I’ve always have a love affair with fresh mozzarella, but as we all know even on a ketogenic diet no food is truly “unlimited.” A traditional caprese salad used to be my go-to at any potluck because the vibrant mix of fresh basil and creamy mozzarella was better than any of those other lettuce based salads…until now!
The beauty of this, warm twist on a classic, is that it is much more filling but with all of the traditional flavor. Because the salad base is fiber packed spinach, it satisfies the need to eat a hearty portion. The leaves are basted in roasted tomato juices and avocado oil but still holds up to the pearl sized balls of cheese. Don’t forget the special ingredient: mozzarella liquid!
By reserving a tablespoon of liquid from the mozzarella pearls you can add that rich, salty, flavor to basic pesto for a two-ingredient dressing that will perk up any salad. I love using the brine in my fathead dough and keto bread recipes too!
Serve this salad as an entree or in smaller portions as a side. The longer the juices marinate, the more flavorful it becomes.
Yields 4 servings of Oven Roasted Caprese Salad
The Preparation
- 4 teaspoons fresh garlic, peeled
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon pesto
- 1 tablespoon brine, reserved from mozzarella
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
The Execution
1. Heat oven to 400°F and prepare a baking sheet with foil. Spread out the peeled garlic cloves and grape tomatoes evenly.
2. Drizzle avocado oil over the tomatoes and mix to coat. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the juices are released and the tops become slightly brown.
3. Drain the liquid from the mozzarella, reserving 1 tablespoon, and mix the tablespoon of brine with the pesto.
4. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and put the spinach in a large serving bowl.
5. Top the spinach with warm tomatoes and roasted garlic and drizzle with pesto sauce.
6. Add mozzarella balls and garnish with fresh torn basil leaves.
This makes a total of 4 servings of Oven Roasted Caprese Salad. Each serving comes out to be 191 calories, 14.8g fats, 5.1g net carbs, and 8.5g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 4 teaspoon fresh garlic | 17 | 0.1 | 3.8 | 0.2 | 3.5 | 0.7 |
| 3 cup cherry tomatoes | 80 | 0.9 | 17.4 | 5.4 | 12.1 | 4 |
| 2 tablespoon avocado oil | 241 | 27.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 ounce fresh mozzarella cheese | 340 | 25.3 | 2.5 | 0 | 2.5 | 25.1 |
| 1 tablespoon pesto | 54 | 5.3 | 1 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| 1 tablespoon brine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 cup baby spinach | 28 | 0.5 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 3.4 |
| 1/4 cup fresh basil | 1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Totals | 763 | 59.3 | 29.2 | 8.6 | 20.5 | 34.1 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 191 | 14.8 | 7.3 | 2.2 | 5.1 | 8.5 |
Oven Roasted Caprese Salad
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoon fresh garlic peeled
- 3 cup cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 4 ounce fresh mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon pesto
- 1 tablespoon brine reserved from mozzarella
- 4 cup baby spinach
- ¼ cup fresh basil
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F and prepare a baking sheet with foil. Spread out the peeled garlic cloves and grape tomatoes evenly.
- Drizzle avocado oil over the tomatoes and mix to coat. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the juices are released and the tops become slightly brown.
- Drain the liquid from the mozzarella, reserving some to mix with the pesto. You want the pesto to be a consistency you can drizzle.
- Remove the tomatoes from the oven and put the spinach in a large serving bowl.
- Top the spinach with warm tomatoes and roasted garlic and drizzle with pesto sauce.
- Add mozzarella balls and garnish with fresh torn basil leaves.
Mmm. Mmm. Good! Made this tonight. I was too lazy to make pesto, so I used fresh basil leaves and a splash of vinegar. Lovely!