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Caprese Pesto Pasta Bake, a fresh and easy spring dinner the entire family will enjoy. Pasta tossed with slowly roasted cherry tomatoes, basil pesto, burrata cheese, and prosciutto. All baked until the cheese is melty and the prosciutto extra crisp. The perfect spring pasta bake that’s melt in your mouth good. Sure to be a dinner you’ll make on repeat!
This post is sponsored by Pyrex.
I am slightly getting ahead of the season with this caprese pesto pasta, but the springtime tomatoes have arrived, and I was just way too excited! I decided to bake this pasta up for a recent (and very much needed) girl’s night with my mom and little sister.
Lately I have been non-stop cooking. So I really wanted to create something simple, but of course delicious. Something I knew that all of us girls would absolutely love. The very first thing to come to mind was a pasta bake. Growing up my dad’s Friday Night Pasta Bake was my very favorite dinner. Such a delicious family dinner at the end of a long school week. To this day it is still one of my favorites.
If it would have just been me, I probably would have baked that up. Instead, I decided to get creative with the ingredients I had on hand. I chose ingredients I knew all of us would love. Enter in pasta, fresh tomatoes, plenty of basil, and burrata cheese.
Basically, all the Gerard girl’s favorites. Anyone else feel the same?
Asher, my little sister is a relatively good eater, and loves tomatoes, spinach, and basil. Since she wiggled her way into our girl’s night, I knew I’d include these in our pasta. I love that Asher will eat color. Sure she loves the typical kid’s foods, like pasta with butter, and good ole’ ramen, but she’s also big on things like carrots, tomatoes, and spinach.
I like to make her try something new every time she comes to hang out at the studio with me…I just need to bribe her with a little chocolate first.
Once I decided on a pasta bake for our dinner of choice, I knew right away that my new Pyrex Deep baking dish would be perfect to show off the beautiful layers and colors of this pasta. The new Pyrex Deep baking dishes are the deepest glass baking dish out there. They hold up to 50% more than any current glass bakeware. Obviously, they’re perfect for things like pasta bakes and lasagna, but I can’t wait to make my favorite layered desserts in these baking dishes too! You can find Pyrex Deep baking dishes at Walmart and Pyrex.
My favorite part about these deeper baking dishes though? None of my fillings bubble out over the sides of the dish during baking. Something I always have an issue with. Since I’m often feeding a crowd over here, I tend to really pack ingredients into whatever I am baking. Especially when it comes to things like mac and cheese, lasagna and roasts. No bubbling over, means zero mess in the oven.
Yes, please.
This pasta dish comes together pretty quickly. And I love that it uses fresh cherry tomatoes, which finally started popping up in the store a couple of weeks ago. So excited about these early spring tomatoes.
The first step is to roast the tomatoes. Since these are early spring tomatoes they’re not as sweet as a summer tomatoes. Therefore I love bringing out their sweetness by pan roasting them with olive oil, garlic, and herbs. This is one of my favorite ways to prepare tomatoes – so good.
While the tomatoes are roasting, boil you favorite short cut pasta. Toss the pasta with basil pesto, spinach, and some mozzarella or burrata cheese. Next, add in the cherry tomatoes, spoon everything into that Pyrex Deep baking dish, and add a bit more cheese. Then top with prosciutto (which you can easily leave off if you’d like to keep this vegetarian) and bake! Twenty minutes later the cheese will be melted, the prosciutto crisp, your kitchen will smell like herby goodness, and dinner will be done!
This was so fun to make, as I had Asher in the kitchen with me the entire time. She came over a little early, to help me throw this together and to set up for our movie. Plus, she really just wanted to snag some Malley’s Chocolate and begged me to make her a virgin margarita, her favorite…
This was the perfect pasta for our girl’s night. It’s a pasta dish that EVERYONE can and will love. And it’s so pretty too!
Now, the serious question, what is your girl’s night cocktail and movie of choice? Mom and I made these strawberry palomas We all watched Beauty and the Beast (because neither Asher nor I had ever seen it!).
Please, please, please let me know. We need new ideas for our next pasta and movie night!
If you make this caprese pesto pasta, 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 also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Caprese Pesto Pasta Bake
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 526 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1/3 cup fresh chopped herbs, such as thyme or oregano (I like a mix of both)
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 3/4 cup basil pesto, homemade or store-bought
- 2-3 cup fresh baby spinach
- 8 ounces shredded or torn mozzarella or burrata cheese
- 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto (optional)
- fresh basil, for serving
Instructions
- 1. 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch Pyrex Deep baking dish with cooking spray. 2. Cover the bottom of your Pyrex dish with olive oil. In the pan, toss together the cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, herbs, crushed red pepper flakes, and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes or until the tomatoes collapse. 3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and add the pasta back to the pot. Immediately toss with the pesto, spinach, and half of the cheese. Add the tomatoes and all the juices from the tomatoes and gently toss to combine. Season with freshly ground black pepper and salt. Transfer the pasta back into the Pyrex dish used to roast the tomatoes. 4. Evenly sprinkle the remaining cheese over top the pasta, arrange the prosciutto, if using, over the cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the prosciutto is crisp. Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh basil. Enjoy!
{This post is sponsored by Pyrex. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}
Wow, this is so unique! Sounds incredible, can’t wskd to try. Pinned!
Thank you so much Jess! xTieghan
This looks so amazing! I don’t have a Pyrex Deep baking dish, and my birthday isn’t until June! Any suggestions on how to make do in the meantime?
HI there! YOu can use any baking dish you have that is similar to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Has anyone tried freezing this before baking? I’d like to make it for someone and give them the option to freeze, but I’m unsure if you’d bake it for the same time after thawing? Looks amazing!!
HI there! I have not tried this, but I am sure that would be just fine. I would thaw overnight in the fridge and then bake as directed. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This looks good. Any ideas on a veggie option to sub for proscuitto if we Want to add some crispiness?
HI! I recommend tossing 2 slices of torn ciabatta bread with olive oil and salt. They will bake atop the pasta and become crisp and delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This is my first HBH dish, and it turned out great! So tasty! We planned to grill skirt steak this evening, and I decided to whip this up because of a vegetarian joining our dinner. The dish was a hit with everyone!
Wow I am so glad this turned out amazing for your first recipe of mine! Thank you! xTieghan
Thoughts on this being a pasta salad instead and just not baking it at the end?
Hey Jessica! That is a great idea! Just toss the post up with tiny mozzarella balls or burrata and serve as a pasta salad. that will be so good! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Made this last night – very fast to assemble and delicious! Everyone went back for seconds – true sign of a recipe that will be used more than once in this household. I did add more spinach as it reduces so much (6-8 cups) and I used about 8 cups tomatoes because the more tomato sauce the better! Thanks for another brilliant HBH recipe!!!
I am so glad you tried this and loved it! Thank you Susan! xTieghan
It’s like Dad’s Friday Night Pasta part 2. Love it. And I did not know about these deep dishes! I have 3 kids, 2 of which are teenage boys. I neeeed that extra space!
YES! I am so glad you liked this recipe, Amber! Thank you! xTieghan
great dish! well worth taking the carb hit for this one! thank you
Thank you Sabrina! xTieghan
I love everything caprese! This pasta bake looks perfect!
Thank you Laura! xTieghan
OMG thank you for using ROTINI! I always forget that it exists and it’s so fun and holds sauce so well! Can’t wait to try this.
Thank you Jo! xTieghan
Light and fresh … that’s for sure the name of the game for the Spring Season. And boy am I ready for it! The colors in this pasta salad make me long for warmer weather which hopefully is just around the corner! BTW … love the recipe for strawberry palomas. A perfect cocktail for a girls get-together. Thanks for sharing. .
Thank you Linger! xTieghan
Asher and I are kindred souls, as I love spinach, tomatoes, and carrots! I have everything on hand, so I will make this dish
tonight! And the Pyrex Deep baking dishes are long, long overdue. I’ve never been able to bake anything of a decent quantity to fit into a regular baking dish, so i will definitely be purchasing at least one of the new baking dishes! Happiness all around!
One in the same! I hope you absolutely love this recipe, Elizabeth! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Caprese anything is a good idea for me – and a pasta bake!? Um, YUM! I cannot wait to try!!
Thank you Alexandra! Hope you love the pasta bake!
what a great lunch idea!!
YES! I hope you try this Ruth! xTieghan