It is Summer and this means we’re only eating the freshest recipes. Our favorite Caprese Pasta Salad recipe uses delicious in-season tomatoes, paired with fresh mozzarella cheese and topped with delicious fresh basil and store-bought Italian dressing. This makes for a delicious addition to any weeknight dinner or any summer family gathering.
This post is sponsored by Stella® but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
Hello Sunny Summer! 🙂 Nothing says, Welcome Summer, quite like fresh and delicious ingredients found at our local markets, right? Well, in my opinion, nothing says fresh and deliciousness more than our version of this Caprese pasta salad recipe. What I love the most about this Caprese pasta salad recipe is that is not only is it ready in minutes but it is also such a great addition to any summer family gathering. If that wasn’t enough, this pasta salad is ready in minutes, just the way I like my recipes.
As I mentioned before, this Caprese pasta salad is absolutely easy to prepare, all you need is one pound of dry pasta, we use farfalle or bow-tie pasta. You also need two-pints of cherry or grape tomatoes, I used rainbow cherry tomatoes in my version just because they look so pretty but you can use any kind available at your store. You also need one 8-oz. Stella® organic Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (cubed), about 1/2-cup fresh basil (torn coarsely), 1/2-cup of store-bought Italian dressing, salt & pepper to taste.
Now, to put this Caprese pasta salad together all you need to do is, first of all, cook your pasta according to the package instructions. Meanwhile, the pasta is cooking, measure and pour store-bought Italian dressing into a medium-size bowl. Now, slice the tomatoes into halves and add them to the Italian dressing.
Now, drain and rinse your pasta. Before you add the pasta to the tomatoes and Italian dressing mixture, let the pasta cool a bit. You don’t want to cook your tomatoes. 🙂 Once the pasta has cooled for a few minutes, add the pasta to your Italian dressing and tomatoes mixture and gently stir to coat the ingredients.
Now, cut the Stella® organic Fresh Mozzarella Cheese into rounds, then halves, and half the halves. Cut the Mozzarella into bite-sized pieces. Then add the Mozzarella to the pasta, tomatoes, Italian dressing mixture.
Now, add the coarse cut basil to your pasta mixture, stir to coat the ingredients, add salt & pepper to taste, garnish with more basil, and serve. One side note, if you are preparing this Caprese pasta salad for later, just refrigerate the salad mixture without the basil until ready to serve.
Easy, right? Well, I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does. If you make our Caprese pasta salad recipe, please come back and leave us a note via the comment section below. We love to hear your thoughts on this recipe.
Caprese Pasta Salad Recipe
Our favorite Caprese Pasta Salad recipe uses delicious in-season tomatoes, paired with fresh mozzarella cheese and topped with delicious fresh basil and store-bought Italian dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 pound pound of dry pasta (farfalle or bow-tie pasta)
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
- 8 ounce Stella® organic Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (cubed)
- 1/2 cup fresh basil (torn coarsely)
- 1/2 cup store-bought Italian dressing
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook your pasta according to the package instructions.
- Measure and pour store-bought Italian dressing into a medium-size bowl
- Slice the tomatoes into halves and add them to the Italian dressing.
- Drain and rinse your pasta. Before you add the pasta to the tomatoes and Italian dressing mixture, let the pasta cool a bit.
- Once the pasta has cooled for a few minutes, add the pasta to your Italian dressing and tomatoes mixture and gently stir to coat the ingredients.
- Now, cut the Stella® organic Fresh Mozzarella Cheese into rounds, then halves, and half the halves. Cut the Mozzarella into bite-sized pieces.
- Then add the Mozzarella to the pasta, tomatoes, Italian dressing mixture.
- Add the coarse cut basil to your pasta mixture, stir to coat the ingredients, add salt & pepper to taste, garnish with more basil, and serve
Lani Derrick says
Absolutely beautiful. Looks delicious.