Caprese pasta salad is an easy Italian dish made of juicy tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh sweet basil, seasoned with salt and olive oil all combined with pasta. It is fresh, and a perfect side dish, a light meal, or take it to a potluck or dinner.
Jump to:
Introduction and My Rating
Fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, fresh cherry tomatoes, are you starting to get the theme here, FRESH? That is what this is all about.
This is a classic Italian dish, although some will call it Mediterranean, it has the colors of the Italian flag, so I am staying with Italian. It generally considered a summer dish due to the fresh ingredients, but the ingredients are increasingly available year-round.
The main issue will be the size of this dish. Most recipes are twice this size, and I have cut it down to a more reasonable size. But more cutting down the size will just cause lots of partially used containers.
It stores well for only a few days but no longer. So not very “cooking for two” friendly for day to day use. So a special occasion dish for a large family get-together, a dish to pass, or pot lucks.
My Rating
A nice solid 4.
📋Ingredients
Pasta – a smaller type of pasta is like the mini penne that I’m using. Use the shape you want. Cook per the instructions to Al Dente. Rinse with cool water to stop cooking then toss with a few teaspoons of oil to stop cooking.
Vegetables – juicy tomatoes are the feature of the salad, but they need to hold together, so cherry tomatoes cut in half are perfect. Other vegetables like bell pepper, cucumber, olives, asparagus, or squash could be added.
Cheese – It must be a fresh mozzarella. I don’t see another cheese here.
Seasoning – just fresh garlic and fresh basil will do.
Dressing – just good olive oil is best to let the fresh tastes stand out. But some people suggest Italian or vinaigrette dressings. I’m opposed to heavy tastes like balsamic, but it’s your salad. A bit of red wine vinegar would be nice.
Other add-ins – diced or shredded chicken will make it a complete meal. Other good options would be ham or pepperoni.
❄️Storage
This is one to two-day salad. But two days is pushing it. If you do store it for a day, toss before serving and taste test and add a bit more oil and salt/pepper if needed.
This recipe makes a LOT of salad. I’m glad we loved it. We both had 2-3 servings the first round and added some chicken to the leftovers and a splash of Italian dressing to freshen it up.
📖Summer Salad Recipes
Broccoli Salad with Bacon
Homemade Macaroni Salad
Broccoli Slaw
Fresh Spinach Salad; A Summer Favorite
🖼️Photo Instructions
Use the freshest ingredients you can get.
Start by cutting about 1 pound of cherry tomatoes in half.
In a large bowl, add tomatoes along with 2-3 cloves crushed garlic, 1/4 cup good olive oil, 1 teaspoon of coarse salt, a pinch of red pepper (about 1/8 t or less) and pepper to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon to start) mix well and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
We used mini penne. Cook 8 oz of pasta according to package instructions for Al Dente. When done, rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Then, toss with a few teaspoons of olive oil to prevent sticking.
Chop 8 oz of fresh mozzarella into bite-size pieces.
Chop 10 leaves of fresh basil.
Add the pasta, the mozzarella, and the basil to the tomatoes and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours to let flavors blend if you have time.
Do you want more recipes from 101 Cooking for Two? Sign up for the newsletter and get all posts delivered straight to your inbox!
📖 Recipe
Caprese Pasta Salad
Caprese pasta salad is an easy Italian dish made of juicy tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh sweet basil, seasoned with salt and olive oil all combined with pasta. It is fresh and a perfect side dish, a light meal, or take it to a potluck or dinner.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Resting time1 hr
Total Time1 hr 20 mins
Servings/Adjust Amount: 12 servings
12
Ingredients
- 1 pound cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 pound pasta – like mini penne
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella
- 2-3 cloves garlic – crushed
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 10 fresh basil leaves
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper – about 1/8 teaspoon
- Pepper to taste – start at 1/4 teaspoon
Instructions
-
Use the freshest ingredients you can get. Start by cutting about 1 pound of cherry tomatoes in half.
-
In a large bowl, add tomatoes along with 2-3 cloves crushed garlic, 1/4 cup good olive oil, 1 teaspoon of coarse salt, a pinch of red pepper (about 1/8 t or less) and pepper to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon to start) mix well and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
-
We used mini penne. Cook 8 oz of pasta according to package instructions for Al Dente. When done, rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Then, toss with a few teaspoons of olive oil to prevent sticking.
-
Chop 8 oz of fresh mozzarella into bite-size pieces.
-
Chop 10 leaves of fresh basil.
-
Add the pasta, the mozzarella, and the basil to the tomatoes and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours to let flavors blend if you have time.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Fresh ingredients are the key to a good result.
- This makes a lot of salad. It has already been decreased. You can decrease more but probably will have lots of partially used containers of ingredients.
- Great for family get-togethers, take a dish, or pot lucks.
- The ingredients are not set in stone. Many options are discussed in the recipe post.
- This is very good with added chicken.
- Only good refrigerated for 1-2 days.
Check Out Other Great Recipes
Nutrition
Calories: 134 kcal | Carbohydrates: 16 g | Protein: 7 g | Fat: 5 g | Saturated Fat: 3 g | Cholesterol: 15 mg | Sodium: 318 mg | Potassium: 139 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 2 g | Vitamin A: 330 IU | Vitamin C: 9 mg | Calcium: 104 mg | Iron: 1 mg
Nutrition is generally for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Originally Published August 10, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos and a table of contents to help navigation.
