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    Caprese Pasta Salad

    Pasta Salads Side Dishes Vegetarian Recipes July 20, 2022 | By Kristen Chidsey | 17 Comments | *This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

    Jump to Recipe
    Filled with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, Caprese Pasta Salad is bursting with flavor and freshness! It is a simple recipe you will want to make all summer long!

    Filled with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, Caprese Pasta Salad is bursting with flavor and freshness! It is a simple recipe you will want to make all summer long!



    If you enjoy Caprese Salad made with juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, and creamy mozzarella, you will love this recipe for Caprese Pasta Salad. 

    Made with the same flavor profile as a classic Caprese Salad, this pasta salad is bursting with flavor from the combination of fresh tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and a Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette. It is hearty, tangy, creamy, and vibrant. Simply delicious. 

    And good news, this Caprese Pasta Salad is actually incredibly easy to make. Meaning you can enjoy it all summer long. And trust me, you will want to be making this recipe on repeat. 

    Notes on Ingredients

    It only takes a handful of ingredients to make Caprese Pasta Salad. The secret to imparting huge flavor is using ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, vibrant basil, and a homemade balsamic dressing.

    Ingredients for caprese pasta salad labeled.
    • Pasta: When making a pasta salad, you want to think about choosing a type of noodle that is easy to grab with a fork and has a large enough surface area to grab and hold onto the dressing. I recommend using bow tie, rotini, cavatelli, or corkscrew pasta.
    • Tomatoes: Cherry or grape tomatoes are best for this pasta salad as they are delicious year-round, bite-sized, and don't contain a lot of seeds that can water down the pasta salad. Feel free to use Roma or vine-ripened tomatoes if that is what you have on hand, but I would highly recommend removing the seeds before dicing them up and adding the pasta salad. 
    • Mozzarella: Fresh mozzarella has the best flavor for the Caprese Pasta Salad.  I prefer mozzarella balls or pearls for presentation, but you can dice up a large ball of fresh mozzarella as well. If you only have shredded mozzarella or a block of mozzarella cheese, don't let it stop you from making this pasta salad--it will still be delicious.
    • Balsamic Dressing: While you can certainly use a bottle of prepared salad dressing, it is incredibly easy to make a balsamic dressing yourself and you likely have all the ingredients on hand to whip it up.

    How To Make Caprese Pasta Salad

    • Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Once the water has come to a boil, season the water with kosher salt and cook the noodles according to package directions, or until just al dente.
    • While the pasta is cooking, prepare the balsamic dressing by whisking the balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, onion powder, molasses, olive oil, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl until incorporated. 
    Balsamic Dressing in small bowl for pasta salad.
    • Once the pasta is fully cooked, drain the pasta in a colander, but do NOT rinse the cooked pasta. This removes all the starch that helps the dressing stick to the pasta, not to mention the flavor of the pasta.
    • Place the cooked noodles into a large mixing bowl, add half the dressing, and toss to coat. 
    Balsamic Dressing Tossed with Pasta.
    • At this point, you want to let your noodles cool before adding the remaining ingredients. To speed up the process, I recommend spreading the pasta out onto a sheet pan. This will allow the heat to dissipate faster and the pasta to cool quickly. 
    Dressed pasta spread out on a sheet pan.
    • While the pasta is cooling, wash and cut the tomatoes, chop the mozzarella if needed, and chiffonade the basil. To chiffonade the basil, roll the basil leaves together in the shape of a log and thinly slice them into strips.
    Basil ribbons cut on cutting board.
    • Once the pasta is at room temperature or just slightly warm to the touch, return the noodles to the large mixing bowl. Add in the remaining dressing, tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. 
    Mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and pasta tossed together.
    • Toss to coat everything together. 
    • I find that it is best to refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 30 minutes prior to serving, as this will allow the flavors of the pasta salad to marry together.  
    Bowl of Caprese Pasta Salad next to fresh basil.

    Recipe Modifications

    • ​Make it Gluten-Free: Use your favorite gluten-free pasta to enjoy this Caprese Pasta Salad without added gluten. 
    • Make it Egg-Free: A lot of noodles are made with eggs. Check to be sure you use egg-free noodles if you are preparing this for anyone with an egg allergy. 
    • Make it Heartier: I love adding grilled chicken or flavored grilled chicken sausage to this pasta salad. It turns a delicious side dish into a hearty meal.

    More Easy Pasta Salad Recipes

    • Asian Noodle Salad
    • Antipasto Pasta Salad
    • BLT Pasta Salad
    • Thai Noodles

    Whether looking for a stunning pot-luck dish to share or a side dish for your next barbecue, I hope you give this Caprese Pasta Salad a try! And if you do give it a try, be sure to leave a review and comment below.

    Close up of bowl of pasta salad with tomatoes and basil.

    Caprese Pasta Salad

    Caprese Pasta Salad features fresh mozzarella, juicy tomatoes, vibrant basil, and a delicious homemade balsamic dressing.
    4.91 from 10 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American, Italian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 256kcal
    Author: Kristen Chidsey

    Ingredients

    For the Caprese Pasta Salad

    • 16 ounces pasta bow-tie, rotini, corkscrew, etc
    • 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
    • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella balls
    • 8 basil leaves sliced into ribbons

    For the Balsamic Dressing

    • â…“ cup balsamic vinegar
    • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
    • ½ teaspoon minced garlic
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ¼ teaspoon pepper
    • ½ teaspoon onion powder
    • ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
    • 1 tablespoon molasses
    Prevents your screen from going dark while preparing the recipe.

    Instructions

    • Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Salt well and cook the pasta according to package directions.  
    • While the pasta is cooking, prepare the dressing by whisking together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Dijon, molasses, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic together until well combined.
    • Once the noodles are cooked, drain but do not rinse the pasta, Toss the drained noodles with half of the prepared dressing in a large mixing bowl. Allow the noodles to cool at room temperature for 10-20 minutes, until they are just slightly warm or at room temperature. Speed up the process, by spreading the pasta out onto a sheet pan.
    • Once the pasta is at room temperature or just slightly warm to the touch, return the noodles to the large mixing bowl. Add in the remaining dressing, tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, and toss to combine.
    • Cover and refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 30 minutes before serving. Once chilled, toss the pasta salad again and serve.

    Notes

    Mozzarella: Fresh mozzarella is best. Use mozzarella pearls (small balls) or dice up the mozzarella into bite-size pieces. If you don't have fresh mozzarella, cubed or shredded mozzarella will work. 
    Basil: To chiffonade the basil, stack up the leaves of basil and then roll them up and slice them into ribbons.
    Tomatoes: If using Roma or vine-ripened tomatoes, be sure to remove the seeds and chop them into bite-sized pieces before adding them to the pasta salad. 
    Storage: Store any leftover Caprese Pasta Salad in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. 
    Dried Out Pasta Salad: After refrigerating your pasta salad, if you feel it has become dried-out, add ½ tablespoon each of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toss again. 
     

    Nutrition

    Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 229mg | Potassium: 228mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 471IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 1mg
    Liked this Recipe? Tag me Today!Snap a picture and tag #amindfullmom on Instagram - I would love to see!

    This post was originally published in 2018 but was updated in 2022 with new tips and photos. 

    « Honey Garlic Pork Chops
    Buffalo Chicken Salad »

    About Kristen Chidsey

    Hi, I am Kristen, creator of A Mind "Full" Mom. I believe that making a wholesome family meal does not need to be hard or expensive! I love nothing more than to share with you delicious solutions for your hungry family.

    Reader Interactions

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    1. Barbara T

      August 04, 2022 at 2:21 pm

      5 stars
      The best summer salad! I added sliced grilled chicken and it came out perfect.

      Reply
      • Kristen Chidsey

        August 04, 2022 at 3:02 pm

        Thanks for sharing Barbara! I love adding chicken myself!

        Reply
    2. April

      July 21, 2022 at 4:23 pm

      5 stars
      This is one of my favorite summer salads! So easy and tastes great!

      Reply
    3. DB

      May 26, 2021 at 10:27 am

      What is a serving size for this based on the nutritional facts you provided? 1/2 cup? 1 cup? etc.? Just want to make sure I am portioning the servings out correctly to make sure that I am accounting for the appropriate calorie count for those in my household who are counting calories, carbs, and sodium intake. Thank you in advance. 🙂

      Reply
      • Kristen Chidsey

        May 26, 2021 at 11:38 am

        The serving is approximately 2/3 cup. I hope that helps.

        Reply
    4. Sally Shelton

      June 05, 2020 at 9:14 pm

      4 stars
      I ended up halving the recipe for me and my husband, but I ended up using all the dressing, and I’m glad I did. I don’t think it would have been enough with half. But other than that, it was an absolutely delicious recipe! My husband grilled the chicken sausage, and I think it added just a little extra oomf.

      Reply
      • Kristen Chidsey

        June 06, 2020 at 7:17 am

        I am so glad you enjoyed Sally. This recipe does call for you to use all the dressing, so I am sorry that was not clear to you. It states to add 1/4 cup after noodles cook and then toss with remaining dressing after noodles have cooled. Let me know if there is a way I can rephrase that so it is more clear 🙂

        Reply
    5. Lisalia

      May 26, 2020 at 5:47 pm

      5 stars
      The perfect summer time meal. Can't wait to have it again!

      Reply
    6. Beth

      May 26, 2020 at 5:09 pm

      5 stars
      I love everything about this salad: flavor, color and freshness! I especially like the meat option for my family members that must have meat at every meal!

      Reply
    7. Holly

      July 16, 2018 at 11:25 am

      5 stars
      What a yummy summer meal! al fresco chicken sausage is hands down my favorite of all time!

      Reply
      • Kristen Chidsey

        July 16, 2018 at 12:45 pm

        Holly, I couldn't agree more! Al fresco is delicious!

        Reply
    8. Megan @ MegUnprocessed

      July 10, 2018 at 4:57 pm

      I love a pasta salad! They're so simple to make and so delicious!

      Reply
      • Kristen Chidsey

        July 10, 2018 at 9:27 pm

        They are so simple and this one is especially tasty. I hope you enjoy!

        Reply
    9. chellie

      July 10, 2018 at 7:05 am

      This is Summer dinner HEAVEN! I'm all about the fresh garden grown tomatoes. And I MUST try those sausages! They look so good, I love that they are all natural. Thanks for this fab recipe.

      Reply
      • Kristen Chidsey

        July 10, 2018 at 7:08 am

        I just know you will love this meal Chellie-and al fresco sausages are our most favorite--so tasty and so healthy! Enjoy my friend!

        Reply
    10. Erin @ Suburban Simplicity

      July 09, 2018 at 3:59 pm

      5 stars
      I love all these flavors! What an easy dinner idea my whole family would enjoy! Thanks!

      Reply
      • Kristen Chidsey

        July 09, 2018 at 4:44 pm

        Erin, if you love Caprese, you will LOVE this pasta salad. And yes, SUPER easy for the win!

        Reply

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    Filled with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, Caprese Pasta Salad is bursting with flavor and freshness! It is a simple recipe you will want to make all summer long!

    Meet a Mind "Full" Mom

    A Picture of A Mind"Full"Mom

    Hi! I'm Kristen. I want to welcome you into my kitchen and my REAL, imperfect life. Let me share with you tips and tricks to help you make healthy eating a reality for your family in the chaos of life and on the constraints of a budget. Read more

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    Filled with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, Caprese Pasta Salad is bursting with flavor and freshness! It is a simple recipe you will want to make all summer long!

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