An Italian Caprese-Inspired Summer Dish
This Roasted Pepper and Burrata Salad is one of my favorite ways to enjoy the late summer pepper harvest. Sweet bell peppers are roasted until they blister and blacken, easily parting with their skin, then are layered with torn chunks of deliciously creamy burrata cheese. A drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and fragrant basil dress the top and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt completes the dish. This Italian Caprese-inspired salad makes a wonderful addition to your summer meal plan as an antipasto and carries well into the fall months as well.
How to roast and peel bell peppers
Roasting and peeling bell peppers is super easy. I prefer to use large bell peppers that have been sliced in half, destemmed, and seeded. However, you can also use baby bell peppers if you prefer; they are just more work to deseed and peel than regular bell peppers.
- Set your oven to broil on high (generally around 500 degrees F / 260 C). Move the oven rack to the top third of the stove for best results. If your oven does not have a broil setting, you can roast at 450 degrees F/ 230 C instead.
- Brush a baker’s half sheet with a light layer of avocado oil (which has a smoke point of about 520 degrees F / 270 C). Place bell pepper halves on the sheet cut side down.
- Broil until the tops are completely charred, about 20 minutes.
- Transfer the peppers to a heat-proof glass bowl with a secure lid (or cling wrap) to cool (I find that a pair of kitchen tongs is helpful for this step). Cooling the peppers down in this way allows them to steam a bit and helps make the skins super easy to peel away once cooled.
- Once the peppers have cooled enough to safely handle, peel the skins from them, discarding the skin.
Can I use other peppers?
Yes, of course. Adding in other sweet peppers is always a great idea, however, you’ll want to adjust the cooking time for each depending on their size and the thickness of their skin. Some of my favorite options are:
- Cherry peppers – A small red pepper that is both sweet and spicy. You can often find these already roasted and pickled at the olive bar if you prefer to just add them into the final dish.
- Banana peppers – A long pepper with a mild profile that comes in shades of bright yellow and pale green. These are often found pickled, though you can roast them if you prefer.
- Anaheim peppers – A large green chili pepper with a mild spice. These peppers work best when they are roasted and peeled as their skin tends to be thick and papery.
- Poblano peppers – A dark green chili pepper with a spicer profile than the average Anaheim. These make a great addition if you love a generous kick of heat to your salad.
- Shitshio & Padron peppers – Small green pepper varieties with thin skins. You will certainly want to roast (or sautee) these peppers for much less time than the bell peppers and there’s no need to peel them. Though these are generally considered a fairly mild pepper, 1 in 10 Shishito peppers and 2 in 10 Padrón peppers will pack a particularly spicy punch compared to the rest of the batch.
What should I serve with this Roasted Pepper and Burrata Salad?
I always pair this Roasted Pepper and Burrata Salad with a side of sliced baguette or torn crusty bread (gluten-free if needed) to sop of every last drop of oil, vinegar, and cream from the burrata cheese. If you prefer to enjoy this dish without bread, you can also serve this salad over the top of mixed salad greens. If you prefer to serve this salad as an antipasto (first course) before a main dish, it works lovely before the following main course dishes:
- Pizza Bianca (White Pizza)
- Pizza Puttanesca
- Pizza Quattro Stagioni
- Tuna Nicoise Salad
- Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak
- Cioppino (Fisherman’s Stew)
What tools do I need to make this recipe?
- A baker’s half sheet
- A pair of kitchen tongs
- A medium heat-proof bowl with a lid or cling wrap
- A kitchen scale
- Measuring spoons
Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.
Looking for more summer appetizer inspiration?
Love this Roasted Pepper and Burrata Salad recipe? Here are some of my other favorite summer appetizers:
- Baked Feta with Green Olives and Figs
- Chili Lime Watermelon with Labneh and Honey
- Blistered Shishito Peppers
- Pressure Cooker Artichokes
- Olive Tapenade
- Artichoke Spinach Dip
- Jalapeno Poppers with Sausage and Cream Cheese
Roasted Pepper and Burrata Salad
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cool time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizers & Bites, Salads & Dressings
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Sweet bell peppers are roasted until they blister and blacken, easily parting with their skin, then are layered with torn chunks of deliciously creamy burrata cheese. A drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and fragrant basil dress the top and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt completes the dish. This Italian Caprese-inspired salad makes a wonderful addition to your summer meal plan as an antipasto and carries well into the fall months as well.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tsp avocado oil (to coat the pan)
- 3 large (about 375 g) yellow, orange, and/or red bell peppers, sliced in half, stemmed, and deseeded
- 8 oz burrata cheese
- 3–4 tbsp olive oil, adjusted to taste
- 2–3 tbsp balsamic vinegar, adjusted to taste
- 13 g (about 1/3 cup) fresh basil
- 1 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt, adjusted to taste
- Optional: sliced baguette or torn crusty bread
Instructions
- Set your oven to broil on high (generally around 500 degrees F / 260 C). Move the oven rack to the top third of the stove for best results. If your oven does not have a broil setting or taps out at 450 degrees F, you can roast at 450 degrees F/ 230 C instead.
- Brush a baker’s half sheet with a light layer of avocado oil (which has a smoke point of about 520 degrees F / 270 C). Place bell pepper halves on the sheet cut side down.
- Broil until the tops are nicely charred and beginning to blister and blacken in some areas, about 20 minutes. If tops are not brown enough to your liking, continue to broil in 5-minute increments until they reach your desired level of blackened.
- Transfer the peppers to a heat-proof glass bowl with a secure lid (or cling wrap) to cool (I find that a pair of kitchen tongs is helpful for this step). Cooling the peppers down in this way allows them to steam a bit and helps make the skins super easy to peel away once cooled.
- Once the peppers have cooled enough to safely handle, peel the skins from them, discarding the skin.
- Divide the pepper halves each into 4 pieces (you should be able to tear them easily) and arrange on a large platter. Dress with torn pieces of burrata cheese. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top of the salad and finish with a sprinkle of the basil leaves and flaky sea salt.
- Serve cold with optional sliced baguette or torn crusty bread.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 202
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 781 mg
- Fat: 17 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 33 mg
Keywords: bell peppers, burrata, balsamic vinegar
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