15 Minute Caprese Pasta Salad (vegan, gluten free)
Jul 13, 2020 • Updated Jun 20, 2023
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15 Minute Caprese Pasta Salad!
Last week, I shared 5 salad recipes for #VeggiekinsSaladWeek including Caprese Stuffed Avocados and this week I’m kicking off #VeggiekinsPastaWeek with Caprese Pasta Salad! As I mentioned last week, summertime is tomato peak season. Tomatoes are bursting with flavour and it’s the best time to enjoy, especially in fresh dishes like this. Alongside tomatoes, basil is also in season, so paired with vegan mozzarella and pasta of choice, you get the ultimate summer pasta salad. The best part about this recipe is that it takes roughly 15 minutes or less to make, with little effort. The ingredients are simple, and the recipe plays up the natural summer flavours. I’ll also provide a method below to serve this dish warm.
To make, you need only 6 main ingredients. This pasta dish is vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free.
What’s in this Caprese Pasta Salad?
- Gluten free pasta of choice
- Cherry tomatoes
- Fresh basil leaves
- Vegan mozzarella
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt + pepper
Optional other ingredients to consider including
- Balsamic vinaigrette to top
- 2-3 cloves garlic
secrets to success
This Caprese Pasta Salad recipe is fairly loose, so you’ll see some ingredients are described with “handfuls” and “to taste”. It really is up to personal preference and it’s hard to mess up! I would recommend gauging portion size by the number of people enjoying. For example, use 1 serving of pasta per person, and for each person, use a handful of cherry tomatoes as described in the recipe.
While you could make this recipe oil free, I’d highly recommend using a small amount of a tasty extra virgin olive oil. It will not only help to keep the cooked pasta from sticking together, but also acts as the “dressing” if you will, given there is no other sauce in the recipe. Consider the warm option (see recipe below) if you’d prefer oil-free, and use crushed tomatoes to create a sauce. The pasta salad method will definitely end up a little dry without olive oil. Alternatively, you could potentially use balsamic vinaigrette as a sort of sauce to pull together the pasta salad.
For presentation purposes, I rolled my vegan mozzarella into little balls, however the shaping of your cheese is optional.
If you like this recipe, try…
- Creamy Cashew Broccoli Salad
- Vegan “Scallops” on Edamame and Corn Salad
- Radiant Radish Salad with Tamari Citrus Vinaigrette
- Crunchy Asian Kelp Noodle Salad
- Crunchy Rainbow Soba Noodle Salad
- Garden Poké Bowls
If you try this recipe out, tag me on Instagram @veggiekins so I can see your delicious re-creations and feature them! As always, I love when you share your reviews in the comments below, and if you make any fun substitutions, let me know how it worked out below too.
15 Minute Caprese Pasta Salad (vegan, gluten free)
Ingredients
- 1 serving cooked pasta
- handful cherry tomatoes roughly 1 cup
- handful fresh basil roughly 1/4 loose cup chiffonaded
- vegan mozzarella to taste I used miyokos mozzarella
- salt and pepper to taste
- extra virgin olive oil drizzle
- optional
- balsamic vinaigrette to taste
- 2-3 fresh garlic cloves
Instructions
- To prepare in pasta salad form, toss cooked pasta, halved cherry tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and enough olive oil to lightly coat pasta in a large mixing bowl. Toss to coat then season with salt and pepper to tase. Add balsamic vinaigrette if desired and enjoy.
- If you'd like to serve warm, sauté minced garlic cloves in a splash of olive oil until fragrant. Add tomatoes and allow to cook until slightly softened. You can smash them with the back of your spatula to release some of the tomato juices or leave whole. Add pasta, basil, mozzarella and stir to combine. Finally, add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
