Grilled Avocado Caprese Salad
Many years ago, while working with California Avocados, I came up with a Grilled Avocado Caprese Salad and oh my yum is is good! Everything you love about caprese with avocado. Plus its pretty!
Part of the appeal of avocados is their versatility. From soups to spreads to salads to hot dishes to even the avocado itself as the vehicle for a dish. I just love them! Plus avocados have good-for-you benefits and healthy fat.
Table of Contents
Why you'll love this Grilled Avocado Recipe
- It's different, and its easy to make.
- This stuffed avocado is a perfect combination of flavors.
- It's pretty.
- It makes a light meal or a nice starter.
When it comes to avocados, the culinary options are almost endless!
I decided to see how a grilled avocado would be. I am somewhat obsessed with tomatoes, especially in the summer, so paring avocado & tomatoes seemed the thing to do! And my mind went to a caprese salad with avocado. I figured making a stuffed avocado would be fun, pretty and tasty. !
The secret to this delicious dish is the garlic infused oil. Mmmmm! It ties the whole dish together beautifully!
Ingredients
- Avocados
- S&P, olive or avocado oil, garlic
- Tomatoes
- Fresh mozzarella
- Basil
- Balsamic reduction/glaze
Instructions
- This Grilled Avocado Caprese Salad is simple to prepare. First, make the the infused oil.
- Assemble your mozzarella balls, tomatoes, and basil. Season with S&P.
- Prep and heat the grill.
- Prepare you avocados by halving, removing the pit, seasoning and brushing each half with the infused oil.
- Place the avocados face down on the grill for 4-5 minutes.
- You are looking for some nice grill marks and some of that smokey flavor.
- Allow your avocados to get a beautiful char and BBQ flavor...toss your tomatoes & mozzarella mixture with some of the seasoned oil and my favorite part...drizzle with balsamic glaze and dig in!
The warm avocado mingling with the fresh taste of tomatoes, the rich mozzarella, the garlic & the acid of the balsamic glaze is truly fantastic....make this! It is a perfect bite!
Variations
- Grill avocados and stuff with whatever you wish or enjoy them simple seasoned with the garlic oil, S&P.
- Swap mozzarella balls for any size mozzarella, including small burrata.
Tips
- Choose avocado that are not overripe. You want them firm, but not too firm for the best eating experience.
- Allow the oil to sit 20 minutes, to rush things along, mash the minced garlic with the back of a spoon into the oil (or use garlic paste).
- After brushing with the garlic infused oil. Use a knife and cut slices in the across avocado, then again the opposite way, like a crosshatch, "X". and then brush again with the oil and hit with additional S&P. This is not necessary, however it does help the avocado come out.
- Prep your avocado just before grilling to keep it at its freshest.
- Make sure your grill grates are clean and oiled.
I hope you are as excited to make these Grilled Caprese Stuffed Avocado as I am to share them with you! If you do make this....snap a photo and tag me on Instagram or Facebook @SouffleBombay - I'd love to see your dish!
Someone...wanted to run off with my avocados! Baby girl is now almost 20 years old and she is STILL avocado obsessed!!
Avocado recipes to try
Enjoy! XO Colleen
Originally posted July, 2015. Updated May, 2024.
Grilled Avocado Caprese Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup grapeseed or olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- Kosher salt & pepper
- 2 California avocados
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
- 16 Bocconcini small mozzarella balls, halved
- Basil Chiffonade
- Balsamic Glaze
Instructions
- In a small bowl or mason jar, combine the oil, garlic, Kosher salt & pepper...be liberal with the salt & pepper. Stir it up and allow it to mingle for at least 15 minutes.
- Prep your tomatoes and mozzarella, season with a little salt & pepper. Toss with Garlic oil.
- Place basil leaves in a bundle and snip into ribbons with scissors or use a knife. Add to tomato mixture.
- Oil your grill grates and get your grill going.
- Halve your avocados (and remove the pit). I recommend running a knife through them in a cross hatch formation. Season and brush liberally with the garlic oil. Place each avocado half face down on your hot grill and grill for 4-5 minutes. You are just looking for some nice char marks and for the avocado to be heated through.
- Remove avocados and plate them. Spoon mixture into avocado halves and drizzle with balsamic glaze & dig in!
I'm a caprese nut and love me some avocados - I totally going to make this! (And loving that photo of Sam with all the CA avocados 🙂
What is the balsamic glaze? Heated balsamic?
Thank you
They sell a nice balsamic glaze in a bottle at Trader Joe's
Mix balsamic vinegar with brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until glaze is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Glaze should coat the back of a spoon. Let cool and pour into a jar with a lid; store in refrigerator.
2 cups balsamic vinegar to 1/2 cup brown sugar
Just heat balsamic vinegar until slightly thickened. No need for brown sugar!
Agree! Balsamic is sweet enough when heated into a glaze... no need for sugar!
Hi, looks wonderful, can't wait to make. one question, could I grill the avocado and the tomatoes?
Your recipe looks lovely, a great summer salad for the patio and so is the blueberry cake; but they cannot be printed, and that is a disappointment, because there will be times I am sure I will want to serve these again
Marianne... there are two things you can try. highlight the text of the recipe and press the Control button and P. Then choose selection and OK. Also, you can highlight the text, copy and paste into a blank document. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the pointers Randi, both those recipes are now updated to print 🙂
Hi Marianne, Thanks! Since my site was overhauled in August, I have been working on getting all of the recipes updates to print. Both of those are now updates so...Print away 🙂 And enjoy!
I LOVE avocados...why have I not grilled them yet? Must try this!
Your daughter is doing a great job holding all those avocados and her eyes are spectacular! Yessss...dreaming of this right now and will make as soon as I get more avocados!
Grilled avocados?!? What a great idea - It must had terrific smoky flavors! I'm loving everything about this dish!
Now that is a lot of avocados!! This looks absolutely amazing. I love caprese and I love avocado, so I know I would love this. Brilliant idea to grill the avocado.
Don't you just love when those avocados arrive every month? It's always a cause for celebration at our house! This is such a beautiful take on caprese salad.
Avocados & tomatoes go hand in hand together in my book! Grilling them is such a great idea too!
Bestill my Caprese beating heart. I'm so diggin this!
Yes! Yes! Yes! I've been eating a lot of healthy avocados lately and I really can't wait to try this new way of enjoy them! Fantastic idea!!! Pinning!
Renee - Kudos Kitchen
So pretty & healthy. Love this recipe. I love the photo with the hooligan & her avo's. Ha.
How refreshing do these look!
Oh, how I adore avocados. I'd want to run off with them too! This salad looks delicious.
Girl I'm so jealous of your avocado hook-up. It took me FOREVER to find decent avocados last week. So annoying. Now, this salad is beyond delicious looking. Grilled avocados...why have I never done this?!
I LOVE this but am wondering about the Balsamic Glaze. Do you have a recipe for that or just purchase it?
Hi Amy, you can purchase it which I would recommend. I used to make it before it became readily available however it the blasamic vinegar tends to stink up the house as it boils or so my kids always said! Here is a link to a great step-by-step in case you want to make it. It;s delicious!!
Where is the link, please? This looks absolutely DELISH!!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/how-to-make-balsamic-glaze/
Thought I added that to the comment...
i don't have a grill....do you have an oven or broiler version? it looks delicious!
A cast iron grill pan (with the ridges in the bottom) would do the trick, The point is to warm the Avo and put on the grill marks. If you want the smokey taste, a very small amount of liquid smoke( this stuff is overpowering so go super light) in the oil that you brush the Avo with prior to grilling would suffice.
Hi Elisa, Instead of the grill, you could heat a hot griddle or cast iron pan, brush you avocado with a little grapeseed or olive oil and let it kiss the hot pan for 15 seconds or so.
How many calories and protein are in this receive?
Hi Christina, I haven't a clue since calories are not my area of expertise. I don't want to guess and steer you wrong.
Looks amazing. I'm seeing a lot of these "avacados as bowls" type of recipes. They look yummy.
I have a few recipes like that and another one coming for summer next month...Love using avocados that way!
Do you make or buy the basalmic glaze. Also living in an apartmant so no grill. Could I pop it under broiler for few minutes?
I have made the glaze but admit it kindof stinks up the house, so once I began seeing the bottles in stores a few years ago...I now but it. A bottle lasts well. Of you want to make your own - here is an easy recipe - http://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/how-to-make-balsamic-glaze/
You can either let the avocado "kiss" a hot frying pan or grill pan for a minute or two (brushed with the drizzle or place it under your broiler for a minute or two. It will work 🙂 Enjoy!!
This dish is absolutely delicious! I was in a hurry, so I made two shortcuts: I fried the avocado in a few drops of olive oil until it was browned and a bit crusty; and I muddled garlic in salt and poured olive oil and balsamic vinegar in it for the sauce. I added diced red onion. Thank you!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it Kathleen! Thanks for sharing your delicious tweaks!
Anything avocado or caprese theme is screaming my name, so this dish looks and sounds like perfection! I can't wait to check out some of your other avocado themed recipes! I'm always looking for new ideas!
Much love,
Heather
Thanks Heather! I do have quite a few avocado recipes...love them! Hope you find a few to enjoy!
I'm always looking for new ways to use avocados, now I have found one, thank you so much.
Do you have a favorite recipe for the balsamic glaze or is it store-bought?
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I could have skipped the rest of the meal and just eaten these. Thanks for sharing!
Anna
I love avocados, but I'm the only one in my house who does. That's such a bummer because I can either eat an entire avocado and faint or wait until one of my friends comes over for a snack.
The pictures are absolutely mouthwatering! I must do this very soon, especially since everyone in our family likes avocados!
PS. Your daughter is simply beautiful.. and those eyes are just wow!
Aw, thanks Diana! She's my girl! Hope you and yours enjoy!
My whole family absolutely loved these avocados! Thank you to Bob for balsamic glaze.
Will make again!!
Great to hear!! And balsamic glaze is amazing, I swear I could drink it! So glad its available for purchase these days, my kids used to HATE when I reduced balsamic to make it, stinkyyyy!