Is Caprese Salad Healthy?

Yes, caprese salad is on the healthier side, as there is no creamy or fatty dressing involved. Our recipe uses only extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. If you'd like to make it even healthier, decrease the amount of mozzarella.

What do you serve caprese salad with?

We love this caprese pasta salad with grilled meats. See above section for ideas of easy, tasty grilled chicken, salmon, or pork chops.

Can I make caprese salad in advance?

Yes! We recommend keeping the basil pesto in a separate container from the cooked pasta, until ready to toss and serve.

Do leftovers keep well?

One of the best things about this caprese pasta salad is that it keeps extremely well. Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in fridge for 2-3 days.

Why add parsley to the basil pesto?

Because basil tends to lose its brilliant color in the sauce after 24 hours, parsley helps to retain the color, as well as provide extra flavor.

Caprese Pasta Salad with Basil Pesto

Description

This Caprese Pasta Salad is simple, full of good nutritious ingredients, and tastes even better than it looks! The flavors meld together into a refreshing and pure pasta salad. It keeps very well chilled in fridge.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Basil Pesto:

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 cups flat parsley leaves
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

For the Pasta Salad:

1 lb dry fusilli or rotini pasta
8 oz fresh mini mozzarella balls or “pearl” mozzarella balls, halved
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, seeded and halved

Optional: 1/2 cup chopped green olives with pimientos

Instructions

Basil Pesto: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the basil, parsley, olive oil, vinegar, shallot, garlic, salt, pepper. Pulse until finely chopped. Add more kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste. Set aside or wrap tightly and chill until ready to use.
Boil Pasta: In a large heavy pot, bring well-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta just until al dente, according to instructions, taking care not to cook past that. Drain fully but do not rinse. Transfer to a large serving bowl and sprinkle with a bit of olive oil, tossing so pasta is thinly coated. Let pasta cool to room temperature.
Toss: When ready to serve, toss in the mozzarella halves, tomato halves, and optional olives, if using them. Continue to lightly toss until well combined. Leftovers may be covered and chilled up to 3 days.

Notes

If making this dish in advance, we suggest keeping pasta and sauce in separate containers until ready to toss and serve. Note that the basil pesto may dull somewhat in color after 24 hours, but flavor remains the same.

For gluten-free version, use your favorite gluten-free rotini style pasta.

If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating ♡

Category: side, salad
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian American

Keywords: caprese, caprese salad, pesto, caprese salad with pesto, tomato caprese