This high protein caprese pasta salad combines protein pasta, cannellini beans, fresh mozzarella, juicy tomatoes, and basil for a flavorful vegetarian meal that’s ready in just 20 minutes with minimal cooking. It’s make-ahead friendly and perfect for meal prep, summer lunches, potlucks, and easy weeknight dinners.
High Protein Caprese Pasta Salad — a 20-Minute Summer Meal with Minimal Cooking and Chopping
Summer weeknights are NOT for standing over the stove sweating it out in your kitchen. Meals should be quick, packed with fresh flavor, and involve minimal or no cooking at all. This high protein caprese pasta salad is perfect for an easy and fresh summer dinner because it’s ready in just 20 minutes, packed with summery caprese flavors, and still manages to get in about 30 grams of protein per serving!
Though you do have to cook the pasta, it only takes about 10 minutes and frees up time to mix the dressing and chop the herbs and tomatoes. After that, it’s simply dumping things in your mixing bowl and tossing. If you want a true no-cook summer meal, check out my taco salad with walnut taco “meat” or my Mediterranean lentil salad wraps.
This caprese pasta salad can be enjoyed straight from the fridge which makes it make-ahead friendly and perfect for your weekly meal prep. It’s just as delicious for an easy summer dinner as it as on a picnic or tucked into your lunchbox for a simple work meal. Do me a favor and add it to your summer rotation!
Key High Protein Ingredients
In order to make this vegetarian pasta salad higher in protein without chucking in a bunch of chickpeas, we’re relying on 4 specific high protein ingredients. Between the protein pasta (I love the ones from Brami with lupini beans! – not sponsored), mozzarella pearls, cannellini beans, and pine nuts, each of the 4 large entree/main dish servings has about 30 grams of protein. Between the pasta and beans, you’ve also got a decent amount of fiber, too!
If you’re gluten free, no problem! You can use a gluten free protein pasta which typically has a higher protein count per serving. The only trade-off is the texture — make sure you don’t overcook the pasta or it will turn to mush. If you’re vegan, a good high protein sub for the mozzarella pearls would be a marinated tofu “feta” like this one from Nora Cooks. Just make sure to remember to make it the day before!
A Lemon Parmesan Dressing to Keep Things Light and Bright
Going with the fresh and vibrant caprese flavor profile, I think this summer pasta salad really benefits from a light and bright dressing rather than a creamy one. Initially I thought about using a variation of the balsamic dressing from this Brussels sprouts salad but I didn’t really want to turn the mozzarella pearls a brown color AND I wanted something light and lemony.
I ended up using the lemon parmesan dressing from my artichoke pasta salad and tweaking it just slightly by adding in some Italian seasoning and using honey in place of maple syrup. It works so well here and brightens everything up without overpowering the base caprese flavors of tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. The other great thing about this dressing is that is comes together so quickly and easily — just add everything to a bowl and whisk.
Tips to Avoid a Mushy and Underseasoned Pasta Salad
I prefer to cook the pasta to al-dente because it will soften further in the fridge once you add all of the ingredients. If you overcook it, it will be too soft and will have a mushy texture once it sits. Once you drain your pasta, run it under cool or cold water to help stop the cooking process and cool it down so it doesn’t melt the mozzarella. Our goal here is a cold pasta salad, not a lukewarm one!
In order to make sure the salad feels seasoned and not bland, I like to toss just the pasta with about half of the lemon parmesan dressing first. The dressing gets caught in all of the little ridges which ensures each bite has a seasoned and balanced flavor. This is why it’s helpful to use a small ridged pasta like fusilli or radiatore. At this point, all that’s left to do is add the remaining ingredients and toss, toss, toss! Add more dressing to taste.
More Quick & Easy Pasta Salads (30 minutes or less!)
High Protein Caprese Pasta Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This high protein caprese pasta salad combines protein pasta, cannellini beans, fresh mozzarella, juicy tomatoes, and basil for a flavorful vegetarian meal that’s ready in just 20 minutes with minimal cooking. It’s make-ahead friendly and perfect for meal prep, summer lunches, potlucks, and easy weeknight dinners.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces small ridged protein pasta, such as fusilli or radiatore
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Sea salt, to taste
- 8–10 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2–3 ounces baby arugula
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls
- 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, plus extra for garnish
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced chives
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
Instructions
Cook the pasta according to the directions for al dente. Drain the pasta then rinse under cool water until the pasta has cooled down to room temperature.
While the pasta cooks, add the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, honey, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese to a bowl and whisk well to combine. Taste, and add salt to season as needed. Set aside for now.
Drain the cooked pasta really well then add it to large bowl. Drizzle over half of the dressing and toss well. Add the tomatoes, arugula, mozzarella, white beans, basil, chives, and pine nuts. Toss. Taste, then add more dressing to taste and salt to taste.
Store leftovers in the fridge and eat within 5-6 days.
Notes
- This recipe yields 4 main dish/entree sized portions which each have around 30 grams of protein if the recipe is made as directed. If you want to serve this pasta salad as a side dish, you’ll have about 8 servings.
- If you’re gluten free, simply swap in a gluten free protein pasta and make sure not to overcook it as they tend to become mushy.
- If you’re vegan, swap in some marinated tofu “feta” for the mozzarella pearls and vegan parmesan in the dressing. Use maple syrup or agave in place of the honey in the dressing.
- For a more budget friendly option, use roasted sunflower seeds or slivered almonds in place of the pine nuts.
- I like using cherry tomatoes here because I think they have a better flavor and don’t release as much liquid into the pasta salad as a standard slicing tomato. Feel free to use 8-10 ounces of slicing tomatoes if you prefer and dice them before adding them to the pasta salad.
- For the herbs, measure them for the recipe once they have been sliced.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
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