Caprese Pasta Salad with Balsamic Glaze
This Caprese pasta salad is fresh, easy, and made for summer! It’s loaded with those Italian-inspired summer flavors — cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil, and tossed in a light dressing with a balsamic glaze drizzle on top. It’s perfect for lunch, cookouts, and it’s a great dish to make-ahead!
If you love these “Caprese” flavors, don’t miss this Caprese salad with arugula! And for another light, Italian-inspired pasta salad, try this lemon capellini pasta salad.
Recipe Ingredients: Caprese Pasta Salad
For the dressing:
For the salad:
Ingredient Notes, Substitutions & Additions
Pasta: I think bow ties are pretty and festive but rotini, orecchiette (the little “ears”), penne, and even orzo are also great.
Fresh mozzarella: Using the mini mozzarella balls (ciliegine) is easy, but you can also cut fresh mozzarella into small pieces, too.
White balsamic vinegar: The only reason I love using white balsamic for this salad is because it’s transparent and doesn’t coat the white mozzarella with a dark brown color. You can absolutely use regular balsamic, too.
Balsamic glaze: This glaze is just a simple reduction of balsamic vinegar and a little sugar or sweetener. It’s excellent on grilled meats, veggies, and salads, of course! You can find it at most grocery stores right near the vinegar.
Additions: A few handfuls of fresh baby arugula is delicious stirred into this pasta salad! You can also add white beans, chickpeas or some grilled chicken for some protein and make this Caprese pasta salad a meal!
Expert Tips
- Serving: This pasta salad in best served at room temperature, in my humble opinion! Pull it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you’re ready to serve.
- Make ahead: This pasta salad can be made 1-2 days ahead of time but wait to add the fresh basil and balsamic glaze right before you’re ready to to serve. Reserve a bit of the dressing to add right before serving, too.
- Dressing: This recipe makes a bit more dressing than the salad needs if you are serving it right away. That’s by design 🙂 I always like to have more dressing on hand in case there are leftovers or you are making this ahead of time. The extra dressing brings the salad back to life!
- Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The basil will wilt a bit, so you can add a bit more to maintain the freshness!
How to serve
Grilled meats: This salad screams backyard BBQ! It works perfectly in warmer weather, too because there’s no mayo 🙂 Serve it alongside, grilled chicken, fish, or steak.
Main course: Turn this pasta salad into a main course by stirring in some protein like chicken, chickpeas, or even some white Cannellini beans.
Light lunch: We love serving this salad with some fresh crusty bread or garlic bread for an easy, light lunch.
Antipasto spread: Hosting a dinner party or cocktail hour? Serve this cold pasta salad as part of an Italian-inspired spread with marinated olives, prosciutto, salami, roasted red peppers, and artichoke hearts.
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Thank you! ~ Casey
Caprese Pasta Salad with Balsamic Glaze
Ingredients
For the pasta salad
- 16 oz. bow tie pasta or your favorite pasta shape
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved about 2 cups
- 8 oz. mini mozzarella balls, halved about 1 1/2 to 2 cups
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shaved
- Balsamic glaze, for drizzling
For the dressing (see Note 1)
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 2/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2-1 tsp. coarse salt (sea salt, kosher salt)
Instructions
- Cook pasta: Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and cool completely.
- Make the dressing: Whisk together all dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Assemble the salad: To a large bowl, add the cooked pasta, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Add the dressing and toss (See Note 1). Top with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with balsamic glaze.
Bring this salad to a summertime BBQ or get together! It’s such a crowd-pleaser. I hope you love it! XO ~ Casey