Served 4 to 6
A vegan caprese salad recipe! But first, let’s get this pronounced correctly because you’re saying it wrong: “CA-PRAY-ZAY.” Great. Moving on.
This vegan caprese salad is the kind of recipe that lives or dies by the tomatoes. If it’s not the season and you can’t find big, juicy, just-off-the-vine tomatoes, don’t bother. Bookmark this and come back in August. But if you’ve got peak-summer tomatoes in front of you, this is the move.
Fresh basil, sweet balsamic reduction, olive oil, and flaky sea salt make for the simplest but most perfect, sublime summer salad. Traditionally, caprese calls for mozzarella, but ricotta is not unheard of, and this almond ricotta is a nice introduction to vegan cheesemaking. Use the fruitiest, fanciest “good stuff” olive oil for this one.
Scoop it up on your fork or with some yummy Italian bread. It’s the most glorious rustic vegan situation imaginable.
About the Homemade Vegan Almond Ricotta
This vegan ricotta recipe is worth the price of admission on its own. Slivered almonds, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and salt go into the blender and come out as a creamy, tangy, dollop-able ricotta in about two minutes. No soaking, no straining, no waiting around.
It’s great on this caprese, obviously, but you’ll want to make extra. Use it in lasagna, stuffed shells, on pizza, spread on crostini, or just eat it off a spoon with some flaky salt and olive oil. It keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days and actually firms up a bit as it sits, which makes it easier to work with.
Tips for the Best Vegan Caprese
~The tomatoes are doing 90% of the work here, so treat them right. Use heirloom tomatoes if you can get them. Beefsteak works great too. You can use all types of tomatoes here, and don’t worry about shape and size. Throw some cherry tomatoes on there, cut wedges and slices. I kept it simple with slices for the photo, but you don’t have to. You just want at least a few big slicers for the classic caprese look.
~Don’t skip the Maldon salt. Regular table salt disappears into the tomato. Flaky salt sits on top and gives you that little crunch of salinity with each bite.
~Make the ricotta ahead if you can. It holds well in the fridge for 3 to 4 days and actually firms up a little, which makes it easier to dollop.
About the Balsamic Reduction
Balsamic reduction is a tangy, sweet, sticky project that tastes great and is fun to swirl on a plate. But caprese doesn’t require it (a caprese purist might even look down their nose at it) so feel free to skip this step. If you want to make it: pour 2 cups of balsamic into a small pot, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat and stir every few minutes with a fork. Keep it simmery but not at a full boil. It takes about 20 minutes to get thick and syrupy, and the liquid will reduce by about half. Don’t set the heat too high or you’ll end up with something too stiff. Transfer to a small sealable container once it’s done. It keeps for weeks in the fridge and makes a fabulous balsamic glaze to use above and beyond this recipe.
What to Serve After
If you’re starting with caprese, let’s go big on the main course:
Spaghetti & Tempeh Meatballs because caprese into spaghetti and meatballs is the most Italian thing you can do without a passport or a subway ride to Brooklyn
Pinwheel Lasagna with Lentil Walnut Meat if you want to impress people and eat an entire pan of crispy corner pieces
Bestest Pesto tossed with your pasta of choice for a dinner that’s basically all basil, all the time
Spaghetti Pomodoro with Grilled Tempeh to keep the fresh tomato thing going straight through to the main
Truffled Almond Alfredo with Really Garlicky Broccoli if you want to feel fancy even though they sell truffle oil at Trader Joe’s
VEGAN CAPRESE FAQ:
What does caprese mean? It means “from Capri,” the island off the coast of Naples. Insalata Caprese is literally “salad from Capri.” The classic version uses the colors of the Italian flag: red tomatoes, white mozzarella, green basil. Or so google tells me!
Can I make a more traditional Mozzarella Caprese? For sure. Fresh Cashew Mozzarella works great if you want the homemade vegan mozzarella with a traditional look. You could also use store-bought vegan mozzarella. But the almond ricotta is really easy and I think it brings something special.
Can I use this almond ricotta in other recipes? Yep and yup. It works anywhere you’d use regular ricotta: lasagna, stuffed shells, pizza, crostini, on toast, or just eaten off a spoon. It keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
Can I make the almond ricotta ahead of time? Certainly. It keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in a sealed container. It firms up slightly as it sits, which actually makes it easier to dollop onto the salad.
What kind of tomatoes should I use? The best ones you can find. Heirloom tomatoes from a farmers market are ideal. Big beefsteak slicers work too. Cherry and grape tomatoes are fine to mix in for color and variety, but you want at least a few large ones for the classic layered look.
Do I have to make the balsamic reduction? Nope. It’s a nice touch but not required. You can drizzle plain balsamic vinegar instead, or skip the balsamic entirely and let the olive oil and salt do the talking.
Can I make this nut-free? Not with this ricotta, since it’s almond-based. But tofu ricotta is great! I unfortunately don’t have a recipe on the site at this moment but listen: mash up extra firm tofu, 2 tablespoons nooch, 2 tablespoons olive oil, a splash of fresh lemon juice and some salt. Just use your hands and mush it until it resembles, well, ricotta!
Is this gluten-free? Hells yeah. Everything here is naturally gluten-free as long as your balsamic vinegar doesn’t have additives (most don’t, you never know).
Can I make this ahead for a party? You can prep the components, but don’t assemble until you’re ready to serve. The salt draws moisture out of the tomatoes pretty quickly, and the basil wilts. Make the ricotta and the balsamic reduction ahead, slice and assemble right before.
Tomato Caprese With Almond Ricotta
Ingredients
For the ricotta:
- 1 1/2 cups slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the salad:
- Balsamic reduction see note
- 4 large vine ripened tomatoes
- Maldon or coarse sea salt
- Olive oil for drizzling
- Fresh black pepper
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Make the ricotta. Place the almonds in a high speed blender and pulse into crumbs. Add the remaining ricotta ingredients and blend until thick and pasty, with a ricotta-like texture. Use a rubber spatula to transfer to a well-sealed container, and chill until ready to use.
- Assemble the salad by using a spoon to drizzle balsamic reduction on a plate in a circular motion. Place tomatoes on the balsamic.
- Dollop on almond ricotta. Drizzle on olive oil and sprinkle with Maldon. Grind some fresh black pepper over everything. Top with fresh basil leaves and serve immediately.
I’m absolutely happy that you are posting recipes again! I really missed you! Every time I visit your website and something changed my brain does something dopaminy. Thanks for helping me become vegan 12 years ago! You showed me how awesome vegan cooking and baking is (and being from germany made me learn a lot of vocabulary and metrics and buying new measuring equipment….) and your books (all of them) are the only cookbooks from over 50 that I kept in spite of my minimalism craze.
Tons of thanks and love!
very simple but at the same time an exquisite recipe, how do you manage to make the complex simple)