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 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 cups grape tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 10 pieces pearl size mozzarella balls
- 1 tablespoon pesto
- 1 tablespoon brine, reserved from cheese
- ¼ cup basil, fresh
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 190.75 Calories, 13.49g Fats, 4.58g Net Carbs, and 7.79g Protein.
| Oven Roasted Caprese Salad | Calories | Fats(g) | Carbs(g) | Fiber(g) | Net Carbs(g) | Protein(g) |
| 4 cloves garlic, peeled | 18 | 0.06 | 3.97 | 0.3 | 3.67 | 0.76 |
| 3 cups grape tomatoes | 132 | 0 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 6 |
| 2 tablespoons avocado oil | 240 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 cups baby spinach leaves | 27 | 0 | 4 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 2.66 |
| 10 pieces pearl size mozzarella balls | 280 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 1 tablespoon pesto | 65 | 5.87 | 1.58 | 0.3 | 1.28 | 1.54 |
| 1 tablespoon brine reserved from cheese | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ¼ cup fresh basil leaves | 1 | 0.04 | 0.16 | 0.1 | 0.06 | 0.19 |
| Totals | 763 | 53.97 | 33.71 | 15.4 | 18.31 | 31.15 |
| Per Serving(/4) | 190.75 | 13.49 | 8.43 | 3.85 | 4.58 | 7.79 |
Oven Roasted Caprese Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 3 cups grape tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 4 cups baby spinach leaves
- 10 pieces pearl size mozzarella balls
- 1 tablespoon pesto
- 1 tablespoon brine reserved from cheese
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
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 1 tablespoon, and mix the tablespoon of brine with the pesto.
- 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.
