This Strawberry, Tomato, Avocado, & Fresh Mozzarella Salad sounds like an amazing and delicious salad in itself! But…then you tell me it has a Pistachio Pesto Dressing??? SOLD! These Flavors all come together so amazingly well not to mention just as quick & easy. You won’t even want to think of making any other salad the rest of the summer!
My dad LOVES pistachios! They are his favorite kind of nut, and they are now my favorite kind of nut, which, if you have ever met my dad he is amazing so I am glad I inherited some of his nuttiness! (Pun intended…HAHA!) 🙂 So when I come across any recipe or treat that say the word pistachio on it, I am really already pretty much sold!
Several years ago, I discovered the an amazing world of different kinds of pesto made with different kinds of nuts, herbs, seasonings, and even veggies. There are so many yummy flavors that if you don’t love the basic basil and pine nut pesto, try another nut and herb or up the superpower of it by adding kale, spinach or avocado to it. There are so many delicious recipes out there for pesto, I would encourage you to make some out there and try them. They can be so good for you with so many vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and healthy fats to keep you satiated and energized throughout the day. This Pistachio Pesto we used for our dressing is no exception, and after one taste, you’ll be hooked if you love pistachios as much as me! 🙂
It is a lot easier than you think it is to make! You’ll just need a food processor, or even a high powered blender would probably work as well. all the ingredients except the salt, oil, and lime, and pulse away until the nuts and basil are broken down to a super thick consistency. Then you will slowly drizzle your oil through the top of your food processor while the motor is on and running. Once mixed in, if the pesto is still a little too thick for your liking, you can add another couple of tablespoons of oil. Squeeze 1/2 to 1 lime in at the end to boost that bright green color of the pesto and for a fun twist. I promise, it compliments the strawberries and avocado sooooo nicely! Make your pesto first and let it sit so the flavors can meld together.
A few notes on the pesto: #1 If you are vegan or lactose intolerant, you can easily substitute the cheese for a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast and that will cover you on your cheese flavor. #2 A Typical Pesto uses Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but I wanted the avocado flavor to really stand out and highlight the real avocado in the salad, and so in this pesto, I use Avocado Oil. You could easily replace it back with an Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. #3 You’ll probably notice that I have pistachio nuts that have been roasted in high heat and salted…an ok choice, but if you are watching your sodium content may not be a great choice for you. A better choice would be roasted with no salt, and if you can find raw organic pistachios (soaking them for a couple of hours to remove the phytic acid) without a high sodium content and their live enzymes still in tact would be the BEST choice. Regardless, pistachio nuts can still have their certain health components intact.
Pistachio Pesto
- 1 cup shelled pistachios
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese, or 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup Chosen Foods Avocado Oil
- 1/2-1 juiced lime
Place the pistachios, basil, garlic and cheese in a food processor. Pulse and blend until the nuts are coarsely chopped, then with the processor on, stream in 1/3 cup of olive oil. Add a couple of extra tablespoons or more if necessary, depending on how “spreadable” you want your pesto to be. Taste your pesto and add in the salt if needed and lime juice, blending once more. This will make a little extra pesto than needed (I love to double the recipe and now you’ll have dinner set for another night with a white flaky fish and some healthy veggie noodles or brown rice and quinoa noodles :)) Can be stored sealed tightly in the fridge for up to a week.
Isn’t summer produce so amazing?! I think this is another reason why this salad is so dang awesome. You can’t get more seasonal than fresh tomatoes and strawberries….especially picked fresh from a garden, or bought at your local farmers market at the peak of ripeness. So Delish!!!
A few notes for your salad components: When serving this salad, the berries and tomatoes will pop with their amazing flavors when they are at room temperature and not cold! #2 If you can’t find the mozzarella balls, you can also buy the pre-sliced fresh mozzarella and quarter it. I like to get it at Costco because it comes in a pack of two and you can use the other pack to make yummy toasts/bruschetta with your leftover toppings! 🙂 See below***
Salad Ingredients:
- 12 ounces grape/cherry tomatoes, halved
- 12 ounces strawberries, hulled and halved (or quartered if big)
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella balls (usually comes in an 8-ounce container) or see note above for sliced***
- 2 avocados diced
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- a handful of fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (chiffonade)***note below directions
- Optional: Balsamic Glaze
- Optional: 1/2 Ciabatta Baguette, cut in 1/2 inch cubes–for more of a panzanella (bread) salad
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. Season with the salt and the pepper and toss well. Add a few large spoonfuls of the pistachio pesto and toss gently with a spatula to evenly distribute it. Taste, and add more pistachio pesto if needed. Add the diced avocado and chiffonade of fresh basil leaves and lightly toss as to not bruise or mash the avocados. Serve immediately before you eat it all yourself!
Note: An easy way to get your basil leaves thinly sliced easily is get a handful of leaves and lay them on top of one another flat. Then roll the bunch of them together in one big roll up. Then it will be easy to take a knife and thinly slice up the one big roll of them. Wallah! You just Chiffonaded your fresh basil leaves!
Optional: In the salad pictured you can add a half of a loaf of 1/2 ciabatta bread for a more Italian play on a caprese salad. Omitting this option definitely does not make this salad less delicious!
Optional: When you serve this beautiful salad, you could also drizzle a little balsamic glaze on top for one more punch of flavor. So Yummy! For more on balsamic glaze you can check out Foodie Gone Healthy’s Instagram feed on our post for this recipes same flavors by doing a bruschetta or toast with these same ingredients. Happy Eating!
Strawberry, Tomato, Avocado, & Fresh Mozzarella Salad with Pistachio Pesto Dressing
This Strawberry, Tomato, Avocado, & Fresh Mozzarella Salad sounds like an amazing and delicious salad in itself! But…then you tell me it has a Pistachio Pesto Dressing??? SOLD! These Flavors all come together so amazingly well not to mention just as quick & easy. You won’t even want to think of making any other salad the rest of the summer!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6-8
- Category: Salads
Ingredients
Pistachio Pesto:
- 1 cup shelled pistachios
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese, or 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2-1 juiced lime
Salad Ingredients:
- 12 ounces grape/cherry tomatoes, halved
- 12 ounces strawberries, hulled and halved (or quartered if big)
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella balls (usually comes in an 8-ounce container) or see note above for sliced***
- 2 avocados diced
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- Handful of fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (chiffonade)***note below directions
- Optional: Balsamic Glaze
Instructions
Pesto Directions:
Place the pistachios, basil, garlic and cheese in a food processor. Pulse and blend until the nuts are coarsely chopped, then with the processor on, stream in 1/3 cup of olive oil. Add a couple of extra tablespoons or more if necessary, depending on how “spreadable” you want your pesto to be. Taste your pesto and add in the salt if needed and lime juice, blending once more. This will make a little extra pesto than needed (I love to double the recipe and now you’ll have dinner set for another night with a white flaky fish and some healthy veggie noodles or brown rice and quinoa noodles :)) Can be stored sealed tightly in the fridge for up to a week.
Salad Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. Season with the salt and the pepper and toss well. Add a few large spoonfuls of the pistachio pesto and toss gently with a spatula to evenly distribute it. Taste, and add more pistachio pesto if needed. Add the diced avocado and chiffonade of fresh basil leaves and lightly toss as to not bruise or mash the avocados. Serve immediately before you eat it all yourself!
Notes
Note: An easy way to get your basil leaves thinly sliced easily is get a handful of leaves and lay them on top of one another flat. Then roll the bunch of them together in one big roll up. Then it will be easy to take a knife and thinly slice up the one big roll of them. Wallah! You just Chiffonaded your fresh basil leaves!
Optional: When you serve this beautiful salad, you could also drizzle a little balsamic glaze on top for one more punch of flavor. So Yummy! For more on balsamic glaze you can check out Foodie Gone Healthy’s Instagram feed on our post for this recipes same flavors by doing a bruschetta or toast with these same ingredients. Happy Eating!
