Quick and easy caprese pesto pasta salad recipe with white beans! A cold pasta salad with pesto, fresh tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella.
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Hey, Rhubarbarians!
A mega-simple pasta dish for you today! Caprese pesto pasta salad with white beans!
We take jarred pesto sauce (but you can make you're own if you want), and toss it with some pasta, tomatoes, white beans, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and toasted pine nuts. YUM!
Doesn't get a whole lot easier, does it?
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Summer pasta salad
This cold pesto pasta is perfect for summer! Not only does it feature fresh summer tomatoes and basil, but it's nice and light so it can be eaten as a side dish OR a main dish on hot nights.
We like to refrigerate the pasta after it's tossed in pesto so it's a light, cold, summer dish. Refrigerating isn't necessary, if you're strapped for time, but it's so nice in the summer heat!
Have you tried this easy Italian vegan pasta salad recipe yet?
The pesto
We like to make this with our favorite store bought pesto. Our favorite is the Kirkland Signature basil pesto! Buitoni pesto with basil is a close runner up. Be sure to choose a pesto that you love, as it will be the main flavor of your pesto pasta salad!
Buuuut if you're feeling fancy, you can definitely use homemade pesto! We have a delicious green olive pasta sauce if you're an olive lover too. 🙂
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The beans
The white beans are what take this from JUST a caprese pasta salad to an amazing meal! We love adding white beans because they add protein and fiber to the dish, making it filling enough for a meal, but still light.
Great northern beans are our favorite white beans because of their medium size, but navy beans and cannellini beans are great white beans too!
Don't like white beans? Try these beans instead:
- chickpeas
- butter beans
- kidney beans
Have you tried our 3-ingredient fresh tomato pasta sauce?
How to serve
Our favorite way to serve this caprese pesto pasta salad is on it's own as a light summer main dish. Cold and topped with some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Due to the white beans, it's filling enough to be an entree!
This would be an amazing side dish for a potluck, a picnic, a summer bbq, or alongside some vegetarian burgers or sandwiches. Cold pasta salad goes with just about any summer cookout meal!
Have you tried our Italian tortellini pasta salad?
Make ahead, storing, and freezing tips
- Make ahead: This caprese pasta salad is perfect for making ahead! Follow the instructions in the recipe card through #3 and keep the pasta in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Then start with #4 in the recipe card.
- Storing: Leftovers can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You may need to toss the pasta salad with a bit of olive oil to moisten the noodles when reserving.
- Freezing: We don't recommend freezing this one!
FAQs
- How do I make this vegan? It's easy! There are many great vegan pesto options out there. Switch out the fresh mozzarella for vegan mozzarella shreds or firm tofu.
- How do I make this gluten-free? Just switch out the pasta for your favorite gluten-free pasta! We like the Trader Joe's brown rice and quinoa pasta.
- How long can this sit out for a picnic or bbq? We don't recommend letting this sit out at room temperature for any more than 2 hours. This should not be left out in the heat.
- Should I rinse the pasta after cooking? Yep! We want to stop the cooking process and rinse the starch off the pasta so it stays nice and loose when it's cold.
We think you will love this green olive pasta with lemon and breadcrumbs recipe!
Have a question? Let us know in the comments and we will get back to you as soon as we can!
Recipe
Caprese pesto pasta salad with white beans
Ingredients
- 8 oz farfalle pasta dry, uncooked*
- ½ cup pesto
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- ¾ cup white beans
- 1 cup cubed fresh mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper
- fresh basil and parmesan cheese** for serving
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water and then strain. Gently rinse with cold water.
- Place the pasta in a large mixing bowl and add the pesto. Stir gently to combine, adding a Tablespoon of pasta water at a time to thin the pesto to your desired consistency.
- To make it cold, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- When ready to serve, toss in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to rehydrate the pasta along with the tomatoes, white beans, mozzarella cheese, and pine nuts. Add 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice, stir gently to combine and taste. Add more lemon juice if needed and season with salt and pepper until it is seasoned to your liking.
- Serve topped with fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
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