Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze

Once the first of July hits, we are in summer! What is summer without watermelon??? For a new twist on the quintessential fruit of summer…… Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze.Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze Let me just say, I had never had watermelon with anything other than salt or vodka (back in the day). Who doesn’t love a nice cold piece of watermelon on a sultry hot days in the middle of summer?


Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze

A couple of years ago I made Spinach Watermelon Salad
and was pleasantly surprised with feta and watermelon. Why not mozzarella? No reason I could think of.

Caprese is traditionally a tomato based dish with mozzarella, basil, and a balsamic glaze. Could watermelon be substituted for tomatoes? Everywhere you look on Pinterest it appears the answer is yes.

According to my super scientific research (Google) watermelons are healthier than tomatoes…who knew.

Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze

I just know that this recipe turned out to be delicious. Perfect for a hot summer day and pretty enough for a special event.

Cutting the watermelon into 2 X 2 inch squares, then scooping the center out with a melon baller. My first vision was to scoop out the center, fill it with the mozzarella, drizzle with glaze and garnish with basil.

Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze

I couldn’t bare to throw out the center scoops. Two for one appetizer….heck yeah! No wastefulness here. Besides, I would have had too much cheese, so it all worked out beautiful.

Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze can be made on a moment notice. The most labor intense part is the cutting and scooping of the melon. Although that really takes only a few minutes.

Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze

If you want to make them in advance, I would wait with the basil and balsamic glaze until you are ready to serve. The glaze absorbs into the melon rather quickly and could turn your mozzarella a muddy color if made to far in advance.

Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze

For a cool refreshing summer appetizer try Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze.

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Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze

  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 2 mins
  • Total Time: 17 mins
  • Yield: 12 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 18 ounce package fresh mozzarella pearls
  • 68 large fresh basil leaves, chiffonade*
  • 122 X2 inch watermelon squares
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Instructions

  1. Cut a fresh watermelon into 2 X 2inch squares. Using a melon baller remove the center of each square reserving the watermelon ball that is removed.
  2. In a small skillet stir together sugar and balsamic vinegar, Cook over medium heat to melt the sugar and thicken the glaze, 1- 2 minutes Remove from heat and allow to cool.
  3. Open mozzarella package and separate the pearls of cheese.
  4. Place 4-5 pearls in the center of each square of watermelon. Place on serving dish.
  5. Using toothpicks, skewer two mozzarella pearls on top of each watermelon ball. Place on serving dish.
  6. Chiffonade* basil and garnish both the squares and skewers with the basil.
  7. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and serve.
  8. *Stack basil leaves, rolling them tightly, then slicing the leaves perpendicular to the roll.

 

2 thoughts on “Watermelon Caprese Cups with Balsamic Glaze”

  1. Omg, what an impressive dish! It looks super delicious. The in-laws will come over this weekend, so I’ll definitely prepare this to impress them. Thank you!

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