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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
  • fresh mozzarella, in bite sized pieces (I used 4 1 3/4 oz Bocconcini)
  • 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.

Other recipes you may enjoy:

Pesto Pasta & Potatoes

Caprese Pasta Salad

Garlic Butter Pasta

Caprese, tomato, mozzarella
Salads, lunch, Pasta
American
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