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Caprese Caesar Pasta Salad. A combination of our yummiest, well-dressed Caesar salad mixed together with our favorite fresh Caprese salad, along with plenty of sweet cherry tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella. Add your favorite pasta and this will surely become a staple in your kitchen this spring and summer! It’s almost completely no-cook and comes together quickly and with very little effort. Enjoy this for dinner and save the leftovers for lunch. Or serve it up at your next spring/summer party, it’s always delicious.
It’s probably pretty obvious, with my sweet berry recipes and vibrant light dinners, but I am so excited for summer! With May well underway, we only have a few short weeks until it’s officially summer.
Mother’s Day is this weekend, then Memorial Day, Father’s Day, and before you know it, the 4th of July will be here! It’s officially time to start planning our summer menus and I’m kicking things off with this salad. I love it so much.
It’s basic, but elevated with that creamy Caesar dressing!!
My inspiration
When my dad would cook dinner for the family growing up, a pasta salad was always on rotation throughout spring and summer. I still have yet to share my dad’s pasta salad recipe, maybe later this summer I finally will!
He’d do it up so simply with broccoli, bell peppers, so much fresh basil, and big chunks of cheddar cheese. He’d then toss in the hot pasta and dress it with lots of olive oil.
My dad’s secret was tossing everything together while the pasta was HOT. The cheese would melt over the pasta. It was so good. I still, to this day use his trick of tossing hot pasta with cubes of cheddar. It’s a simple trick, but so delicious.
The details
Like most delicious salads, this recipe starts with the dressing. Typically when you have any kind of Caprese salad, it’s dressed with oil and vinegar, most often a balsamic vinaigrette.
It’s always good, but for this pasta salad, I wanted something creamier. I thought about all my favorite salad dressings and kept coming back to the idea of a Caprese Caesar. It sounded so wonderful in my head, so that’s what I did.
The Caesar dressing is easy, just mix mayo with olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, parmesan, salt, and pepper. I added in a few chili flakes too. Can’t leave those out!!
Now for the salad. You’ll need pasta, fresh mozzarella, sweet cherry tomatoes, lettuce, and then an avocado too.
Mix the pasta with the salad ingredients, then pour over the creamy Caesar dressing, and toss it all up! It’s a simple 1, 2-step salad!
Don’t let the simplicity fool you. This hits all the flavors and it’s the first dish to disappear on any dinner table!
Looking for other salad recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Pasta Salad
Pesto Chicken Caesar Salad with Tomatoes and Burrata
Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken and Avocado Bacon Salad
Lastly, if you make this Caprese Caesar Pasta Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Caprese Caesar Pasta Salad
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 592 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 pinch chili flakes, to taste (optional)
Salad
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
- 2 cups mozzarella balls, use marinated if you can find
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1/2 cup cubed spicy cheddar cheese (optional)
- 1 avocado, diced
Instructions
- 1. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta to al dente, according to package directions. Drain. 3. In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, lettuce, mozzarella, tomatoes, cheddar, and avocado. Pour over the dressing and toss well to combine. Serve warm or cold. The salad will develop more flavor as it sits.
Hi, thank you for all your delicious recipes! Can I make the dressing in advance, thinking 2 days? Thank you!
Hey Monica! Yeah, you definitely can! Just make sure you give it a good stir before serving! xT
This recipe was very good as it is if you are going to serve it soon after making it. It makes a lot so the portion I didn’t eat was refrigerated for the next day. I didn’t think the Romaine held up very well. With that in mind ( even though it isn’t a true Caesar ) I would choose to use kale. I also might make extra dressing or hold some out to add more after refrigeration.
Hey Susan! Thanks for the feedback! You could totally serve the romaine on the side to add in with each serving so it doesn’t get wilted! xT
TIEGHAN!!!! This salad is the bomb! I accidentally combined two of your recipes and bought smoked cheddar instead of spicy cheddar BUT I’m NOT disappointed…its fabulous in it. I also added charred corn also inspired by that other corn salad of yours and was able to use my garden cherry tomatoes and basil but eliminated the lettuce because I ran out of room in the bowl I was using. For those making this recipe ahead, I suggest serving it as a pasta salad on a bed of greens…the greens make it so pretty but won’t wilt. The grated garlic…SOO good in the dressing. I tried it warm to taste test when I was assembling and it was delish but like it equally cold. Another 5 star recipe!!! Thank you for working so hard to bringing us great recipes with fresh and good ingredients.
Wow thank you so so much Kara! So glad you’re loving this recipe! xT
The best pasta salad!!! Love all your recipes!
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! I hope you loved it! xT
Could you use cheese tortellini also?
That would be super yummy! xT
We made this pasta salad for a family pool party. We used in-season heirloom cherry tomatoes – the color variety was a nice touch. The dressing was delicious and easy to make, but we found that it wasn’t enough to coat all components of the pasta salad evenly. Some bites were perfect; others, however, were not as flavorful as we would have liked. If we were to make this again, we would consider doubling the dressing (or something close to that). Do you think that doubling the dressing would be too much? Thanks.
Thank you for letting me know about the dressing! I think that doubling the dressing would be great if you felt like it was lacking! xT
Sooo good. Kids found cheddar cheese strong so will leave out next time. They had seconds gladly. Used 2 chicken breasts and about 4 cups pasta with 1 romaine lettuce. Easily fed 7 of us.
My daughter introduced me to your recipes and everything I’ve had has been delicious and very flavorful.
Hey! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! I appreciate the feedback! xT
This is a new favorite1
Hi Laurie,
Happy Sunday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, thanks so much for making it:)
I actually only used half of the recipe to make a Cesar dressing however I thought it was delicious! I ended up subbing half the Mayo for Greek yogurt the second time I made it and you couldn’t even tell the difference. I’m sure it would be delicious with the pasta salad and I enjoyed it as a dressing on my normal salad as well.
Hey Shelby,
Happy Friday!!🍉🥭 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it and sharing your comment! xT
Hi! Do you recommend adding the cheddar cubes just with the other ingredients or to the pasta while warm so it melts on the pasta before adding the rest of the ingredients?
Hi Kelli,
You can add the cheddar cubes in step 3 as listed:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
I need this salad for tomorrow. Would it be better to make it tomorrow morning or could I make it tonight and put it in fridge for tomorrow
Hi Janeen,
Either is just fine for this recipe:) Let me know how it turns out, I hope you love it! xT
What is the serving size? We are getting groceries to make this for a party and can’t find that. Thanks!
Hi Jeanne,
This recipe serves 6. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love the dish! xT
This is an awesome and will be a summer staple in our house. So easy to make. The creamy dressing is divine – make more and use it for everything- drizzled on roasted veggies, spread on a toasted bun for a crispy fried chicken sandwich, or just even a dip. It’s perfect. The pasta salad is versatile and you can omit or add things depending on your tastes, but don’t alter the dressing!!! It makes a lot, so it’s great to bring to pot lucks, BBQs, etc. and it’s delicious warm, cold or room temperature.
Hi Cindi,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! Have a great holiday weekend! 🇺🇸🎆 xT
Love this recipe – perfect for a BBQ side dish. How long can you let it sit for? Would love to make ahead. Thank you!
Hi Kate,
Thanks so much!! I would say it’s good for a few hours at room temp:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Delicious flavor! I prefer my pasta salad a little saucier, so I made extra dressing (probably 1.5 the recipe altogether).
Hi Courtney,
Wonderful!! I’m so glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, I appreciate you making it and your comment! xx