Caprese Pasta Salad
I had never had caprese till I was dating my husband and his mom made it when I was having dinner with them. It was soooo good and I’ve enjoyed eating it ever since. This pasta salad is a play on a traditional caprese. I guarantee if you like caprese you’re going to LOVE this pasta salad. It’s my new favorite pasta salad.
PrintCaprese Pasta Salad
A traditional caprese salad meets pasta salad. My new favorite pasta salad with some delicious flavor and texture combinations.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 15 as a side 1x
Ingredients
Pasta-
1 tablespoon Salt
3 tablespoons oil
1 pound of small pasta (fusilli, penne, radiator, macaroni, etc)
Salad mix ins-
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 pound of fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into bite sized pizza
2 cups arugula
About 2–3 tablespoons balsamic glaze for topping
Dressing-
1/4 cup pesto
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons oil from sun dried tomatoes jar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
In a large pot boil water with 1 tablespoon salt and 3 tablespoons oil. Add pasta and cook till al dente. Drain water and rinse pasta with cold water till cooled a little. It’s okay if it’s still slightly warm.
In a small mixing bowl combine all the dressing ingredients and then pour over the slightly warm pasta. Mix till incorporated and refrigerate till ready to serve. I like this salad best when it’s served cold.
When ready to serve add the rest of the of the salad mix ins (except the balsamic glaze) and toss till evenly distributed. Drizzle the balsamic glaze over the pasta or drizzle on salad after dishing it up.
Notes
If you can’t find balsamic glaze at the grocery store, heat balsamic vinegar on the stove over medium-low till reduced by half.
Pasta salad is definitely the best on the day it’s made.
If you’re not feeding a crowd, halve this recipe or you’ll be eating it for days.
Add grilled chicken to make this pasta salad a full meal.
Keywords: Caprese Pasta Salad
Made this for dinner and it was my husbands favorite meal from the website!