Vegan Caprese Salad

About

There’s nothing wrong with being a health-nut! If you’re vegan and Keto, you deserve a pat on the back. You also deserve large, nutritious, and extra-yummy meals that are easy to make at home. This Keto vegan dinner salad starts out simply with a bed of fresh arugula, lettuce, and basil leaves. Tomatoes along with extra avocado add more filling bites. An Italian-inspired oil and vinegar dressing adds healthy fats and helps you feel fuller. No caprese recipe is complete without mozzarella cheese. You’ll be making a cashew-based vegan mozzarella cheese from scratch for your salad. Please read the special note below about making the cashew mozzarella cheese for your meal before you start the recipe.

Important Note On Cashew Mozzarella Recipe

The first six ingredients listed in this Keto recipe are to make the vegan cashew mozzarella. You’ll notice that for one serving, very little of each ingredient is needed. To get the best results, you’ll need to make a large batch of cashew mozzarella, even though you’ll only be eating some of it in one meal. There are two easy ways to do this. The first way is to increase the recipe yield to make a larger recipe. You can also head over to the original Carb Manager Low Carb Vegan Cashew Mozzarella recipe to make a full ball of vegan mozzarella cheese.

What Is Tapioca Starch?

Tapioca starch is derived from the root of a plant, and it’s used to thicken recipes or as a baking substitute in gluten-free recipes. It also happens to be low-carb and great for using on the Keto diet. Tapioca starch is also known as tapioca flour, so you can purchase either name at your grocery store. If you can’t find tapioca starch in the baking aisle, look in the specialty diet or gluten-free area.

Ingredients

⅛ cup cashews
¼ teaspoon tapioca flour
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 dash salt
¼ teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1 oz arugula
1 ½ oz shredded lettuce
4 leaf basil
1 oz tomato
1 ½ oz avocado
1 ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon lemon juice
⅛ tsp, chopped garlic
⅛ teaspoon italian seasoning
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Before beginning the recipe, please see the important note about making the cashew cheese written in the introduction. Fill a pot with the cashews and enough water to fill the pot 4-5 inches high. Cover and bring the pot to a boil on high heat, then continue boiling for another 15 minutes or until the cashews are soft. Since the cashews need to boil for a while, add water as needed to avoid burning them. Once the cashews are soft, drain the water and add them to a food processor. Blend the cashews while they’re hot until they come together in a chunky paste.
Next, add the tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, salt, lemon juice, and water to the food processor. Blend the ingredients until you have a thick, creamy paste. You may need to scrape the food processor down with a spatula and blend multiple times to achieve the right consistency. You may taste and adjust the mixture by including more salt, lemon juice, yeast, or other flavorings. However, remember this is mozzarella cheese and should taste quite mild.
Scrape all the paste into a clean pot set over medium heat on the stove. Continually stir the paste while it heats. As the moisture evaporates, the paste will begin to turn into a dough that rolls together in a ball. When the mozzarella ball is no longer sticky, transfer it to a container to cool. Once it cools to room temperature, cover and chill the cheese in your refrigerator for at least 1 hour before slicing and using.
When the mozzarella cheese is cold and has set, assemble the salad. Toss together whole or chopped arugula leaves, shredded lettuce, and chopped basil. Add whole or sliced grape tomatoes to the salad. Slice and arrange ripe avocado on top. For one salad, slice 1 ounce of cashew mozzarella and arrange it on top by the avocado.
Whisk together the remaining ingredients to make the Italian dressing. You can adjust the ingredients to your preference or include additional seasonings to your taste. It is also your choice to serve the dressing on the side of the salad, or you may toss it with the ingredients before eating. Optional salad toppings include extra basil, other chopped herbs, or a drizzle of balsamic dressing across the mozzarella.