Grilled Avocado Caprese Salad
I am excited to share with you the newest recipe in my continuing partnership with California Avocados. This month we fired up our grills and came up with a number of delicious recipes I think anyone would enjoy. I came up with a Grilled Avocado Caprese Salad and...Oh...my...yum!
California Avocados are in season, and to me 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...when it comes to avocados, the culinary options are endless! And you know what?? Every time I dig into a fresh & creamy California Avocado...just for a minute I am transported there...go ahead and taste the difference!
I decided to make a Grilled Avocado Caprese Salad - I am somewhat obsessed with tomatoes...especially in the summer so paring avocado & tomatoes seemed the thing to do!
The secret to this delicious dish is the garlic infused oil. Mmmmm! It ties the whole dish together beautifully!
This is another one of those dishes that may get you an oooh-aaaah....and the bonus...people will never know just how simple it was to prepare! Just a few minutes on the grill to allow your avocados to get a beautiful char and BBQ flavor...toss your tomatoes & mozzarella with the garlic infused oil...add in some basil and my favorite part...balsamic glaze. Oh man....now I'm hungry!
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!
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!
Looking for more delicious avocado recipes?? Check out my some of my favorites:
Avocado Crab Cake Sandwiches With Bacon & Avocado Aioli, Watermelon & Avocado Pizza, California Garlic Bread With Sauteed Spinach & Avocados, Eggs Benedict with Avocados Sriracha Hollandaise & Avocado Cream,
Tequila Avocado Salsa
Loaded Pulled Pork Stuffed Avocados, Spicy Chicken Cakes with Avocado Cream, Spicy Chicken & Bacon Flatbread with Avocado Cream, Crispy Avocado Bacon & Tomato Salad (OMG!!), Chili Stuffed Avocados.
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 1 hour.
- Prep your tomatoes and mozzarella, season with salt & pepper. 30 minutes before serving, toss them with some of the garlic oil.
- Oil & heat your grill. Halve your avocados (and remove the pit). Season and brush liberally with the garlic oil. Place each avocado half face down on your hot grill and grill for 4-5 minutes (leave the lid open). You are just looking for some nice char marks and for the avocado to be heated through.
- Remove avocados and plate them. Toss in the basil with the tomato & mozzarella mixture, mix it up. and spoon it into and over-top the avocados, drizzle with balsamic glaze & dig in!
- Tip: To easily Chiffonade your basil...use a sharp knife (basil bruises easily) and pinch off the stems of lay 10 leaves, place them atop one another, roll it up tightly yet gently (like a cigar) and make thin slices with the tip of your knife...ta-dah!
Enjoy!!
Deanna - Teaspoon of Spice says
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 🙂
L says
What is the balsamic glaze? Heated balsamic?
Thank you
Sangio says
They sell a nice balsamic glaze in a bottle at Trader Joe's
Bob says
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.
Bob says
2 cups balsamic vinegar to 1/2 cup brown sugar
Debbi says
Just heat balsamic vinegar until slightly thickened. No need for brown sugar!
Kelly says
Agree! Balsamic is sweet enough when heated into a glaze... no need for sugar!
MARIANNE STEELMAN says
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
Randi says
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!
Colleen says
Thanks for the pointers Randi, both those recipes are now updated to print 🙂
Colleen says
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!
Back for Seconds says
I LOVE avocados...why have I not grilled them yet? Must try this!
Lora CakeDuchess says
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!
Martha @ A Family Feast says
Grilled avocados?!? What a great idea - It must had terrific smoky flavors! I'm loving everything about this dish!
Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez says
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.
Cookin' Canuck says
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.
Angie Barrett says
Avocados & tomatoes go hand in hand together in my book! Grilling them is such a great idea too!
Paula-bell'alimento says
Bestill my Caprese beating heart. I'm so diggin this!
Renee Goerger says
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
Kim Bee says
So pretty & healthy. Love this recipe. I love the photo with the hooligan & her avo's. Ha.
Tasha @thatssoyummy says
How refreshing do these look!
Sarah Walker Caron (Sarah's Cucina Bella) says
Oh, how I adore avocados. I'd want to run off with them too! This salad looks delicious.
Nutmeg Nanny says
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?!
Amy says
I LOVE this but am wondering about the Balsamic Glaze. Do you have a recipe for that or just purchase it?
Colleen says
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!!
Cathy says
Where is the link, please? This looks absolutely DELISH!!
Colleen says
http://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/how-to-make-balsamic-glaze/
Thought I added that to the comment...
Elisa Gochnauer says
i don't have a grill....do you have an oven or broiler version? it looks delicious!
Pecsdad says
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.
Colleen says
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.
Christina says
How many calories and protein are in this receive?
Colleen says
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.
Darla DeMorrow says
Looks amazing. I'm seeing a lot of these "avacados as bowls" type of recipes. They look yummy.
Colleen says
I have a few recipes like that and another one coming for summer next month...Love using avocados that way!
Christine says
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?
Colleen says
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!!
Kathleen Carico says
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!
Colleen says
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it Kathleen! Thanks for sharing your delicious tweaks!
Heather @ Simple Fresh Natural says
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
Colleen says
Thanks Heather! I do have quite a few avocado recipes...love them! Hope you find a few to enjoy!
Crane says
I'm always looking for new ways to use avocados, now I have found one, thank you so much.
Lil says
Do you have a favorite recipe for the balsamic glaze or is it store-bought?
Anna Anderson says
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
Brian Routt says
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.
Diana Wilson says
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!
Colleen says
Aw, thanks Diana! She's my girl! Hope you and yours enjoy!
Brandy says
My whole family absolutely loved these avocados! Thank you to Bob for balsamic glaze.
Will make again!!
Colleen says
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!