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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!}
We made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I left out the prosciutto and used the burrata cheese. We also drizzled balsamic reduction on top. Wow was it great. Thank you Half Baked Harvest!
Hey Denise,
Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am delighted to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
So incredible! My mouth watered when I saw this recipe this morning and then I brought my dream to reality when I made it. Will repeat for sure! Love the flavors and textures. I broiled the dish for the last 4 minutes to get a bit of a darkening and crisp at the top.
Hey Laura,
Awesome! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan
Always a go to, at least a couple times a month. Even turned on the oven during summer to make it ? great recipe, thank you for sharing so many yummi things. Love from Portugal.
Hey Lucia,
Wonderful! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
I received a bunch of fresh cherry tomatoes as a thank you from a farmer friend (farmers make great friends btw) and I immediately searched your site for something to make. This recipe did not disappoint! Super easy to through together and SO delicious. I will definitely serve this one again! Thank you Tieghan for another winner!
Hey Cynthia,
Happy Monday! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xxTieghan
Great & pretty simple complete meal! I used orange cherry tomatoes from my garden & whole wheat pasta & gave it a sprinkle of Parmesan along with the fresh basil. Yum
Hey Cheryl,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am delighted that it was enjoyed:) xTieghan
Can I make this the day before without it getting dry?
Trying to minimize work for a dinner party…
Thanks!
Hey Joey,
I make up until the baking point and keep covered in the fridge until you are ready to bake. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Just reporting back! This is amazing! It tastes like a summery mac and cheese! ? It goes great with pesto chicken btw, and I think next time I’ll also add bacon bits! I’m going to be making this all summer! Thank you!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Hey Kaley,
Fantastic! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed!! Have a great Tuesday. xxTieghan
Tieghan you continue to amaze me! Another phenomenal recipe, perfect for summer too. I love how simple and easy this recipe was, but absolutely amazing for the tastebuds.
I made my version with dried herbs and chickpea pasta but it still turned out absolutely delicious. Definitely becoming a go-to in my weekly meal rotation.
Hey Courtney,
I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xxTieghan
I’d like to make this ahead of time for a party . Can i just follow all of the directions and then just throw it in the oven when I’m ready to bake?
Hey Maureen,
You bet! That will work well for you. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Would love for you to share your virgin margarita recipe!! I have tried to master one while pregnant and couldn’t ever get it right… thanks! Can’t wait to try this pasta recipe 🙂
Thanks! I’ll add to my list Casey!
I made this tonight and it was seriously delicious, I did not want to stop eating it, lol! I had to tweak it a little based on what I had on hand. I didn’t have prosciutto or spinach so I omitted both. I used dry herbs instead of fresh, black truffle buratta instead of regular burrata, and a jar of Rao’s basil pesto instead of home-made. My pasta was more then al dente so I only baked in the over for 10 minutes. Quick and easy to make and absolutely delicious!! Thanks for this recipe!!
Hey Kimberly,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
This was amazing! My husband and son both loved it! I also added a couple of tablespoons of chopped sun dried tomatoes, but other than that I followed the directions exactly. I used burrata cheese and left out the prosciutto, and it was so so good. Thanks for this great recipe
I am so happy to hear that, Mandi! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! xTieghan
This was delicious! I added kalamata olives to the recipe and thought it was a great touch. Thanks for this!!
Thank you Emily! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
So I am not halving the tomatoes before roasting?
Hey Kim,
Correct, no need to halve the cherry tomatoes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This dish looks amazing, nudging from the comments it is fantastic!! Have you or anyone else tried to make it with spaghetti squash or zoodles? I am trying a low carb diet and have cut pasta. Thoughts?
Hi Terran! I have not tried it, but if you do please let me know how it turns out for you! xTieghan