Caprese Skewers with Pesto Drizzle
Fresh cherry tomatoes, creamy bocconcini and basil threaded onto small skewers and finished with a simple pesto drizzle. Colourful, fresh and especially easy to prepare for a party.
Prep time
20 min
Cook time
None
Serves
Ingredients
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Caprese Skewers
- 24cherry or grape tomatoes
- 24mini bocconcini (mozzarella balls), well drained
- 24 smallfresh basil leaves
- 24small appetizer skewers or cocktail picks
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing
Pesto Drizzle
- ⅓ cupbasil pesto
- 1–2 tbspextra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tspfresh lemon juice
Optional Finish
- Balsamic glaze
Ingredients
Caprese Skewers
- 24cherry or grape tomatoes
- 24mini bocconcini (mozzarella balls), well drained
- 24 smallfresh basil leaves
- 24small appetizer skewers or cocktail picks
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing
Pesto Drizzle
- ⅓ cupbasil pesto
- 1–2 tbspextra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tspfresh lemon juice
Optional Finish
- Balsamic glaze
Instructions
- 1
Wash the tomatoes and basil and pat them completely dry. Drain the bocconcini well and gently pat them dry with paper towel.
- 2
Thread one tomato, one folded basil leaf and one bocconcini onto each small skewer. You can vary the order slightly from skewer to skewer for a more natural presentation.
- 3
Arrange the finished skewers on a large serving platter.
- 4
In a small bowl, stir together the pesto, 1 tablespoon olive oil and lemon juice. Add the remaining olive oil only if needed to create a consistency that's easy to drizzle.
- 5
Just before serving, lightly drizzle the pesto over the skewers.
- 6
Finish with a little flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- 7
If using balsamic glaze, add just a very light drizzle over the platter. Best used sparingly — the fresh basil and pesto should remain the main flavours.
Melissa's Notes
Drying the mozzarella and tomatoes well makes a difference. It prevents liquid from collecting on the serving platter and helps the pesto cling to the ingredients rather than sliding straight off.
Make Ahead: The skewers can be assembled several hours ahead and refrigerated in a covered container. Wait to add the pesto, salt and optional balsamic glaze until shortly before serving — salt draws moisture from tomatoes, so adding it at the last minute keeps everything looking fresher.
A Little Variation: For summer entertaining, you could replace some of the tomatoes with small pieces of ripe peach or nectarine. They work beautifully with mozzarella, basil and pesto.
Nutrition Information
Per serving (3 skewers) — based on 8 appetizer servings
Nutrition information is an estimate and may vary depending on the ingredients and brands used.
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