Caprese Pasta Salad

The real caprese salad is my all time favourite salad, so this idea seemed good too. The combination of fresh basil pesto and the mozzarella cheese really works! Couple of minor things: saved a few basil leaves and slivered them over top of the salad, and added a bit of sweet aged balsamic vinegar, because I usually add that to the tomato version of this salad. Also, fresh mozzarella cheese doesn't shred, so I chopped it into thin slices. Thanks!

This is delicious! You can't go wrong with basil, tomato and cheese. One thing I didn't think to do that I should have done - rinse the pasta with COLD water before combining it with the pesto, cheese and tomatoes. I simply drained it and it ended up melting my cheese. It's still good, but would be better with un-melted cheese.

This was awesome! I did make a few changes that didn't really affect the taste. I used tri-color rotini, I didn't use the optional pine nuts so I just chopped the fresh basil instead of creating a pesto. I used halved grape tomato's since they are a bit sweeter. This makes an amazing summer side dish!

I've made these a few times and it always turns out so yummy! I haven't made it without the pine nuts because I think it makes it more authentic. If pine nuts aren't available or really expensive, I've seen walnuts, pecans or almonds used, but haven't tried it myself. I would wait to add the mozzarella until the pasta is cooler (room temp, or if it's been in the fridge for a while), or just before serving. If added warm, they start to melt. If you add it while the pasta is cold and let it sit in the fridge, it and the pasta tends to absorb the flavor of the pesto. I use fresh fusilli from the farmers market. I also add a few dashes of balsamic vinegar for a little tang and cut through that super fresh herby taste.

It was wonderful. I doubled the fresh mozzarella cheese and added feta because I had some. I took it to a pot luck and it was gone in no time. Thanks, this is a keeper

This is good, but a lot more pasta than I would use, so I'd probably use half the amount next time. I found myself adding more mozzarella and tomato because the pasta overwhelmed everything else. The pesto is very good and did cover the amount of pasta called for. I made this to take to a bbq and made it the night before; before I left, I added a bunch of sliced basil leaves to the salad. It added more color and helped the flavor, so if you love basil don't be afraid to add more! :o) This was a lovely pasta salad that is easy and relatively quick to make. It was a hit at the bbq. I had leftovers, but it made a ton, so keep that in mind. Thanks for the recipe!

This was so disappointing!

Tasted exactly like Caprese Salad. Thanks for sharing this. I did not use pine nuts and it came out perfect. I will be making this again and again this summer.

The pesto sauce gave good flavor but the salad was very dry and uninteresting . Had lots of leftovers--added some oil and vinegar salad dressing and grilled chicken and tossed. Great improvement. Probably won't make again though.

We really enjoyed this recipe. It's a great way to make a Caprese salad become more hearty. I used walnuts and it was still delicious. Make sure to use smaller garlic cloves. I used a large clove when I cut the recipe in half and it really overpowered the other flavors.

Delish! Easy and great use of fresh ingredients.

Very good! I doubled the pesto sauce, and I didn't have any garlic, and it did seem like something was missing. I added a little extra mozzerella cheese, too. (I love cheese:))

Not bad but not special. I could do without the pasta.

Very good - received numerous compliments. I also added pine nuts to the pasta salad because I like them.

Excellent! This was great tasting. Followed the recipe exactly. I really like tomatoes so I'll probably add some more next time but that's all. Perfect to pack for lunch and great with cheesy ciabatta bread :)

Very good. Reminds me of Caprese salad that I had while in Italy. I used fresh mozz balls and bow tie pasta.

good

This salad is delicious and bursts with flavor. I was fortunate enough to have fresh tomatoes to use. My husband and I love it!

love it made it for a surprise!

I warmed it up slightly - cubed the mozzarella - yes I will make it again but will use less pasta and add more tomatoes.

I added Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing just to give a little extra kick. Yummy!

I made this with Italian dressing and added a peeled diced cucumber for a little crunch. This is my go to, quick fix meal. Everyone loves it!

Normally I doctor up recipes; I’m 75 and been cooking since I was 10..so I tweak ingredients or make substitutions as I see fit. I decided to follow this recipe since it had classier ingredients and pesto I made it; I tasted it and now I’m having trouble keeping my hands off of it til dinner time! It’s a perfect 10, my lovely creator...a perfect 10!!

I'm still a new cook so my noodles were a little under done, but the smell of fresh pesto filled the house! I split the original and made a "suggestion" batch. I followed some of the prior suggestions and added olives and balsamic vinegar. I loved both! The Original is a little prettier though if you want to impress someone. Then take home the left overs and spice it up!

My husband really loved this. I just chopped up the fresh basil and stirred it into the parmesan cheese mixture rather than using my food processor.

almonds for pine nuts

This salad is delicious and bursts with flavor. I was fortunate enough to have fresh tomatoes to use. My husband and I love it!

This was super easy and so good!! Was my first time making pesto. I used walnuts instead of pine nuts.