The delicious flavors of garlicky pesto, fresh basil leaves, Roma tomatoes, and mozzarella combine to form this delicious vegan pesto caprese sandwich!
The pesto consistency is just thick enough to be easily and generously spread all over this delicious sandwich.
Wait a second... mozzarella?? How could this beautiful, stretchy, gooey, melty substance that looks and tastes exactly like real mozzarella be vegan?! The lovely Somer of Vedged Out created an amazing "moxarella" cheese recipe from cashews and tapioca starch, which I have adapted to create the perfect "fresh mozzarella ball" consistency and taste for this recipe!
Combined with Roma tomato slices and fresh basil leaves, this sandwich is reminiscent of a fresh mozzarella caprese sandwich I had at a deli in Italy before going vegan.
I absolutely love the simplicity of a caprese sandwich or salad. The fresh flavors of three simple ingredients combine to create something so delicious!
Adding a fresh savory basil pesto takes this simple caprese sandwich to the next level.
You can top these sandwiches in whatever order you want, but I love to make it with double layers of cheese, tomatoes, basil, and pesto so it stacks high and and you get more tastiness with every bite!
I hope you love these sandwiches as much as I do!
Don't forget to let me know in the comments if you try this recipe, or pin it for later! And I would love to see your recreations on Instagram @zenandzaatar!
Recipe
Vegan Pesto Caprese Sandwich
Equipment
Ingredients
Vegan pesto
- 2 cups basil leaves
- ½ cup pine nuts or walnuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Vegan Mozzarella*
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon raw cashews Soaked for at least 2 hours if you don't have a high speed blender
- 2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
Sandwich
- 4 roma tomatoes
- 1 cup basil leaves
- Ciabatta or focaccia roll or bread of choice
Instructions
- Prepare the vegan pesto first. Combine basil leaves, pine nuts, and garlic in the food processor and pulse until well incorporated. Add nutritional yeast, sea salt, and lemon juice and pulse until combined. Slowly add in olive oil a little at a time while the food processor is running to thin out the pesto. Once thoroughly combined, set pesto aside for later. You can place it in the refrigerator to thicken it a little more for easy spreading.
- Put all ingredients for vegan mozzarella in a high speed blender and blend until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Pour mixture onto a skillet over medium high heat and stir with a wooden spoon. After a few minutes, mixture will look like it's curdling or separating, but just keep mixing. Soon the mixture will thicken into a stretchy, mozzarella-like consistency, after 3-5 minutes total. Set aside.
- Slice roma tomatoes. Divide bread into 4 sandwiches. Place a few basil leaves on each bottom slice. Top with a few dollops of "mozzarella." You may need to stretch and cut the mozzarella into pieces for each sandwich. Top with tomato slices. Top with a few dollops of pesto. Repeat layers until you are satisfied with the sandwiches. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Vegan Recipes says
What a fantastic recipe! I always loved caprese sandwich, thank you for this fantastic vegan alternative! 🙂
Zena | Zena 'n Zaatar says
Aww thank you for stopping by!! Let me know if you try it, I hope you love it! ????
Cheryl says
Can you freeze the cheese?
Zena | Zena 'n Zaatar says
I haven't tried, but you are welcome to try that and report back! Cheers! <3
Willemijn says
How did you get it so white? Mine turned out a bit yellow. It does not really taste like mozzarella, but It is tasty!