Caprese Pasta Salad
This Caprese Pasta Salad is our favorite side dish recipe for the summer. It’s ideal to make in advance and takes less than 30 minutes. With juicy cherry tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and a balsamic vinaigrette, everyone will love this recipe.
Every summer we host several pool parties as well as picnics for family and friends. This Caprese Pasta Salad is always on the menu. It’s simple to prepare with just 15 minutes of prep time and is best to be made in advance.
We love this as a side dish because it’s an easy pasta recipe that the whole family loves. With sweet cherry tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and pops of fresh basil, it’s made with Italian flavors that are best in the summer.
Our homemade balsamic vinaigrette is made in the blender for ease, but you can even use a high quality store-bought dressing if you desire. Serve it alongside our Watermelon Mozzarella Skewers and Bruschetta al Pomodoro.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- 8 ingredient pasta salad. It’s simple to make with ingredients that are easy to shop for. If you use a store-bought balsamic vinaigrette, this recipe becomes just 4 ingredients!
- A side dish that kids and adults love. This Caprese pasta salad has all the flavors that kids love about pasta. It easily becomes a main course with a simple protein added.
- Perfect to make ahead for a busy week or entertaining. Whether you are hosting dinner or just meal prepping, this pasta salad is ideal to prepare ahead of time.
Jenn’s Tip: When it comes to pasta salad, we love when all of the ingredients are about the same size so it’s easy to eat and every bite is bursting with flavor.
What is Caprese Salad?
It’s a classic Italian salad that comes from the island of Capri, Italy. It’s usually made with layers of sliced mozzarella and tomato, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and garnished with basil.
We’ve had this salad in Italy too many times to count! It’s one of our favorites, we make it so often we thought that it would be fun to make it into a pasta salad. Turns out, it’s pretty delicious too.
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
- Short pasta such as fusilli, rotini, or farfalle: With a short pasta shape, it’s easier to coat in the dressing as well as eat.
- Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes: Buy your favorite kind at the store.
- Fresh mozzarella pearls: Adds the perfect amount of cheesy goodness to every bite, if you want to dice a block of fresh mozzarella, that works well too.
Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- Extra virgin olive oil: We must recommend buying a high quality olive oil here as it’s the base of the salad dressing.
- Balsamic vinegar: Pairs perfectly with the tomatoes and adds an acidic, rich flavor.
- Dijon mustard: Emulsifies the dressing to be nice and smooth plus adds some tang.
- Honey: We like to add a hint of sweetness to balance the vinegar and honey does just the trick.
- Garlic clove: Any salad dressing almost always needs garlic in our opinion, it adds all the best Italian flavors in each bite.
How to Make Caprese Pasta Salad
- Cook and cool pasta: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Make the vinaigrette: Add all dressing ingredients to a blender or mini food processor. Blend until smooth and emulsified.
- Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella balls. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently until everything is well coated. Chill or serve immediately.
Expert Tips
- No time to make the vinaigrette? Use your favorite store-bought balsamic vinaigrette instead—choose one made with olive oil for the best flavor.
- Mozzarella swap: Freshly chopped mozzarella (like a ball of Fior di Latte) works just as well if you don’t have pearls on hand.
- To prevent the pasta from sticking while cooling: After draining, rinse it under cool water and toss with a small drizzle of olive oil to keep it from clumping. This also helps it stay glossy and fresh when mixed with the dressing.
- Add some protein to take this from a side to a main. Grilled chicken or grilled Italian sausage make great additions for a heartier meal while keeping the flavors light and Italian-inspired.
- Chill the pasta salad for a couple of hours. We recommend 2 hours at least. This allows the flavors to meld and marinate together.
Storage
Store any leftover Caprese pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. We like to let it sit out at room temperature for 10 minutes and give it a fresh stir plus a drizzle of olive oil. We don’t recommend freezing this recipe.
You can prep this salad a few hours in advance. If making ahead, reserve a bit of the dressing and toss it in right before serving to keep everything fresh and vibrant.
FAQs
A classic caprese salad is layers of sliced mozzarella cheese and ripe, juicy tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and basil. This pasta salad takes those same flavors and adds delicious noodles.
We recommend a shorter noodle so that it’s easy to eat. We often like to use a noodle with ridges like penne or rigatoni mezze. The ridges in the noodle soak up the dressing for even more flavor!
If you are concerned your noodles will overcook and become mushy, we would recommend rinsing in cold water to stop the cooking. Keep an eye on your timer and be sure to cook them to al dente.
More Easy Italian Recipes
- Bruschetta al Pomodoro
- Watermelon Mozzarella Skewers
- Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
- Spaghetti with Lemon Cream Sauce
Caprese Pasta Salad
Equipment
- Blender To make the homemade vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Short pasta Fusilli, rotini, or farfalle.
- 1 pint Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes halved
- 2 cups Fresh mozzarella pearls
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Homemade Balsamic Vinaigerette(optional)
- 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 Small garlic clove smashed and peeled
Instructions
- Cook and cool pasta: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Make the vinaigrette: Add all dressing ingredients to a blender or mini food processor. Blend until smooth and emulsified.
- Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella balls. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently until everything is well coated. Chill or serve immediately:
Notes
- No time to make the vinaigrette? Use your favorite store-bought balsamic vinaigrette instead—choose one made with olive oil for the best flavor.
- Mozzarella swap: Freshly chopped mozzarella (like a ball of Fior di Latte) works just as well if you don’t have pearls on hand.
- To prevent the pasta from sticking while cooling: After draining, rinse it under cool water and toss with a small drizzle of olive oil to keep it from clumping. This also helps it stay glossy and fresh when mixed with the dressing.
- Want to add protein? Grilled chicken or grilled Italian sausage make great additions for a heartier meal while keeping the flavors light and Italian-inspired.
- Make it ahead: You can prep this salad a few hours in advance. If making ahead, reserve a bit of the dressing and toss it in right before serving to keep everything fresh and vibrant.
