Caprese pesto pasta salad is a simple and delicious pasta salad recipe made with caprese favorites like tomatoes and bocconcini tossed in a quick and easy basil pesto sauce.
Serve this easy make ahead potluck salad during your next cook out or event and it will be gone super quickly!
We love pasta salad around here. It’s a simple and delicious side that can be made in advance to take all the stress out of having food ready when entertaining.
You can use any store bought pesto in this recipe. We love using garlic scape pesto if we have it handy, but anything jarred will work.
Feel free to change up the pasta in this recipe too. We love using macaroni noodles, penne, and shells in place of farfalle. Just adjust the cooking time accordingly.
How To Make Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad
- Cook: cook the pasta according to box directions until al dente. We like to undercook it by 1 minute so it doesn’t become too soft from the dressing.
- Chop: chop the tomatoes and bocconcini in half. Use a mandoline to finely slice the red onions. If you’d like to remove the bite from the red onions, soak them in cold water for about 15 minutes.
- Mix: mix the pesto, mayonnaise, and red wine vinegar together.
- Toss: toss everything together. Allow the pasta salad to sit for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to combine.
How To Store Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad
This salad keeps very well overnight, we love making it the day before entertaining. If you notice that it’s a little dry the next day, add another 1/4 cup of mayonnaise to the pasta salad before serving.
Caprese pasta salad will last in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freezing caprese pesto pasta salad is not advised as the texture of tomatoes and pasta will change when frozen and thawed.
More Delicious Summer Salad Recipes
- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Ramen Noodle Salad
- Watermelon Feta Salad with Mint
- Cucumber Vinegar Salad
- Greek Orzo Pasta Salad
Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces farfalle pasta dry
- 2 cups bocconcini bocconcini
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
For the dressing:
- 1 cup pesto
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions in a pot of boiling salted water. Drain, and rinse under cold water.
- Meanwhile, halve tomatoes and bocconccini. Thinly slice red onion using a sharp knife or madonline. Add to cooled pasta.
- Combine pesto, mayonnaise, and red wine vinegar. Pour over pasta salad and toss to combine. Allow pasta salad to sit for 30 minutes before serving.
