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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.

Caprese Caesar Pasta Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

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!!

Caprese Caesar Pasta Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Caprese Caesar Pasta Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Caprese Caesar Pasta Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Caprese Caesar Pasta Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

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!

Caprese Caesar Pasta Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

Don’t let the simplicity fool you. This hits all the flavors and it’s the first dish to disappear on any dinner table!

Caprese Caesar Pasta Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

Looking for other salad recipes? Here are a few ideas:

Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Pasta Salad

Greek Olive Pasta Salad

Caprese Chicken Pasta Salad

Pesto Chicken Caesar Salad with Tomatoes and Burrata

Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken and Avocado Bacon Salad

Melon Basil Burrata 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

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
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

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.
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Caprese Caesar Pasta Salad | halfbakedharvest.com
4.92 from 81 votes (46 ratings without comment)

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Comments

    1. Hey Michelle,
      Thank you so much for making this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it was enjoyed! Happy Memorial Day! xT

  1. 5 stars
    Very tasty. I added chickpeas for protein and substituted marinated bocconcini for the mozzarella balls, both went nicely!

    1. Hey Nixie,
      Happy Friday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and your feedback, so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xT

  2. 5 stars
    Hi Brilliant Tiegan.
    This pasta salad is truly the bomb!!! In a great way! Soooo good.
    My two cents is to add slices of 4 hard boiled eggs. A bit of protein and so delicious! Thanks for your creative energy. You make mealtime so much better. 🥂 xx

    1. Thank you so much, Prish:) Love the idea of adding hard boiled eggs! I appreciate you making this recipe! xT

    1. Hey Kali,
      Happy Monday! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Xx

  3. Hi 🙂 This looks great to try –but am wondering if I could sub out the mayo for another ingredient, (yoghurt maybe?) or is the mayo essential?

    1. Hey Sarah,
      Sure, you could use yogurt in place of the mayo! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT

  4. 5 stars
    This looks fabulous! If I needed to prepare the day before, would I just add avocado right before serving so it’s not browned?

    1. Hey Julie,
      You bet, that will work nicely for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT

  5. 5 stars
    this was a delicious lunch! I doubt my husband will ever settle for store bought caesar dressing again – the dressing was THAT good!!

    1. Hey Katie,
      Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it turned out well for you! Xx