This caprese pasta with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil is the perfect speedy dinner – only a handful of ingredients and ready in 15 minutes!
My family loves pasta dishes and I love quick and easy dinners. That’s why caprese pasta is a hit in my home.  Some other family pasta favorites are cheeseburger pasta and taco pasta.
Who is loving tomato season? I sure am! We plant a garden every year and the one thing I must absolutely have is at least half a dozen tomato plants. The older girls are old enough now to know not to pick the tomatoes until they’re ripe, and they run to the garden every day to check on their progress. Once the tomatoes are even somewhat ripe they beg to eat them every day until finally I agree. Not many tomatoes actually make it from the yard into the house to cook with, but oh well, that’s what the farmer’s market is for, right? I can’t complain too much because they’re enthusiastically eating produce, got to take advantage of that while it lasts! Whether you grow your own or buy them at the store, this recipe for caprese pasta is a simple way to enjoy tomatoes.
How Do You Make Caprese Pasta?
I use angel hair (also known as capellini) pasta for this caprese pasta – it’s like an ultra thin spaghetti and it cooks in about 5 minutes or less.
This pasta has all the ingredients of a classic caprese salad – fresh mozzarella, olive oil, basil and tomatoes, with a little garlic for extra zing. When you make this, be sure to let the noodles cool for a few minutes before you add the mozzarella. You want the mozzarella to soften but if it gets too hot it’ll completely melt and make your pasta clumpy and stringy.
So minimal ingredients. Fifteen minutes. And you won’t have to turn on your oven on a hot summer day. Sold? I sure am. I will be repeating this all summer long, both as a meatless main course and an easy side dish. Maybe I can even convince the girls to hand over some of our garden tomatoes this year!
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Pizza Stuffed Shells
- Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells
- Jalapeno Popper Mac And Cheese
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Slow Cooker Kitchen Cacciatore
Still hungry? Follow Dinner at the Zoo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for more great recipe ideas!
This post was originally published on April 23, 2015 and was updated with new photos on August 9, 2017.
Quick and Easy Caprese Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces angel hair pasta
- 8 ounces of fresh mozzarella cheese cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 6 ripe tomatoes I used roma, cored, seeded and chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
- kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or equal parts dried basil, parsley and oregano)
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain.
- Meanwhile, in a heavy large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and saute just until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked pasta. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the cheese and basil, and toss to coat. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve.
Sam says
Wow! This is an impressive dish with all these fresh tomatoes!
Bea says
Was just looking for something to use my fresh tomatoes on. This looks perfect!
Debbie says
Perfect for my abundance of fresh tomatoes !
LB says
I also drizzle some balsamic vinegar on my caprese
Sara says
Balsamic vinegar would be a great addition to this recipe!
Megan @ All That Glitters says
I have had this before and I can vouch for the fact that it is FANTASTIC! Your pictures are beautiful by the way:)
Brittany says
What a fresh salad! This would be perfect for a picnic lunch on the beach! PS I love our photos! Beautiful!
Lisa Riggs says
You always have amazing recipes! This was doesn’t disappoint, either! I love how easy it is 🙂
annabelt - geeks diet says
What a great idea! I love Caprese salad so this looks really good to me!
Kristen says
This seriously looks delish! I can’t believe spring is here! I can’t wait to make all the warm weather recipes!
Brandy M says
We eat tomatoes as if they are going out of style! What a great idea to put this together. Simple yet delicious and I need that in my crazy life!
Brooke Knipp says
This looks like a perfect summer meal! I grew up watching my dad and grandpa grow tomato plants with incredible attention to every variable and detail. It became an art for the…no surprise, I love tomatoes! And I’m happy to see my 3yo does too. Makes me proud 🙂 Thanks for the easy recipe!
Sam @ PancakeWarriors says
Oh basil is one of my favorite herbs, it’s so fragrant. I have 2-3 plants in the summer. This will be the perfect dish to make with them! Thanks for sharing!
Stephanie says
This looks so YUMMY, I love the colors, and your pictures are magnificent! 🙂
Claire says
Yum this looks SO delish! Can’t wait to try!
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
YUM! There was an italian restaurant next to my old apartment that made a pasta dish sort of like this and I LOVED it! I’ve never tried making it at home though! Thanks for sharing!
pam (Sidewalk Shoes) says
I always have some version of this several times during the summer!
Kirsten says
Sara,
You big tease–I just got back from checking the garden and there’s frost on the grass. Frost!
I’m drooling over these ripe tomatoes and I haven’t even gotten my plants in the ground yet! [Ok, rather glad not to have plants in the ground that would have been killed by frost.]
I have been saving my eggshells, so I’m set when it’s time to plant.
This looks like a perfect recipe for summer, and I look forward to our tomatoes!
Thanks!
[email protected] says
Looks so yummy, quick and easy meal that I can definitely live with!