Caprese Pasta Salad
This caprese pasta salad only needs a few ingredients, yet is super tasty. Made with fresh mozzarella cheese and juicy tomatoes, this pasta salad is an ideal side dish.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 536kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb bow tie pasta
- 1 ½ cups fresh mozzarella cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cup cherry tomatoes cut in halves
- 1 cup fresh basil
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup basil pesto homemade or store bought
Instructions
- Cook bow tie pasta according to the packaging. Rinse with cold water and drizzle with a little olive oil. Stir well to prevent sticking. Place the cooked pasta in a large bowl.
- Add the mozzarella and tomatoes to the pasta.
- Chop the basil leaves and add them to the pasta salad.
- Mix the ingredients gently using a spoon.
- Add the olive oil, garlic and pesto to the salad. Mix well.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve cold.
Video
Notes
- You can use any kind of pasta you have at hand such as penne, rigatoni, or macaroni.
- Either homemade pesto or store-bought would work for this recipe.
- You can add more or less mozzarella. You can also use mozzarella pearls for this recipe.
- Add more pesto if you like your caprese pasta salad to have a stronger flavor.
- Leave out pesto and add balsamic vinaigrette (balsamic glaze, olive oil, salt and pepper) if you're not a pesto fan.
- Add a couple of tablespoons olive oil to the salad if it looks dry.
Nutrition
Calories: 536kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 379mg | Potassium: 316mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1060IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 206mg | Iron: 2mg