Grilled Caprese Salad on a Stick

This Caprese Salad on a Stick with variations is perfect for summer picnics and BBQs. Really quick and easy to make, it takes only a few ingredients, yet provides a delicious little bite filled with the fresh tastes of summer.

These are so simple to make that I hesitate to call it a recipe:

As far as ingredients go, for the traditional Caprese salad on a stick, you need: grape tomatoes (you can use cherry tomatoes if you have bigger skewers than I have), fresh mozzarella cheese (I bought the Tre Stelle Mini Bocconcini but another cheese that works well and holds up well on the BBQ is Halloumi), fresh basil leaves, balsamic vinegar, and of course, your skewers.

For my fruit based variations, I used a combination of watermelon and cantaloupe with the cheese, basil, and vinegar.

Simply thread the ingredients onto your skewers in whatever order you desire. Place on a hot grill (use an electric grilling appliance or a grill pan – these ingredients are small and may fall through the grates or the cheese may melt too much) for just a couple minutes on each side. You want the cheese to get a little ooey and gooey without melting away completely.

While these are on the grill, prepare the balsamic reduction.

Pour some balsamic vinegar into a saucepan. Heat on medium-low until the vinegar thickens a bit and reduces by about half. Drizzle over the completed skewers. Another option in place of this balsamic reduction with the fruit skewers is to drizzle on a bit of honey and finish off with some pink Himalayan sea salt and/or some pink peppercorn dust (I learned that last trick while at CasinoRama in Orillia, Ontario where they served me fresh pineapple chunks dusted with the peppercorn dust and honey for dipping). Speaking of which, pineapple is another great option for these skewers. It grills well and tastes great with the other ingredients. And if you’ve never tasted grilled grapes, you’re missing out.

Want to make it a little more interactive for your family or guests? Let them create their own flavour combinations for the grill. What would you put on your skewer?

If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my Cobb Salad on a Stick too!