Caprese Pasta Salad
All About This Caprese Pasta Salad
Inspired by the classic caprese salad, this Caprese Pasta Salad is brimming with pasta, grape tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and fresh basil. It is delightfully simple, yet so delicious!
This Caprese Pasta Salad is the perfect side dish to bring to a summer get together with friends, or you can also turn it into a complete meal by adding some protein like chicken or shrimp.
My favorite thing to do is drizzle it with some balsamic glaze before serving for a bit of extra sweetness!
Substitutions To This Recipe
Happily, this recipe is very flexible. You don’t have to have the exact ingredients I used in order for it to turn out perfectly! Here are some ideas…
- If you don’t have grape tomatoes, any type of tomato will do. Dice up some roma or beefsteak tomatoes instead!
- Any type of fresh mozzarella is great in this recipe. If you don’t have mozzarella pearls, you can chop up bite-sized mozzarella pieces from a log of fresh mozzarella.
- If you don’t have fresh basil, that’s totally fine! Dried basil will certainly do the trick!
What You’ll Need
Equipment
- Large stock pot
- Strainer or colander
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Large bowl
- Spoon
Ingredients
- Pasta (I like Barille Protein Plus)
- Mozzarella pearls
- Grape tomatoes
- Fresh basil
- Olive oil spray
- Balsamic vinegar
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Italian seasoning
- Balsamic glaze, to garnish (optional)
How To Make This Caprese Pasta Salad
In a pot of generously salted water, boil the pasta according to the package directions until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, use a knife and cutting board to halve the grape tomatoes and julienne the fresh basil.
Immediately strain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, grape tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and fresh basil and toss with a few spritzes of olive oil spray and balsamic vinegar.
Season with salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning. Top with more fresh basil as a garnish and drizzle with balsamic glaze if desired. Serve cold.
Prepping And Storing Instructions
You can prep this dish ahead of time and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it. In fact, I find that prepping it a bit in advance allows the flavors to mingle even more together.
This Caprese Pasta Salad can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Nutritional Information
This Caprese Pasta Salad makes 8 servings at 3/4 cup each. Each serving comes out to 57 calories, 4 WW Green SmartPoints®, 4 WW Blue SmartPoints®, and 1 WW Purple SmartPoints® (if you use whole wheat pasta).
Go here to calculate your own WW PersonalPoints™ for this recipe.
More Pasta Dishes
Are you looking for more pasta dishes? I’ve got you covered! Take a look at these recipes…
- Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Healthy Mediterranean Pasta
- Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
- Spinach, Tomato, And Onion Stuffed Shells
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below, or post a picture and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter with @cookingwithfudge or #cookingwithfudge.
Caprese Pasta Salad
Equipment
- Large stock pot
- Strainer or colander
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Large bowl
Ingredients
- 10 ounces pasta
- 1/2 cup mozzarella pearls
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
- olive oil spray
- 1 cup fresh basil julienned or chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tablespoon balsamic glaze to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a pot of generously salted water, boil the pasta according to the package directions until al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, use a knife and cutting board to halve the grape tomatoes and julienne or chop the fresh basil.
- Immediately strain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- In a large bowl, combine the pasta, grape tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and fresh basil.
- Toss with a few spritzes of olive oil spray and balsamic vinegar.
- Season with salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Top with more fresh basil as a garnish and drizzle with balsamic glaze if desired.
- Serve cold.
