Skip to main content

Caprese Pasta Salad

 
My husband loves mac n cheese, and we have a great local restaurant called Mr. Mac's that he likes to go to.   I don't care for traditional mac n cheese, but I've become addicted to their cold caprese mac salad.    I decided that it would be easy enough to recreate at home, and since I've got the house all to myself today I gave it a try.

I think I nailed it!   I'm impatient and hungry so am eating a portion right away, but I'm betting it will be even better after it's had a chance to sit for a few hours.     The full recipe makes a boatload, but this is easily halved or quartered. If you don't want to make the dressing from scratch there are some great bottled varieties out now, I like Ken's Balsamic Simply Vinaigrette.

Caprese Pasta Salad

Caprese Pasta Salad

Author: Jolene Martinelli

Ingredients

  • 1 lb elbow macaroni
  • 2 containers grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
  • 1 large red onion, in small dice
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella, in bite sized pieces or 1 container drained mozzarella pearls
  • 1/4 to 1/2c shredded 3 cheese blend (Parmesan, Asiago, Romano)
Balsamic dressing
  • 1/4c balsamic vinegar
  • 3/4 c olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Basil, oregano to taste (I used about 1T each dried)

Instructions

  1. Cook elbow pasta in salted water until tender. Drain and rinse with cool water. Toss with tomatoes, cheeses and onion.
  2. For dressing- combine all ingredients in lidded jar or whisk in a bowl. Pour desired amount over salad, toss to combine.
  3. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Caprese, tomato, mozzarella
Salads, lunch, Pasta
American
Created using The Recipes Generator

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Copycat Dunkin Donuts Egg White & Veggie Omelet Bites

I'm a huge fan of the Dunkin Donuts Power Breakfast sandwich, so when I started seeing ads for the new Egg White & Veggie Omelet Bites I stopped in and gave them a try.  They were delicious, but of course, I knew I could make them at home.  I started with the whites of six eggs. You can use pasturized whites if you don't want to do the whole separating, finding a use for the yolks thing.  I beat them up with some salt and pepper. Next up, the tomato and spinach.  I used grape tomatoes, seeded them and then chopped them into 1/4" pieces. I like baby spinach, and I took about 10 leaves and chopped those up into 1/4" pieces as well. I added that to the egg mixture.  When you pour it into the pans, be sure that it all gets evenly distributed.   They bake up pretty quickly, around 9 minutes or so.  Dunkin gives you two egg bites, the mini donut serving size is three. I pop them in ziplocs in the fridge and just pull a bag and reheat them in the microwave for a quick

Copycat Dunkin Donuts Bacon and Cheddar Omelet Bites

Since I already came up with a version of Dunkin Donuts new Egg White & Veggie Omelet Bites for myself, I decided to make the other variety that they are offering, Bacon & Cheddar, for my husband. Super simple.  Beat up some eggs with salt and pepper.  Add in some shredded cheddar and a slice of bacon cut into 1/4" pieces (I used kitchen shears).  Bake them for about 9 minutes in sprayed mini donut pans. They baked up light and fluffy.  The bacon stayed crisp and there's just the perfect amount of cheese.   I split them up into portions in zip top bags and that way we can just grab a bag and warm them up. My husband laughed when I told him 3 is the serving size.  I'll definitely be doubling the recipe next time! Copycat Dunkin Donuts Bacon & Cheddar Omelette Bites Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 4 large eggs 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 3T shredded cheddar cheese 1 slice cooked bacon, cut in 1/4" piec

Double Layer Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Back in the day I used to bake from home for extra money.  This was one of the most popular items.  Cake mix sizes have changed and if you're using the 15.75 ounce ones bake them in 8" pans. If you want to use the 9" rounds, you can also use this cake mix upsizer to make up the difference between the old and new cake mix sizes.  If the layers are too thin, you'll never be able to flip and stack them without a mess. Be sure to keep track of which pan has the pineapple rings and cherries in it and which doesn't so that you can easily turn them out onto the plate in the right order.    Double Layer Pineapple Upside Down Cake Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 10 ounce jar maraschino cherries, drained 1/2 stick butter 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 8 ounce can pineapple slices 8 ounce can crushed pineapple with juice 1 package yellow cake mix (15.75 ounces) Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter and coat the