Caprese Pasta Salad

Caprese Salad is one of my favorite recipes. It tastes so fresh, delicious and healthy. It is so basic and simple, but the flavors truly speak for themselves. Every flavor and texture compliments the others perfectly so that each bite is satisfactory and pleasing to the palate.

It dawned on me a couple weeks ago to take this recipe and apply it to a classic summer favorite, a pasta salad. This salad would be the perfect for upcoming summer pot lucks, BBQs or get togethers. It is super quick to throw together and is definitely a crowd pleaser!

Caprese Pasta Salad from chef-in-training.com ...A simple side dish where elegance meets easy! This is perfect for upcoming summer potlucks, get togethers and BBQs!

Caprese Pasta Salad
 
A simple side dish where elegance meets easy! This is perfect for upcoming summer potlucks, get togethers and BBQs!
Recipe type: Side Dish
Ingredients
  • 16 oz. Rotini pasta, Pasta shells would work great, too
  • 3-4 Tbsp. olive oil
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. minced garlic
  • 36 grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
  • ⅓ cup chopped basil leaves
  • 16 oz. block Mozzarella cheese, diced into half inch cubes
  • ¼ cup Creamy balsamic dressing, I prefer Newman's Own brand. More or less depending on personal taste
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta according to packages directions. Once cooked, drain out water and rinse pasta thoroughly with cold water.
  2. Toss pasta with olive oil, salt, minced garlic, tomato halves, chopped basil and cubed mozzarella cheese until evenly coated and distributed.
  3. Last, evenly drizzle and lightly toss creamy balsamic dressing into pasta to evenly cover.
  4. Salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Cover and store in fridge until ready to serve. NOTE: If it chills in the fridge for a length of time, you may need to add more creamy balsamic dressing or olive oil as pasta will absorb some of the moisture.

Enjoy!
(recipe adapted from: Annie’s Eats)

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #chefintraining and/or #chefintrainingblog. I would love to see how these recipes take shape in your kitchens.

Filed under: dinner, pasta, side-dish

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Comments

  1. Faith

    Caprese is my favorite thing ever- i could eat it all day, every day. Adding pasta just sounds like a win-win!

  2. Suzan @ The Lazy Suzan

    Awesome!! Love this and will definitely be making it! A nice way to change it up from a classic creamy pasta salad, which I've always thought is way too heavy for a Spring or Summer dish!

  3. sally @ sallys baking addiction

    When I studied in Italy, I got a caprese salad at every single cafe and restaurant we went to. You could say I'm a bit obsessed. I would love this pasta salad Nikki!

  4. Christine

    This looks amazing! My grandma and I really want to try it so we might make it this weekend :)

  5. Linda

    This is so fresh sounding. I have fresh basil growing in the garden now. Thanks for sharing.

    Wishing you tasty dishes this weekend,
    Linda

  6. Amy

    I made this yesterday and it was fabulous, thank you so much for the recipe. Of course my family kept making suggestions for additions. "It would be great with Olives" or "You should have added Pepperoni" I had to keep explaining that as a Caprese Salad, we wouldn't be adding any of those items.