Caprese pasta is truly one of the simplest pastas you can make. Sweet cherry tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil are tossed with al dente linguine and finished with fresh mozzarella, hand-torn basil leaves and a healthy drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. We especially love to serve this dish in the summer but it is so good we eat it all year round!
Full instructional video
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The perfect summer dish!
We are huge fans of cherry tomatoes in our family and use them for so many dishes, like chicken with tomatoes and capers, or tomato mozzarella salad.
And since we love a Caprese salad every now and again, we thought a hot caprese pasta would probably be pretty good though you can definitely serve this one cold or at room temperature.
We love the combination of the fresh basil with the warm, slightly wilted cherry tomatoes, and then the fresh mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil just take this over the top.
Caprese pasta is great for an easy summer weeknight pasta alongside some grilled chicken thighs or a green salad.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Olive oil. We’ll often use regular olive when cooking but since we’re only quickly cooking the tomatoes and using very few ingredients we recommend using this extra virgin olive oil. We also recommend using your best extra virgin olive oil for a final drizzle after plating.
- Mozzarella. We recommend using fresh mozzarella for this Caprese-style pasta. If you can’t find the smaller ciliegine or pearls, opt for a large ball of fresh mozzarella and cut it into squares. This recipe allows the fresh mozzarella to melt slightly but if you’d like it to be more melted, add it to the pan at the same time as the pasta.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Slice 24 ounces of cherry or grape tomatoes in half and slice 5 cloves of garlic. Bring a large pot of salted water (2 tablespoons of kosher salt per gallon of water) to boil and cook pasta for 1 minute less than al dente.
- Heat a large pan to medium-low and saute the garlic in 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil until golden (about 2 minutes). Once golden add the hot red pepper flakes and cook for 20 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes while waiting for the pasta to cook.
- Add 1 cup of pasta water.
- Add the pasta and toss to emulsify and continue to cook the pasta for 1 more minute (until al dente).
- Remove the pan from the heat and add 12 ounces of fresh mozzarella balls. Give the pasta another toss; the residual heat will slightly melt the mozzarella balls.
- Season with salt to taste and add 10 or so basil leaves by hand tearing them into pieces. Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of your best extra virgin olive oil. If the pasta is at all dry add a touch more reserved pasta water to loosen it up.
- Adding burrata to individual servings of pasta will amp up the creamy factor in this dish. If you’re able to get your hands on some, you could use less or no fresh mozzarella. But why not both though!? Enjoy!
Top tips
- The pasta water. Since there isn’t much sauce in pasta Caprese, we urge you to reserve your pasta water. Saving pasta water is always a good rule of thumb because you never know when you might need it.
- Extras. As pictured above, another serving option is to top each individual plate with a ball of burrata. Burrata will add to the decadence of the dish. Another option is to add a drizzle of balsamic glaze to the Caprese pasta at the very end.
More great summer recipes
If you love this Caprese-style pasta, we think you’ll love these other recipes!
- Roasted cherry tomato pasta
- Fettuccine with cherry tomato butter sauce
- Chicken Milanese with tomato, mozzarella, and basil
- Easy marinara sauce
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Easy Caprese Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454g) thin linguine or any pasta you like
- 1/2 cup (120ml) extra virgin olive oil divided
- 5 cloves garlic sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
- 24 ounces (680g) cherry or grape tomatoes halved, (this is equal to 2 American dry pints)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups (480ml) reserved pasta water will most likely not need it all
- 3/4 pound (340g) mozzarella balls or a large ball cut into bite sized pieces
- 10 basil leaves
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Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta until 1 minute less than al dente.
- Heat a large pan to medium-low and saute the garlic in a ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil until golden (about 2 minutes). Once golden add the hot red pepper flakes and cook for 20 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes while waiting for the pasta.
- Add the pasta and 1 cup of pasta water. Toss to emulsify.
- Once the pasta is al dente remove the pan from the heat and add the mozzarella balls and toss once more. The residual heat will slightly melt the cheese.
- Season with salt to taste and add the basil leaves by hand tearing them into pieces. Drizzle with the remaining extra virgin olive oil. If the pasta is at all dry just add a bit more of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up. Enjoy!
Notes
- Servings. Makes 4 large or 6 moderate-size servings.
- Cheese. If you want the cheese completely melted just add it to the pan at the same time as the pasta instead of adding it when the pan is removed from the heat.
- Pasta water. Always reserve extra pasta water to thin the sauce in the event it dries out.
- Leftovers. Caprese Pasta can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be eaten cold or reheated.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This was Delish!
So glad you enjoyed!
I’m a new follower of yours. “Accidentally” saw another video of your cooking & started looking through your recipes. Saw this & thought I should give it a try. Glad I did! My family loved it!!! So easy to make & it just gives that fresh taste. So delicious! Thank you!!! This is a keeper & I will definitely try more of your recipes.
We’re so glad you found us and happy you enjoyed the recipe, Jesse!
I’ve been making this dish with raw tomatoes and garlic for years. Sautéing them first really amped up the flavor. My only alteration was offering fresh grated parm at the table. It was a big hit!
Wonderful! ❤️
Really great and simple.
So happy you enjoyed, Ken!
Delicious! I added white wine before adding the pasta. To finish the dish, I drizzled balsamic vinegar.
This is a new favorite dish! I like to squeeze a little fresh lemon into the pan, which really brightens the flavors. I’ve been making this almost every day for lunch since finding this recipe!
Hi there, I’m so happy you found the recipe and are enjoying it! Thanks for the comment!
Can I serve this dish as a room temperature pasta salad where I would use a penne or gemelli pasta??
Hi there, yes, you can definitely serve at room temp.
I absolutely love this recipe. I packed it for a picnic and it was a real hit. I used a normal block of pollyo instead of fresh mozzarella and I flavored the pasta with a little help from pecorino romano. I was wondering if it’s a bad idea to pack this for a picnic because of the mozzarella and/or pecorino? It tasted very fresh and amazing but I wonder what your experience is with this kind of stuff? How well does mozzarella and pecorino hold at room temp when part of a recipe like this? Or as part of one of your pasta salads? Any tips on this would be greatly appreciated thanks and keep up the amazing work!
Hi there, I think it’s ok to pack for a picnic and sit for a few hours, but I wouldn’t keep it in direct sun for a long period of time. I’d recommend keeping it in a cooler bag until you’re ready to serve.