Vegan Caprese Bites
These tofu Caprese bites are such a tasty little snack. The fresh flavor of basil, tomato, and balsamic vinegar wins me over every time. The tofu works wonderfully in place of mozzarella in this recipe. In fact, I brought these over to a BBQ once and friends were asking what kind of cheese was used. They had no idea they were eating tofu!
Additionally, kids absolutely love these tofu Caprese bites. I have to hide in the kitchen to make them or else my kids eat these as quickly as I can put them together. Tofu Caprese Bites are also great for kid’s lunches. They hold up well in lunch boxes and have a good amount of protein since they are made with tofu. Move over PB&J!
How to Cook With Tofu
If you’re new to tofu it can be a little intimidating. It’s a little squishy when you poke it, smells like nothing, doesn’t taste like much of anything (yet!), and comes packed in a bunch of liquid. Plus, there are all sorts of rumors, like “you must have a tofu press” and “it’s harder to cook than chicken”. Well throw that all out the window! Cooking with tofu is actually super easy, in fact, you don’t even need to cook it, just cut it up and pop it in a salad. Tofu is made of soybean curd so it’s totally safe to eat it without cooking. In fact, tofu chunks were one of my kid’s first foods and they still nibble on them to this day.
If you’re just getting started using tofu look for extra firm tofu in the store. The firmer the better. There are some varieties like Wildwood’s High Protein Tofu that are so firm you don’t even need to press them at all. Wildwood’s High Protein Tofu is excellent for kabobs on the grill or as a replacement for chicken in about anything.
For this recipe, I like to use House Foods Firm Tofu, mostly because I can buy a 4 pack of it at Costco for a good deal! Firm tofu is a great texture for this recipe, it is about the same texture and consistency as fresh mozzarella. You can use any brand of firm tofu for success with this recipe.
Tofu Press Hack
First, take a block of tofu and place it between two towels. Next, press it down gently with the palm of your hand to squeeze out extra liquid. You want to give it enough pressure to press out the liquid, but not so much to crack and crumble the tofu. Make sure to use your hands and press along the sides of the tofu too. That’s it, no expensive equipment or crazy prep times needed and your tofu is ready for eating.
Alright now that you’re a tofu pro, let’s make some Vegan Caprese Bites!
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PrintVegan Caprese Bites
A delicious and healthy plant-based snack or lunch. This quick and easy recipe has only 6 ingredients—tofu, tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, balsamic, and Spike seasoning—and no cooking involved. Yum!
- Prep Time: 15
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Healthy
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 16oz pack of firm or super firm tofu, cubed
- 2 cups of grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- Handful of fresh basil leaves
Dressing
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of Spike seasoning
Toothpicks!
Instructions
- Add a tomato half to a toothpick, then a basil leaf (fold in half if is very large), a tofu cube, and top it off with another tomato half. Add all tofu, tomatoes, and basil to toothpicks. This is a great activity for kids in the kitchen!
- Mix the dressing—add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and spike to a small bowl and mix.
- Drizzle the balsamic dressing over the vegan caprese bites and serve. Yum!
Notes
Great for school lunches, lasts for up to 3 days in the refrigerator
Those look refreshingly tasty!
They are! So easy to make too. Give them a try and let me know your thoughts!