Chicken Caprese Pasta Salad makes a delicious warm meal or a great make-ahead cold pasta salad. Either way, it’s out of this world!
Remember that Grilled Caprese Chicken with a Balsamic Reduction I shared with you a while back? Well, I basically made his pasta cousin the other night for supper. But I couldn’t decide whether to call it Grilled Caprese Chicken Pasta Salad, Chicken Caprese Pasta Salad, Caprese Chicken Pasta, or just durn good pasta salad.
I get in my own way sometimes.
Like the other day I starting thinking about how to spruce up my laundry room. I went to Pinterest and rambled around in there for what seemed like minutes but was more like hours “just to get a few ideas.” At first I’d thought I wanted to repaint my walls, then after seeing different sources, I thought I might need to tile the backsplash on one of the walls, then I saw something else and thought adding a touch of stainless to the room would be a great idea.
I’m now more undecided about how to redo my laundry room than I was before. I’m totally and completely in love with all of the ideas to the point that I can’t decided which way I like best.
Do you ever do that? Need to do something so basic, but then you get wound around the axle so tightly that it takes you longer to get yourself unwound?
Oh really? Well, me either then.
Okay, so back to this pasta.
It makes a perfect hot or cold pasta salad, which makes it even more versatile. Just like the whole naming thing, you can struggle with which way you want to serve it.
But… on the good side, you could serve it warm for supper and then pull any leftovers out of the refrigerator the next day for lunch for a cold pasta salad. The flavors are really even more delicious after it has had time to hang out together anyway.
But really, whatever you want to call it, however you want to serve it, you just need to make it!
Promise!
Here’s the recipe for my Chicken Caprese Pasta Salad. Call it what you want, just I sure hope you love it!
Chicken Caprese Pasta Salad Recipe | Add a Pinch
Ingredients
- 6 chicken cutlets
- 1 pound bowtie pasta
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed
- 1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
For the sauce
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Grill or roast chicken cutlets. Cut into strips and set aside.
- In the meantime, bring water to boil in a large stockpot that has been seasoned with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Once it has reached a rolling boil, add pasta noodles and stir. Cook for about 9-10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain noodles through a colander. Rinse with cold water to cool.
- In a large bowl, add onion, tomatoes, pasta, and chicken.
- In a small sauce pan, combine the balsamic vinegar, oil and salt and pepper. Cook over low to medium heat until it reduces by half and is much thicker. Pour over pasta and toss well.
- Add cheese and fresh basil to pasta. Toss and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Looks very delicious !!
I made this for dinner tonight, and it is delicious! I used parmesan instead of mozzarella because it’s what I had on hand. Thank you so much for a dish I will be making again and again.
I have made something very similar to this in the past. If you like a grilled/smokey flavor, definitely grill the chicken and use smoked mozzarella. Delish!
Looks great! Would love to see the nutritional info on the dish
Love how you worked that dish twice 😀 Soooo going into my recipe box 😀 xoxo
What a perfect summertime meal!
I love the simplicity of this. When you have the fresh flavors of summer, there’s nothing better than highlighting them with a pretty dish like this.
Perfect for lighter summertime eating. Will do the warm for supper, and cold for lunch (or dinner as we call it)!!!!
YUM!! Looks delicious.
Look simply scrumptious. And your photos? DIVINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow.