Tomato Burrata Salad with Homemade Pesto (Easy Summer Salad)

This tomato burrata salad is summer on a plate: ripe, in-season tomatoes salted until juicy, torn creamy burrata, and a spoonful of homemade basil pesto. It is barely a recipe, more an assembly, but a few small decisions are what separate a forgettable tomato salad from an unforgettable one.

The tomatoes do most of the work, so buy the best you can find and treat them right — salt them, let them weep, and never chill them, because cold flattens their flavour. Then all you add is burrata, torn open for its molten, creamy centre, and a swirl of pesto you can blitz in five minutes. A quick note: with the burrata it is vegetarian, not vegan; leave the cheese out, or use a vegan one, and it goes fully plant-based.

Start with ripe, in-season tomatoes

A salad like this is only as good as its tomatoes, so buy the best you can find, in season, usually mid to late summer. Look for ones that smell sweet and earthy at the stem, that give slightly when you press them, and mix colours and sizes — heirloom, cherry, and beefsteak together make the prettiest, most varied bowl. Keep them on the counter, never in the fridge, since cold dulls their flavour and turns the flesh mealy.

Salt the tomatoes first, then wait

This is the step most people skip, and it makes the biggest difference. Cut the tomatoes, sprinkle them with salt, and let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes. The salt pulls out their juices, which concentrates the flavour and creates a light, savoury dressing right in the bowl. If you prefer a less watery salad, drain off some of that juice before dressing, or, better, keep bread nearby to mop it up.

A dressing that stays out of the way

The best dressing here is barely a dressing at all: good extra virgin olive oil, a splash of acid, and salt, in a rough three-to-one ratio of oil to acid. Use the best olive oil you have, since its flavour really comes through; brighten it with red wine vinegar, balsamic, or lemon; and season with flaky salt and cracked pepper just before serving. Resist the urge to complicate it.

The burrata and a five-minute homemade pesto

Two things lift this above a plain tomato salad. First, the burrata: take it out of the fridge ahead of time so it comes to room temperature, then tear it open over the tomatoes just before serving, so the soft, creamy centre spills into the juices — never slice it cold and firm. Second, the pesto, which is worth making yourself: blitz fresh basil, pine nuts or walnuts, a clove of garlic, parmesan (or nutritional yeast for a lighter version), olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon into a loose paste. Homemade tastes greener and fresher than anything from a jar, and you control the garlic. Spoon it over rather than stirring it through, so you keep ribbons of pesto, tomato, and cream in every bite.

Herbs, onion, and turning it into a meal

Keep any extras restrained so the tomatoes and burrata stay the stars. Torn fresh basil is classic; thinly sliced red onion adds bite, though it is worth soaking it in cold water for ten minutes first to soften the sharpness. For a Mediterranean turn, add cucumber, olives, and capers. It is already close to a meal — the burrata and pesto see to that — but a handful of white beans, or some crusty bread alongside, tips it into lunch.

What usually goes wrong

Most tomato-salad mistakes are easy to avoid. Refrigerating the tomatoes ruins their flavour and texture, so keep them at room temperature. Skipping the salt step leaves the salad flat and watery. Dressing it too early wilts the herbs and softens the burrata, so add the oil, pesto, and cheese only just before serving. And no technique can rescue a pale, hard, out-of-season tomato, so save this one for when tomatoes are at their peak.

For more fresh salads, try my grilled smoked tofu and tomato salad, a hearty vegan Greek salad, or a cooling creamy cucumber salad.

Tomato Burrata Salad with Homemade Pesto

A simple, classic tomato salad made with ripe tomatoes, onion, olive oil, vinegar, and fresh herbs. Vegan, gluten-free, and ready in 15 minutes.

Print

Rate

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Choose Serving Size 4

Equipment

• Cutting board
• Knife
• Mixing bowl

Ingredients 

For the salad

• 1½ lb tomatoes ripe, mixed if possible
• ½ red onion small, thinly sliced
• 8 oz burrata at room temperature, torn
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar or lemon juice
• ¼ cup fresh basil torn
• ½ tsp salt plus more for salting the tomatoes
• black pepper freshly ground, to taste

For the quick basil pesto

• 2 cups fresh basil packed
• ⅓ cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼ cup grated parmesan or 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt a pinch

Instructions

• Salt the tomatoes: cut them into wedges or thick slices, sprinkle with salt, and leave for 10 to 15 minutes to release their juices.
• Make the pesto: blitz the basil, nuts, garlic, parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt into a loose paste, adding more oil to loosen.
• Soak the sliced red onion in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain, to mellow its bite.
• Arrange the tomatoes and their juices on a platter and drizzle with the olive oil and a splash of vinegar or lemon.
• Tear the room-temperature burrata over the top, spoon over the pesto, scatter the onion and torn basil, and finish with flaky salt and pepper. Serve right away with bread.

Notes

Use the ripest in-season tomatoes you can find. Never refrigerate fresh tomatoes. Add cucumber and olives for a Greek twist, or mozzarella to make it a meal. Best eaten the same day.

Did you make this recipe?

Be sure to share with me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Youtube!

Rate this Recipe Pin Recipe Share Recipe

Frequently Asked Questions