How To Give Caprese Salad A Wintertime Twist

Caprese salad is one of the most recognizable dishes due to its bright medley of tomatoes, mozzarella, and fragrant basil leaves. Still, just because these ingredients are classic doesn't mean there's only one way to make this plate. A salad is one of the most versatile meals of all, so don't be afraid to stray from what you know and open the door to other irresistible combinations.

When it comes to Caprese salad, one of its downfalls is it doesn't always taste great outside of the summertime. Everyone loves summer tomatoes for a reason; this is when their flavor is at its peak. Even if you buy the best tomatoes anytime after June, July, or August, the sweetness of these fruits fade and their firm texture turns limp. Luckily, Martha Stewart has a way to give Caprese salad a wintertime twist. As seen in a January 2025 Instagram post by the culinary icon, simply swapping the tomatoes for citrus makes this dish winter-appropriate.

Citrus fruits bring a punch of tang to this dish, and unlike tomatoes, there will always be a citrus fruit in season no matter the time of year. When a tomato plant is at its worst, a navel orange tree is thriving. This makes those fruits an excellent swap for tomatoes in a Caprese salad. Just think: It has those same features of sweetness, acid, and zing. When a navel orange isn't in season, ingredients like tangerine, clementine, grapefruit, or blood orange are other great contenders, too. It all just depends on your palette and what looks good at the farmer's market.

If you're a big fan of the classic version of this plate, know you don't have to nix the traditional ingredients completely in the wintertime. Just add in a few slices of fresh citrus to enhance the flavor of whatever's not in season. (Or you could even wake up lackluster tomatoes with MSG.) Now you have the best of both worlds.

Beyond tomatoes, there are also swaps for those other summer-loving ingredients. Basil prefers to blossom in the warmer months, so swapping this out with other herbs like chives, mint, or thyme is ideal in the winter. These all have the potential to thrive in the colder months, so you'll have more of a variety to choose from (plus better flavors). If you love any of these swaps, don't just save them for the winter. You can still make them in the summer, too. (Hint: Next, try swapping your summer tomatoes for watermelon to give your Caprese salad a refreshing update.)