Caprese appetizer skewers are everything you love about a caprese salad, tomatoes, spinach and cheese, on a stick. An easy to serve appetizer for all occasions.
Caprese Appetizer Skewers – Salad On A Stick
Fresh, colorful, and ready in minutes, these Caprese Appetizer Skewers are one of the easiest ways to impress guests without spending hours in the kitchen. Juicy cherry tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and fragrant herbs come together on a simple skewer to create the perfect two-bite appetizer that’s as beautiful as it is delicious.
Whether you’re hosting a summer gathering, out for a picnic, planning a holiday appetizer spread, or need a quick snack for a lunch or potluck, these little “salads on a stick” deliver classic Italian flavors in a fun, portable form. Finish them with a drizzle of balsamic glaze and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, and you’ll have an elegant appetizer that’s always the first to disappear.
Classic Caprese Tomato Salad
Ah, the lovely salads we derive from Italy! Layers upon layers of tomatoes with fresh basil known to us a a Caprese salad.
Sometimes stacked in proper rows, tomato slices, Mozzarella slices, big fat basil leaves, and repeat and repeat. Makes for a lovely afternoon lunch with crusty Olive Bread.
But, a caprese salad is not what we are making, and no we are not using basil because it will wilt fast. Nope, we are heading over to my neck of the woods, into Kabob country! Sticks!
Salad On A Stick!
Salad on a stick?
Sometimes a little salad on a stick is all we are looking for. Favorite foods piled onto a stick, whether a vegetable salad or a fruit salad.
Because I have a whimsical mind, when it comes to food, you might also enjoy my Salad In A Jar! Another easy healthy way to enjoy a salad anywhere, any time. Easy to pack in lunches.
Perfect for a Tapas Spread, picnic food, or an appetizer set out for game day when you want your loved-ones, or guests to have a little something healthy.
Caprese Appetizer Skewers
These caprese skewers, are a take on the traditional Italian caprese salad, which is usually mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes.
However, these are made with spinach and goat cheese; deeply Mediterranean.
The perfect solution for a salad without all the mess, and dressing swimming at the bottom of a bowl!
The world of kabobs (ie food on sticks), is so much more interesting, portable and fun to eat; man, woman or child!
Making Caprese Appetizers On A Stick
Making these Caprese skewers couldn’t be easier.
We will be using cherry tomatoes, so they simply get cut in half, or grape tomatoes work well too.
Adding a little extra measure of healthy ingredients, we will stack fresh raw spinach leaves onto the sticks, which won’t turn brown the way basil leaves quickly do.
Leaves And Cheese On Sticks
Instead of fresh basil leaves, we will be using fresh oregano leaves for a deeper aromatic flavor, and they hold up longer after being picked. Basil turns brown fast.
A Drunken Goat cheese is the perfect texture and flavor for these Caprese bites but everyone has their own favorite cheeses, just make sure you choose a cheese that doesn’t split or crumble.
Of course, feta is the goat cheese most known in Mediterranean foods, but it crumbles too easily, especially when slid onto a stick.
Once the ingredients are put onto the bamboo sticks, a drizzle of lemon zest flavored olive oil, a pinch of coarse sea salt, and they are ready to be placed onto a plate, platter, or packed for a to-go meal.
Looking For More Fun Food On A Stick?
Since my heritage is from that part of the world that loves to put food on sticks, I have more fun foods to share with you.
Actually, raising four kids as a single mom, I had to be fast, organized and creative if I wanted to feed my kids healthy foods.
For this reason, I took ‘food on sticks’ to a new level of creativity.
Here are just a few:
- Kofta Kabobs (of course) – which I also made on Guy’s Grocery Games and wow was it a hit!
- Pizza Kabobs – (told you I’m whimsical), with pizza dough cut in circles the same size as cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls and slide onto a stick.
- Shrimp and Grits Kabobs – which actually is polenta squares and shrimp slid onto sticks and so easy to serve a crowd.
Ingredients You’ll Want For Caprese Appetizer Skewers
- Cherry or grape tomatoes are sweet, juicy and easy to cut in half and slide onto the skewer sticks.
- Spinach leaves are the perfect size leaf to place on skewers for both color and flavor and hold up so much better than a basil leaf does.
- Firm Cheese of choice that is easy to cut into cubes and slide onto the skewer sticks without splitting. Some choices could be: Cheddar, Gouda, Swiss, Manchego or a Gruyere.
- Oregano leaves, if fresh, make the perfect size herb leaf to add to this collection of flavors.
- Olive oil, a good quality olive oil adds to the flavor so choose one you would want to dip a slice of bread in.
- Lemon zest is added to the olive oil for its flavor and natural oils, rather than using the juice, which can make these skewers soggy quickly. And though a balsamic vinegar is often sprinkled across a caprese salad, it will stain the colors of the cheese and tomato, so stick with citrus zest.
- Coarse salt to sprinkle across the skewers just before serving.
Simple Tools Needed to Make Caprese Skewers
- Bamboo appetizer sticks – About 5 inches with a knot on top, are perfect for appetizers, cocktail garnish and charcuterie.
- Cutting board – The best workspace for preparing these caprese bites.
- Serrated knife – A small serrated knife is easy to work with small tomatoes.
The Caprese Of Capri
Having spent time in the Isle of Capri myself, and indulged in absolutely everything that beautiful island had to offer, I wanted to give credit to the Caprese Salad, and not to me.
Notice anything in particular about the first appearance of the caprese salad?
The red of the tomato, the green of the basil and the white of the cheese are intended to reflect the colors of the Italian flag.
If You Try These Caprese Skewers
If you try these easy caprese appetizer skewers, I’d love to know which cheese you used, what type of tomato and where you served it! Leave a comment below so others can enjoy the variations and the types of occasions you served them. And don’t forget to save this recipe.
Caprese Appetizer Skewers – Salad On A Stick
Equipment
- 8 Bamboo appetizer sticks
- Cutting board and serrated knife
Ingredients
- 6 Cherry tomatoes
- 12 Spinach leaves
- 1/4 lb Firm Cheese Cheddar, Gouda, Manchego or Swiss
- 12 Fresh Oregano leaves
- 1 tsp Olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Lemon zest
- Coarse Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cut the tomatoes in half so they are easy to slide onto the skewer and easy to eat. Cut the cheese into cubes about the same size as the tomatoes. Select spinach leaves about the same size as the cheese cubes or a little larger. Pick the oregano leaves from the stalk. They can be smaller than the spinach leaves.
- Place a bamboo stick through the cheese cubes first. Next slide the halved tomato, then the spinach leaf, and place the tiny oregano leaf on top of the cheese.
- In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil and lemon zest together. Drizzle a little over the prepared caprese skewers, and sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt. They are ready!
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.