This easy Caprese Pasta is made with roasted grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil pesto to create a simple weeknight meal that is loaded with bold flavors.
Tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil are a classic flavor combination and one of my favorites – especially now that tomatoes are in season. Combining basil pesto, roasted tomatoes, and mini balls of mozzarella with pasta is a way to turn Caprese Salad ingredients into a complete meal.
The active preparation time for this meal is just about 10 minutes. You just need to slice the tomatoes in half, season them, and let them roast. While to tomatoes are roasting, cook the pasta and heat the pesto. Then mix everything together. The total time from start to finish is less than 30 minutes.
You can use any variety of tomato for this recipe, but I really love the sweetness of grape tomatoes. Plus, once you slice them in half they are a perfect size and shape to be added to a pasta dish.
One of my favorite cooking hacks is to season tomatoes with pesto before roasting them. It gives them far more flavor than just adding olive oil, salt, and pepper. I like to roast the tomatoes until the point where they aren’t too juicy anymore, this gives them a richer flavor. Make sure you use parchment to line your baking sheet, this will prevent the pesto from burning and will help the tomatoes to roast evenly.
I used store-bought pesto. If you are in Chicago or New York City, Gotham Greens has a pesto that can be found in the produce section of the grocery store. I also love Rana’s pesto which is more widely available.
If you want to add a little crunch to this meal you can add some toasted pine nuts on top!
You can use any shape of pasta, I just happen to love farfalle. Just pick something that you can eat without needing to twirl. Shapes like penne, orecchiette, and rotelle all work well.
Save and share this recipe for Caprese Pasta on Pinterest:
How to make Caprese Pasta:
Easy Caprese Pasta
This easy recipe combines roasted tomatoes, basil pesto, and fresh mozzarella to create a pasta dish with bold flavors. It's a vegetarian meal that comes together in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of Grape Tomatoes, sliced in half
- about 1/2 cup of Basil Pesto
- half a pound of Farfalle, or similar
- 1 cup mini balls of Fresh Mozzarella
- 1 tablespoon grated or shaved Parmesan
Instructions
Heat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl, combine the roasted tomatoes and about 1/4 cup of pesto. You want the tomatoes to be generously coated.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and then add the pesto coated tomatoes on top. Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 10 minutes and let them continue cooking while you prepare the pasta.
Once the tomatoes have been roasting for 10 minutes, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until it is al dente, then drain and pour into a large bowl.
Heat the pesto and then pour over the pasta along with the roasted tomatoes and the mozzarella. Stir to combine.
Garnish with the Parmesan and serve immediately.