Caprese Pesto Salad is a cold pasta salad that is made with cooked pasta noodles, homemade pesto sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, and grape tomatoes. It has all the Caprese flavors in a refreshing, summertime salad. Add some oven-roasted chicken breasts to it to make it more of a meal!
What is a Caprese Salad?
A Caprese salad is a simple Italian salad (Insalata Caprese) that is traditionally made with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil. It is meant to include ingredients that represent the green, white, and red colors of the Italian flag. In this salad, the green comes from the pesto, the white from the mozzarella balls, and the red tomatoes. I added pasta for some added substance and carbohydrates.
recipe modifications
Substitutions & Variations
- Cheese: If you don’t have mozzarella cheese, try the salad with feta cheese, provolone, or gouda, to name a few. Or, leave out the cheese and replace it with avocado!
- Tomatoes: If it is summertime, heirloom tomatoes are a great substitution for grape or cherry tomatoes.
- Pasta: When choosing pasta, any noodles would work. However, tubular noodles are great to catch all of the delicious pesto sauce in each bite! Or, make homemade pasta to use!
Nutritional Information
per serving
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and can vary based on the products used as well as changes made to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 box (16 ounces) cavatappi noodles, cooked al dente, drained, and rinsed in cold water
- ½ cup (120 g) pesto sauce
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls, drained
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine pesto, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and pepper.
- Pour the pesto mixture over the cooked pasta and toss to combine, making sure the pasta is thoroughly coated.
- Fold in tomatoes and mozzarella balls. Chill the salad in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
leftovers?
How to Store
Whether you have leftovers, or you are making the salad as meal prep, it’s easy to store. Store it in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for 3-4 days.
