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Here are all the best capers recipes to use up a jar! Try a classic recipe or pick from these creative ways to use this tasty ingredient.

Capers recipes
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Got capers? Then you’ve got gold. The potential of this Mediterranean ingredient is undiscovered for many home cooks. It adds massive flavor to any dish: each bite is a pop of bright, briny and salty flavor. Behold, the magic of the caper!

Here’s a list of all the best capers recipes to utilize this uniquely powerful ingredient in your cooking! There are classics like French-style salmon with capers and Italian pasta puttanesca. Then we’ve got more modern spins, like using capers to mimic Parmesan cheese in a vegan Caesar salad.

Before we start: what are capers?

  • Capers are a berry of the caper bush that’s native to the Mediterranean. They’re round and dark green gray, about the size of a peppercorn. You’ll find them in many Italian and Mediterranean recipes.
  • What do capers taste like? They have a bright, briny and salty flavor.
  • Where to buy capers? Capers are served pickled. Find them in small, thin jars near the olives at the grocery store.
  • Any substitutes for capers? Try chopped green olives or Kalamata olives.

And now…pick a capers recipe to try!

More ideas

Not inspired yet? Pick a capers recipe from these ideas:

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi there! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of two cookbooks, busy parents, and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share simple, seasonal recipes and the joy of cooking. We now offer thousands of original recipes, cooking tips, and meal planning ideas—all written and photographed by the two of us (and tested on our kids!).

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2 Comments

  1. george santos says:

    Hello I have made a few of your recipes and have enjoyed everyone. I have a question about your baked salmon recipe with capers. You guys use 4- 6oz portions of fish and would like to know if I can use 1.5 lbs of flat salmon instead? Would I have to adjust the temp. or cooking time. Thank you!

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      That will work fine! The cook time is more dependent on the thickness of the salmon than the portion size.