Name: Caprese Pasta Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 lb. pasta; 1/4 c. pesto sauce; 1/4 c. olive oil; 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar; salt and pepper to taste; 1 lb. cherry tomatoes, halved; 1 lb. mozzarella cheese (cut into cubes or little balls); a handful of fresh basil

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Fresh-from-the-garden herbs and veggies are some of my favorite things about summertime… along with no school, of course!

If you share my love of fresh produce and want to add another super-easy throw-together salad to your rotation, this summery Caprese Pasta Salad should do the trick.

It tastes and smells like summer in a bowl and is a fabulous side dish to almost any meal. Plus, the leftovers taste fantastic.

Due to the coloring of this salad, it’s also fun to make around the holidays.

Ingredients for Caprese Pasta Salad

1 lb. pasta (I like to use a shorter noodle)
1/4 c. pesto sauce
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. cherry tomatoes, halved
1 lb. (16 oz) mozzarella cheese (cut into cubes or little balls)
a handful of fresh basil

Make it a Full Meal!

This salad is an excellent side dish for so many meals… but it can also be a complete meal in itself if you add a bit more protein.

I love adding grilled chicken breasts or Italian sausages — but almost any of your favorite proteins could work.

How to Make Caprese Pasta Salad

1. Boil pasta according to package directions.

2. While noodles boil, mix pesto, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

3. Once pasta is cooked, drain and rinse several times in very cold water to completely cool the noodles.

4. Dump cooled pasta into a large mixing bowl.

5. Add tomatoes and cheese to noodles.

6. Pour sauce over top and mix well.

7. Garnish with fresh basil if desired.

8. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Make Ahead Instructions

This salad can easily be made earlier in the day, or even a full day in advance. In fact, the flavors often intensify once the pasta has a chance to marinate for a bit.

Alternatively, if you only have time to cook the noodles ahead, simply mix them with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking together while refrigerated. Then, add the remaining ingredients whenever you have time.

This recipe is VERY forgiving, so feel free to tweak and alter the ingredients based on what you have in the house.

Here’s a fun nutritional fact about cooling cooked pasta for 24 hours…

“When pasta is refrigerated, some of the starch in it loses its original structure and forms a new structure that passes through the body without being digested in the same way. That process is called “starch retrogradation.”

So, a portion of the starch is not absorbed and used as calories or glucose in the bloodstream. It’s called “resistant starch.” That means refrigerated pasta has more resistant starch in it. It has fewer calories and leads to a smaller peak in blood glucose after you eat it.” (source)

Yield: 8 Servings