop the fleshy fruit into little balls using a melon baller. 2-Add the melon balls to a large: Add the melon balls to a large salad bowl with all the other salad ingredients and toss to combine. 3-In a small bowl, whisk together the: In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. I make a very light dressing, but you can double the ingredients if you prefer more salad dressing. 4-Pour the dressing over the salad and: Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. 5-Keep chilled until ready to serve: Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.
