Caprese Pasta Salad
This Caprese Pasta Salad recipe combines two of my favorite summer dishes: Caprese Salad and Pasta Salad. It's bright and herby with the most delicious, cremay balsamic dressing.
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.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!