This caprese pasta salad is fresh and delicious and filled with sweet cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and loads of basil before being tossed in a light and creamy balsamic dressing. Prep ahead of the week for easy lunches, or bring it to your next backyard summer BBQ.
When summer hits, I find myself making classic caprese salad several times a week. It’s so easy to assemble and it works as part of a dinner party spread or just paired with a weeknight spaghetti dish.
We make it so often, that it’s nice to switch things up a bit, which is where this dish comes in. Pasta salad is another mainstay during the summer months and this caprese pasta salad combines the best of both worlds.
Why I Love This Dish
I love pasta salads in the summer for two reasons: You can make them ahead of time, and they’re an easy dish to serve at a BBQ or picnic.
This creamy Italian-inspired pasta salad also makes a great lunch or dinner. It’s hearty and filling and it's an easy recipe to prepare on Sunday and keep stocked in your fridge for the week so you have lunch or dinner handled without any real effort!
There are only a few ingredients to this recipe. Fresh cherry tomatoes and chopped sun-dried tomatoes are added to the pasta along with mozzarella pearls, fragrant basil, and the most incredible balsamic dressing. It's creamy and flavorful and comes together fast. Looking for more easy pasta recipes to make this summer? Say hello to this lemon parmesan gnocchi. (I mean, come on!)
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Ingredients
- The Classic Caprese Ingredients: We’re talking all the colors of the Italian flag - fresh mozzarella cheese (I like pearls or the small ones you can find in olive oil or water, sometimes labeled as ciliegine, which means ‘cherry’ and apt for the bite-sized mozzarella balls); juicy tomatoes - ripe cherry tomatoes are perfect for a pasta salad, and fresh basil.
- A Couple of Surprises: Red onion or shallot and sun-dried tomatoes, both of which I like here for a little extra depth of flavor.
- Pasta: Rotini, cavatappi, fusilli, or bow-tie pasta work well for this salad, but really any short pasta you have on hand will do the trick.
- A Creamy Balsamic Dressing: Balsamic vinegar is of course a signature in caprese salad, olive oil, sour cream, and a bit of garlic.
Variations and Substitutions
- Add a can of (drained) chickpeas, cubed avocado, or slices of rotisserie chicken for an extra boost of protein. I especially love doing this if I’m making this ahead for school or work lunches.
- If you can’t find the tiny fresh mozzarella balls, you can also just buy an 8 ounce ball of fresh mozzarella and tear it into smaller pieces.
- You can top this with toasted pine nuts for an extra special treat.
Easy Caprese Pasta Salad Recipe: Step-By-Step
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta and let it cool slightly. (See note 1)
- Prep the dressing. Add ½ cup sour cream and 2.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar to a medium bowl and whisk together until combined. Then add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl (¼ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ teaspoon oregano, 1 clove garlic) and whisk together until well mixed. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the pint of cherry tomatoes, ¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, ¼ cup red onion or shallot, 2 cloves of minced garlic, the mozzarella pearls and basil leaves to the pasta bowl.
- Then transfer the pasta to the bowl, and toss to dress with the creamy balsamic dressing. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Top with a few torn basil leaves.
- At this point you can serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge and let the flavors meld together for 1 hour or up to 5 days.
Tips & Tricks
- If you’re making this ahead of time, I recommend adding the basil right before serving. You can add it when you make the rest of the salad, but it won’t look quite as vibrant as the day of.
- If you make this ahead of time and the pasta absorbs a lot of the dressing, you can always add a scoop or two of sour cream, a splash of balsamic vinegar and/or a drizzle of olive oil. Just be sure to taste it and adjust with a pinch of salt and a crank of black pepper as needed.
- You can serve this pasta salad warm or let the flavors meld and serve it cold.
- This makes a great side dish. Serve this creamy caprese pasta salad with chicken, steak, or fish for the main.
How to Store Caprese Pasta Salad
You can store leftover pasta salad in an airtight container for 3-5 days. If the salad looks a little dry, you can revive it with a bit of sour cream and a splash of balsamic vinegar, to taste!
Because this pasta salad has fresh tomatoes and basil, I would not recommend freezing this salad.
Want More Summer Inspiration?
- If you love classic caprese flavors, try my Caprese Empanadas. They are made with sun-dried tomatoes, so you can enjoy them even when tomatoes are out of season.
- Need another salad you can make ahead or bring to a picnic on a hot summer day? This Kale White Bean Salad has a charred green onion vinaigrette that really makes the whole thing pop! Or try my grilled romaine Greek salad for a summery take on a classic salad.
- In need of a no-bake dessert? This dreamy Chocolate Mousse or my mini Biscoff cheesecakes would both be a huge hit for any occasion!
📖 Recipe
Caprese Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Caprese Pasta Salad
- 10 oz pasta
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- ¼ cup Sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn, chopped or chiffonaded plus a few leaves for garnish
- 1 8 ounce packages of mini mozz pearls or 1 mozzarella balls, torn into bite-sized pieces
- ¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil drained.
- ¼ cup minced shallot or red onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Creamy Balsamic Dressing
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 2 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 clove garlic minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta and let it cool slightly. (See note 1)
- Prep the dressing. Add ⅓ cup sour cream and 2.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar to a medium bowl and whisk together until combined. Then add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl (¼ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ teaspoon oregano, 1 clove garlic) and whisk together until well mixed. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the pint of cherry tomatoes, ¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, ¼ cup minced shallot or red onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic, the 8 ounces of mozzarella pearls and basil to the pasta bowl.
- Then transfer the paste to the bowl, and toss to dress with the creamy balsamic dressing. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Top with a few torn basil leaves.
- At this point you can serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge and let the flavors meld together for 1 hour or up to 5 days.
Notes
- Sometimes I rinse the cooked pasta under cold water so that the pasta won’t be warm if we want to eat it immediately as a salad.
- Bulk it up with rotisserie chicken or, if you want to keep this vegetarian, avocado (just wait to add it until the day of so that it doesn’t turn brown) or a can of chickpeas.
