Caprese Pasta Salad
Bright and juicy tomatoes, freshly picked basil, creamy mozzarella and pasta – all tossed with a delicious balsamic vinaigrette. This Caprese Pasta Salad is just like a traditional caprese salad, but a little more filling.
Who is ready for spring?! The winter in MN this year wasn’t actually that bad but now that we are all stuck in our houses, it would be really nice if Mother Nature would blow some warm wind our way. On the few days that have been nice, we have taken full advantage by going for bike rides, playing baseball in the front yard and (intense) games of basketball.
Everyone who knows Matt knows how competitive he is. Fewer people know how competitive I am. Put us against each other in a game of basketball and things get a little….intense. Jack and Will are destined to be competitive – sorry boys (or maybe, you’re welcome)!
Jack’s current favorite sport is baseball. He lives and breathes baseball. He has three Twins jerseys that he rotates throughout the day. He can be found begging me or Matt (mostly Matt) to play a baseball game in the front yard, watching the Twins or wearing his glove around the house and tossing the ball up in the air (much to his mother’s dismay).
Jack was beyond bummed when we told him that the Twins season was postponed (for now, anyways). Actual tears were shed when he found out that he couldn’t watch their spring games. And then Matt came to the rescue – he found out that the MLB was re-playing all of the 2018 and 2019 baseball games – lifesaver!
So now, Jack goes on our computer, picks the Twins game he wants to watch and grabs his baseball scorebook and keeps track of all the players stats. He will watch the entire game in one sitting (if we let him) and pay such close attention. He has learned all of the baseball lingo – that a backwards “K” indicates that the batter was struck out looking (I, in turn, have also learned all of this baseball lingo)! It’s so fun to see the interest he has taken in baseball.
He has been so excited, since this winter, when we told him that we signed him up for baseball. Like real baseball, not t-ball. He has been talking about it ever since I first mentioned it in January. And then yesterday, I had to tell him that the baseball season might be cancelled. I prepared myself for the worst but you know how he responded? “Oh that is SUCH a bummer but I can always play next summer”. As a kid who often struggles with change and new things, I was floored by his response. Maybe this pandemic will allow us all to learn to take changes in stride.
Will loves any sport – he will play anything and everything – as long as he has someone playing with him! We have been having so much fun with the basketball hoop we got installed last year. Will learns new sports so quickly and picks up on all of the idiosyncrasies of each sport.
He knows that in basketball if you are like glue as a defender, your opponent will eventually get so annoyed with you that they will eventually turn the ball over. He knows the exact timing of when to steal a base in baseball. He stomps his foot to get Jack’s attention, Jack turns and Will runs back to the base. The second Jack looks back to the batter, Will takes off and steals a base. This is hysterical to watch. Oh, and he slides head first into home plate, too. Sometimes I can’t believe that he is only 3.
Since the boys are always busy playing some type of sport (and trying to constantly convince us to join in on the game), I try to have our lunches prepared ahead of time – it makes it better for everyone!
Caprese Pasta Salad Ingredients
- orecchiette pasta
- cherry tomatoes
- fresh mozzarella cheese
- fresh basil
- garlic
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- balsamic reduction
- salt and pepper
Pasta salad is a great thing to prepare ahead of time and eat it throughout the week. This Caprese Pasta Salad is one of those that actually tastes better the longer you let it sit.
If you do want to make a big batch of this to eat throughout the week, only add the tomatoes when you eat it. So, when we have lunch, I just grab a handful of cherry tomatoes, slice them up and put them in our bowls. I find that the cherry tomatoes tend to get too mushy if you let them sit in the dressing.
Tips for Involving Kids
- Have them help you dice up the garlic.
- Let your kids help you measure out all the ingredients and add them to the pasta salad.
- Have them stir all of the ingredients – be warned, I have to give my boys LOTS of gentle reminders about “gentle stirring”.
- There is always going to be a mess when you cook with your kids but, like my little guy Will says, “It’s okay Mom, chefs make messes and then they clean it up.” Have fun cooking with your kids!!
Caprese Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz orecchiette pasta
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes quartered
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese diced
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp balsamic reduction
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Once cooked, rinse pasta with cold water.8 oz orecchiette pasta
- In a small bowl, combine garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.2 cloves garlic, 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp balsamic reduction, salt and pepper
- In a larger bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When ready to serve, pour the dressing over the pasta salad and mix to combine.1 pint cherry tomatoes, 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, 2 Tbsp fresh basil
