Caprese Pasta Salad

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 30

Serves 6

This Caprese pasta salad recipe is easy, fresh, and delicious! A perfect summer side dish, it's filled with juicy cherry tomatoes, basil, creamy mozzarella, and a light balsamic vinaigrette. Find make-ahead tips in the blog post above!

Ingredients

8 ounces cavatappi pasta
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese or pecorino cheese, plus ¼ cup shaved
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup mini mozzarella balls, halved
½ cup thinly sliced red onion
Heaping 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn, plus more for garnish

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions, cooking until slightly past al dente. Drain, toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking, and spread on a large plate or baking sheet to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, grated Parmesan, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Add the cooled pasta and toss to coat, then add the cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, red onion, and basil and toss again. Add the shaved Parmesan and gently toss.
Season to taste, garnish with more basil, and serve.

Find it online at https://fit-discovery.info/caprese-pasta-salad/%3C/em%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-84813":{"type":"food","name":"Caprese Pasta Salad","slug":"wprm-caprese-pasta-salad","image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.loveandlemons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/caprese-pasta-salad.jpg","rating":{"count":9,"total":45,"average":5,"type":{"comment":5,"no_comment":0,"user":4},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"8","unit":"ounces","name":"cavatappi pasta","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4673,"id":6311,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"8","unit":"ounces","unitParsed":"ounces"}}},{"uid":1,"amount":"\u2153","unit":"cup","name":"extra-virgin olive oil","notes":"plus more for drizzling","link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.target.com\/p\/graza-sizzle-extra-virgin-olive-oil-for-cooking-750ml\/-\/A-88686389?aflt=cse","nofollow":"nofollow"},"unit_id":4675,"id":1037,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u2153","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"2","unit":"tablespoons","name":"fresh lemon juice","notes":"","link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.target.com\/p\/lemon-each\/-\/A-15013629?aflt=cse","nofollow":"follow"},"unit_id":4677,"id":1190,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","name":"balsamic vinegar","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4692,"id":1175,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","unitParsed":"tablespoon"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","name":"grated Parmesan cheese or pecorino cheese","notes":"plus \u00bc cup shaved","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4675,"id":6887,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":5,"amount":"2","unit":"","name":"garlic cloves","notes":"grated","link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/365-Everyday-Value-Organic-Garlic\/dp\/B07NR3LF35?&linkCode=ll1&tag=loveandlemobl-at-rc-ingli-20&linkId=f3310820ef59a21009aafde5d188109c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl","nofollow":"nofollow"},"id":1039,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","name":"sea salt","notes":"","link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/365-Everyday-Value-Salt-Fine\/dp\/B074J7X1DW?&linkCode=sl1&tag=loveandlemobl-at-rc-ingli-20&linkId=8f6a13f00ff77c4b50139a7ddcd95527&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl","nofollow":"nofollow"},"unit_id":4678,"id":1055,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"Freshly ground black pepper","notes":"","link":{"url":"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Frontier-Pepper-Medium-1-8-Ounce-Bottle\/dp\/B0001M113C?&linkCode=sl1&tag=loveandlemobl-at-rc-ingli-20&linkId=425920749191bb00c5b44bbe7fb5cb9f&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl","nofollow":"nofollow"},"id":1069,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"3","unit":"cups","name":"cherry tomatoes","notes":"halved","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4669,"id":1036,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":9,"amount":"1","unit":"cup","name":"mini mozzarella balls","notes":"halved","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4675,"id":2557,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":10,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"thinly sliced red onion","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4675,"id":1646,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":11,"amount":"Heaping 1","unit":"cup","name":"fresh basil leaves","notes":"torn, plus more for garnish","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4675,"id":1542,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"Heaping 1","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}}],"originalServings":"6","originalServingsParsed":6,"currentServings":"6","currentServingsParsed":6,"currentServingsFormatted":"6","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0}}}