These mini caprese skewers put a fun, summery twist on the classic with sweet strawberries, creamy bocconcini, and fresh basil. I love recipes like this that feel festive and indulgent but are still built on whole, nourishing ingredients. They come together in minutes, look beautiful on a platter, and the flavor combo always surprises people in the best way.
Jump to:
- Why you’ll love these strawberry mini caprese skewers
- Ingredients
- What is ciliegine and bocconcini?
- How To Make Caprese mini Skewers
- Can you make caprese skewers ahead of time?
- Serving and Storage Tips
- Good for you nutrition info
- More easy No-Bake appetizers
- Did you make this recipe?
- Caprese Skewers Recipe (with Strawberries)
Why you’ll love these strawberry mini caprese skewers
- Easy to assemble, no-bake appetizer perfect for warm weather! Bring down the heat by assembling these savory sweet skewers in a matter of minutes and without ever turning on the oven. Easiest enough even the kids can help!
- Unique spin on traditional caprese skewers. Cherry tomatoes?? So old news! Swap them out for sweet strawberries for an unexpected twist to the traditional caprese appetizer.
- Healthy and refreshing appetizer that fit with your nutrition goals. Offering a nice dose of protein, calcium, fiber and essential vitamins and minerals, these simple caprese mini skewers are perfect to snack on all summer long!
- Affordable and delicious! Make a dozen of these little skewers for just a few dollars and love every delicious bite.
Ingredients
- 12-16 fresh strawberries, washed and green caps removed.
- 8 ounce package of mozzarella balls, either bocconcini or ciliegine size. Both cheeses are interchangeable, their only difference is in size. Bocconcini cheese is the size of a golf ball, about 1 ounce, and ciliegine is the size of a cherry tomato, about 15 grams in weight. Make sure you DO NOT get the pearl sized mozzarella balls, as those are way too small for these caprese mini skewers.
- Fresh basil leaves, about 16 leaves, torn in half.
- Good finishing olive oil and fresh cracked black pepper. Alternatively you can also finish the skewers with a drizzle of balsamic glaze, found at any grocery store.
What is ciliegine and bocconcini?
Ciliegine and bocconcini are both types of fresh mozzarella cheese, but they differ in size. Ciliegine are small, cherry-sized balls of mozzarella, while bocconcini are slightly larger, about bite-sized or golf-ball sized. The former are about 15 grams in size and the latter are about 1-2 ounces.
Ciliegine are a little easier to find in most grocery stores, and the average 8 ounce package yields approximately 24 mozzarella balls. Use whichever size you have easy access to and prefer!
How To Make Caprese mini Skewers
Assembling these mini caprese skewers are so simple little to no instruction is needed!
Simply take a skewer and lace on 1 mini mozzarella ball, then a small folded piece of basil, 1 strawberry and another piece of basil, then 1 more mozzarella ball. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh cracked black pepper and finishing salt.
skewer assembly tips:
- For bite size mini skewers shown here, use 4.7″ skewers. Sounds like an odd size but it is very commonly made and come in a variety of colors, materials and styles! I used these bamboo skewers, but also love these cute natural color toothpicks.
- Feel free to use either 1 or 2 mozzarella balls in your caprese mini skewers. You can see I made a combo of both. If you use just 1 mozzarella ball, you can make 24 skewers, or 2 you of course make 12 skewers.
- For larger pieces of basil, tear in half and then fold. You don’t want the basil to be overpowering so want to stick with small pieces to lend a subtle flavor.
Can you make caprese skewers ahead of time?
Want to lower the stress of entertaining? Simply assemble skewers the morning of your event an cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to serve, and then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper before serving.
To avoid the mozzarella balls drying out, do not remove from their liquid and assemble the night before. Prep your mini skewers no more than 5-6 hours before serving.
Serving and Storage Tips
- Mozzarella flavor enhances when it is closer to room temperature, so remove from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Make sure to not serve mini caprese skewers in direct sun.
- Do not assemble more than 4-6 hours in advance, and then store in an airtight container or covered tightly with plastic wrap to prevent the ingredients from drying out.
- For freshest taste and presentation, enjoy caprese skewers within 24 hours of assembling.
Good for you nutrition info
While the health benefits of a particular food should always be considered in light of the overall diet, here are a few good news facts about mozzarella!
A 1 ounce serving contains 6 grams of protein and has about half the sodium per serving size of other popular cheeses like parmesan and feta. It also contains 10% of our daily calcium needs and while it still has 4 grams of saturated fat, it is lower in saturated fat than many other cheeses.
More easy No-Bake appetizers
- Watermelon Feta Skewers with a touch of Tajin
- Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppers
- Epic Layered Hummus Dip with Pita
- Avocado Edamame Hummus
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Did you make this recipe?
If you gave this recipe a try, I’d love your feedback! Any tips or recipe additions you’d like to share, I’d love to hear it! Let’s connect down in the comments below.
Equipment
- 12-16 Wood or bamboo mini skewers 4.7" in length
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Mini mozzarella balls
- 12-16 Strawberries
- 6-8 Basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- Black pepper and finishing salt
Instructions
- Skewer 1 mini mozzarella ball, then a small folded piece of basil, 1 strawberry and another piece of basil, then 1 more mozzarella ball on the toothpick.
- Right before serving, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and finish with fresh cracked black pepper and flaky salt.
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