Gordon Ramsay Caprese Salad Recipe 

Gordon Ramsay’s caprese salad combines heritage tomatoes with creamy burrata, rocket (arugula) and a warm rosemary shallot dressing. It takes about 15 minutes and serves 4.

This recipe is adapted from his Warm Aubergine, Tomato and Burrata in Quick and Delicious, stripped back to the caprese essentials. In the book he writes: “Make sure you use sweet, ripe tomatoes and firm aubergines in season, then splash out on really good-quality, creamy burrata and you can’t go wrong.” We’ve dropped the aubergine and kept everything else, because his dressing and layering technique turn a basic caprese into something far better.

The technique borrowed from his recipe: he builds the dressing in warm oil so the rosemary, garlic and shallot infuse gently without frying, then drizzles it between layers rather than just over the top. Most caprese recipes pour cold olive oil on cold tomatoes and call it done, which means every bite tastes the same.

FAQs

Why is this adapted instead of directly from the cookbook?

Ramsay doesn’t have a traditional caprese salad in any of his 20 cookbooks. His Warm Aubergine, Tomato and Burrata from Quick and Delicious is the closest, so this recipe uses his exact dressing method and ingredients with the aubergine removed. Everything else, the warm rosemary oil, the layering technique, the burrata, comes directly from the book.

Why does Ramsay use burrata instead of mozzarella?

Burrata has a thin mozzarella shell filled with soft stracciatella cream that spills out when you cut it. That cream mixes into the warm dressing and coats the tomatoes underneath, creating a natural sauce. In Ultimate Home Cooking he describes it as “an extra creamy mozzarella from Puglia” that “deserves to be the star attraction, but it has to be eaten when it’s very fresh.”

Why warm the dressing oil instead of using cold olive oil?

Most caprese recipes just pour cold extra virgin olive oil over the tomatoes. Ramsay warms the oil first, adds shallot, garlic and rosemary off the heat, then lets them infuse in the residual warmth. This softens the raw edge of the garlic and releases the rosemary oils without frying anything. The test from his recipe: drop a piece of shallot in and it should sizzle gently, not spit.

Why heritage tomatoes instead of regular vine tomatoes?

Ramsay is blunt about this in the headnote: “There is nowhere to hide.” Heritage tomatoes come in different sizes, colours and sweetness levels, so every slice tastes slightly different. Regular supermarket tomatoes are bred for shelf life, not flavour. Buy heritage tomatoes in summer when they’re at peak sweetness and cheapest. If you can’t find them, the best substitute is ripe vine tomatoes left on the counter for a day or two.

Why layer the dressing between the tomatoes instead of pouring it all on top?

Drizzling the warm dressing over the tomato layer before adding the burrata means the oil, vinegar, rosemary and shallot seep into the slices from below. When the burrata cream spills down from above it meets the dressing coming up, so the middle of the dish tastes as good as the edges. Pouring everything on top leaves the bottom tomatoes dry and flavourless.

Can you add the aubergine back in?

If you want Ramsay’s original version from Quick and Delicious, griddle 3 aubergines (eggplants) sliced 1cm thick. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and cook 2 to 3 minutes each side until charred and soft. Layer them between the tomato slices before dressing. The smoky char against the sweet tomatoes and creamy burrata is why his original recipe works so well as a summer lunch.