Caprese Pasta Salad
This Caprese pasta salad recipe is easy, delicious and perfect for summertime! Just cook cherry tomatoes with olive oil to make the perfect pasta sauce.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Craving fresh, easy dinnertime recipes this summer? Me, too. This Caprese pasta salad recipe is just the ticket! This recipe has been one of my favorites for the past five years, and Iโm re-sharing it today in case you have missed it.
This pasta recipe really straddles the line between โpasta dishโ and โpasta salad,โ since itโs great whether you serve it warm or cold. Itโs made simply with whole wheat pasta, lots of cherry tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, fresh basil and olive oil.
Briefly cooking the tomatoes on the stove makes their bright flavor sing. It also releases some juices that combine with the olive oil to turn into a light pasta sauce. Dinner is ready in twenty-five minutes.
This recipe started to take shape while my little brother was in town, way back in the summer of 2013. We stayed in for dinner to save money. He ate leftover cheese pizza, while I haphazardly threw some cherry tomatoes in a pan and reheated spaghetti. He eyed my pasta while I wished for more pizza.
Iโve refined the recipe several times since then and itโs about as simple as can be. Boil water for pasta, cook cherry tomatoes whole in the meantime, and toss in some chopped basil and mozzarella balls at the end.
This recipe was roughly inspired by the classic Caprese salad. Caprese salads might be ubiquitous this time of year, but for good reason. You really canโt go wrong with any combination of mozzarella, basil and ripe, peak-season tomatoes. Pasta just plays a supporting role in this recipe.
The idea for cooking the cherry tomatoes comes from Tom Colicchioโs recipe for squid with burst cherry tomatoes in Food & Wineโs August issue. If you havenโt tried burst cherry tomatoes yet, youโre really in for a treat!
Watch How to Make Caprese Pasta Salad
Caprese Pasta Salad Notes & Tips
This dish might seem a little watery after you stir the pasta into the tomatoes, but donโt worry. Give it a 20-minute rest and youโll find that the pasta absorbs some of the moisture and the sauce thickens up.
Mozzarella โpearlsโ seem to be pretty easy to find these days (they are little mozzarella balls about the diameter of a dime). If you canโt find them, you can buy a standard mozzarella ball and tear it into smaller pieces, or cut any mid-sized mozzarella ball (Ciliegine) into smaller pieces.
The balsamic vinegar is a key component here. If your finished dish doesnโt quite taste spectacular, add a little more of it.
Use white balsamic vinegar if you can (itโs generally available next to the regular balsamic in the vinegar aisle), but regular balsamic will work, too.
If you want to stretch this recipe a bit to serve a larger crowd, use 8 ounces pasta and 3 pints of cherry tomatoes. Then add some extra basil and vinegar, to taste.
You can get by using less olive oil, if youโre worried about using 1/3 cup here. But I think itโs totally irresistible as written.
Caprese Pasta Salad
This Caprese pasta salad recipe is easy, delicious and perfect for summertime! Just cook cherry tomatoes with olive oil to make the perfect pasta sauce. Recipe yields 4 modest servings.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces (2 cups) whole grain fusilli or rotini pasta
- โ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
- ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 ounces mozzarella โpearlsโ, or one mozzarella ball, torn into bite-sized pieces
- Several sprigs of fresh basil (enough for 2+ tablespoons chopped)
- 2 to 3 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar or regular balsamic vinegar, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain the pasta and set it aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, combine the olive oil, tomatoes and salt in a large, non-reactive skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cover the skillet (use a baking sheet if you donโt have a better lid). Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the tomatoes have started to burst out of their skins and the olive oil has a light red hue (about 6 to 12 minutes).
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the cooked pasta. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes while you chop the basil. We donโt want the cheese to melt on contact, so wait to proceed to the next step until your pasta is lightly warm (not hot).
- Stir the mozzarella balls and basil into the pasta. Add the vinegar, then taste and add additional vinegar and/or salt, if it doesnโt quite taste spectacular yet. For best flavor, let the mixture rest for about 20 minutes, so the pasta can absorb some of the sauce. Or, refrigerate it for future use.
- This salad will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Leftovers are great chilled or at room temperature. You can also reheat the pasta if you donโt mind the mozzarella melting (yum).
Notes
Make it gluten free: Use your favorite gluten-free noodles.
Make it vegan: This recipe would still be nice without the mozzarella. If you would like to add some creaminess, add a dollop of myย vegan sour cream to individual servings before serving (see my cookbook, page 217).
Recommended equipment: An enameled cast iron Dutch oven is the perfect cooking pot for the cherry tomatoes (itโs also great for cooking pasta and soups/stews, and it will last forever).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This is an all time (summer) favorite of mine. I add onions, garlic and a chili to bring out the flavors even more. Also nice to use some extra veggies, today I added roasted bell peppers and baby spinach (tip add the spinach when mixture is still warm to welt it but still allow for it to have a bit of crunch).
This may be a silly question, but the pasta measured before or after cooking?
Hi Erin, that is the dry measure, prior to cooking.