Whenever I go to an Italian restaurant I LOVE getting a caprese salad. The fresh mozzarella and basil are my favorite part. It’s the perfect appetizer.
If I were to make a meal out of it I don’t think it would be filling enough. That’s why I decided to turn it into a pasta salad.
My husband thought I was a little crazy mixing pasta and lettuce, but I’ve seen recipes like that on Pinterest so I didn’t think it was too weird.
It turned out delicious! Even my husband said it was really good. Plus it was easy to make.
I decided to use bow tie pasta. I cooked it according to the directions on the box.
While the pasta was cooking I started chopping up the veggies. I did 3 cups of lettuce, 1/2 of a red onion and 1/4 cup of fresh basil.
I bought fresh mozzarella balls (the small ones) and I cut 10 of them into four pieces each.
There are also cherry tomatoes, which I left whole, but you could also cut them in half.
I used 1/2 cup of balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing. That’s it! As far as putting it all together, I just mixed all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.
I think it’s a delicious summer salad!
Caprese Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry bow tie pasta
- 3 cups lettuce
- 10 (small) fresh mozzarella cheese balls
- 1/2 small red onion
- cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to the directions on the box, then drain.
- While the noodles cook, chop the lettuce, red onion, basil and fresh mozzarella.
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, including the balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
