This Snowman Caprese salad is a festive cheese platter to serve over the holidays. With lots of mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, and fresh basil, this easy-to-make holiday cheese platter is perfect as an appetizer.
Snowman Caprese Salad
Appetizers are the best part of any food gathering. Well, I guess it’s a toss-up between starters and desserts, but they are right up there. I had so much fun creating an easy Santa Cheese Board last holiday season that I thought I’d carry it on with a snowman idea. Cheese is definitely a hit at parties, like this four-ingredient cheese ball, and crockpot queso dip. But, this cheese appetizer is also fun and festive.
If you love Caprese Salad and are looking for a fun way to display a salad for Christmas or a holiday appetizer, then this is the recipe for you.
What You’ll Love about this Recipe
- Easy to make and quick – Even though it looks like it took you forever, it comes together in minutes.
- Very few ingredients – All you’ll need are a few items at the grocery store, plus some delicious balsamic glaze to add flavor.
- Fun for the holidays – this Caprese Salad is fun and festive for holiday gatherings and through winter
- Versatile – Ir’s both an appetizer and a side salad.
Ingredients You’ll need
You’ll only need a few easy-to-find ingredients to make this holiday appetizer.
- Mozzarella – You’ll want mozzarella logs for this fun appetizer. I found a couple of different-sized logs, which were great for the snowman. I used the smaller circles for the snowman head and the larger mozzarella slices for the bottom half.
- Fresh Basil – I thought this was perfect for the scarf. You can shape it into a scarf because the shape flows well
- Tomatoes – I like to find vine-ripened tomatoes to get a fresh tomato flavor.
- Olives (Slices) – These will be for decoration, but you can serve the leftovers in a bowl besides this snowman cheese appetizer.
- Salt and pepper – This is a great way to season and bring out the flavors in the cheese and tomatoes.
- Balsamic Glaze – Balsamic glaze is what brings a Caprese salad together
- Olive Oil – I like to use classic-flavored olive oil for the taste, but it really is whatever you prefer to use. People can use this to pour over their serving of mozzarella, tomato and basil
Serving Idea
Serve with toasted baguettes so people can make a sort of bruschetta
Extra Equipment
Rectangle cutting board or serving platter for display purposes
How to Make a Snowman Caprese Salad
- If your mozzarella is not pre-sliced, then slice into 1/4-inch slices.
- On the bottom half of your serving platter, arrange larger mozzarella slices into a layered circle
- Leaving a two-inch gap, arrange the smaller in diameter mozzarella slices into a smaller circle for the face (If you can’t find smaller mozzarella slices, that’s ok. It will look just fine.)
- Using the basil, make a scarf for the snowman. I made my scarf split off into two lines going down the left side of my snowman.
- Stack tomatoes up in a domed shape until they are level with the mozzarella.
- Cut three tomatoes in half.
- Use the half slices to layer the hat. You’ll put two side-by-side overlapping the head.
- Place two more halved directly about those
- Add the last one centered over the top two tomato halves
- Cut three rectangular pieces of mozzarella to lay across the bottom half-tomatoes as a hat decoration. It kind of breaks the hat up and adds a little design
- Stack more tomatoes level with the others at the top center of the hat
- Place an end piece of tomato with the skin facing up on top of that section for the little pom-pom
- Add olive slices to the face for eyes and a smiling mouth
- Add three more olive slices to the belly
- Shape a carrot nose from the outside of the tomato
Expert Tips
The mozzarella might outnumber the tomatoes and basil, so set a bowl of tomato slices and fresh basil nearby for guests to pull from
Olive Slices: For the eyes and mouth, use the end pieces of olives turned facing upward. The center holes are smaller giving the appearance of buttons. I also stacked them when I needed to make them level with the cheese
Suggested
Set a bowl of fresh basil and tomatoes next to the snowman
Serving
As an appetizer, have small plates available so guest can arrange their Caprese salad and add the dressing and oil
Serve with balsamic glaze and olive oil
What to Serve With
Set out toasted baguettes so guests can make bruschetta from the salad
FAQs
The absolute best would be fresh out the garden. If you don’t have beefsteak growing in your garden, then you’ll want to find a nice juicy and large tomato at your local market. Vine-ripened tend to be nice and juicy, but any type of heirloom tomato would be great
Absolutely! With fresh basil, tomatoes, mozzarella, balsamic, and oil, it is a health-packed salad. Full of proteins, antioxidants, vitamins, and calcium
Make-Ahead and Storing
You can make the mozzarella portions ahead, cover, and store. Slice your tomatoes ahead of time for the hat. Store separately covered in the fridge. Assemble about an hour before the party.
More Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Serving Size
This Snowman Cheese Appetizer should feed about 15 people.
Make a bigger snowman for more fun and more food
Let’s Hang Out
Watch My Video on Making this Snowman Caprese Cheese Platter
Printable Recipe
Snowman Caprese Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cheese logs I got one (8) and one (16) oz. for the two snowman parts
- 3 oz. fresh basil leaves approximate. I used around 25 leaves
- 5 medium tomatoes vine ripened – if you can find them
- olives sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
For serving
- balsalmic glaze
- olive oil in a container with a pour spout
Instructions
- If your mozzarella is not pre-sliced, then slice into 1/4 inch slices
- On the bottom half of your serving platter, arrange larger mozzarella slices into a layered circle
- Leaving a two inch gap, arrange the smaller in diameter mozzarella slices into a smaller circle for the face (If you can't find smaller mozzarella slices, that's ok. It will look just fine.)
- Using the basil make a scarf for the snowman. I made my scarf split off into two lines going down the left side of my snowman
- Stack tomatoes up in a domed shape until they are level with the mozzarella.
- Cut 3 tomatoes in half
- Use the half slices to layer the hat. You'll put two side by side overlapping the head
- Place two more halved directly about those
- Add the last one centered over the top two tomato halves
- Cut three rectangle pieces of mozzarella to lay across the bottom half-tomatoes as a hat decoration. It kind of breaks the hat up and adds a little design
- Stack more tomatoes level with the others at the top center of the hat
- Place an end piece of tomato with the skin facing up on top of that section, for the little pom-pom
- Add olive slices to the face for eyes and a smiling mouth (The ends of the olives make better eyes, because the holes are smaller and look like buttons)
- Add three more olive slices to the belly
- Shape a carrot nose from the outside of the tomato
Suggested
- The mozzarella might outnumber the tomatoes and basil, so set a bowl of tomato slices and fresh basil nearby for guests to pull from
- Serve with Balsamic Glaze and olive oil
