It’s Monday, 12:30pm, and the fridge is doing its usual performance: leftovers of what I ate Thursday, a sad sandwich, one yogurt that’s probably still fine. If that’s your weekly story, this salad is your tiny intervention.
Every week I cook one big batch of pasta salad and it carries my lunches from Monday to Friday. This caprese version is my favorite: fresh, easy, and genuinely full of flavor, ready to eat in under 30 minutes. It’s the dish I bring to summer barbecues and picnics, and it pairs so well with grilled chicken, corn, and whatever else is on the grill.
Why it works
Three reasons this one stuck in my kitchen:
- Four-ingredient base. Pasta, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil. The dressing takes about two minutes to whisk together. No technique, no stress.
- It’s a make-ahead recipe by design. It keeps in the fridge for up to 3–5 days, and you eat it straight from cold. On a lunch where you have 90 seconds, that’s everything.
- It flexes. No grill? It works beside air fryer chicken breasts or baked chicken thighs. Not gluten free? Swap in regular pasta and you’re done.
Ingredients
Salad
- 10 ounces gluten free pasta (I use fusilli — see the note below)
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 8 ounces mini mozzarella balls (“ciliegine” — the small ones; bite-sized and easy to toss through)
- ⅔ cup fresh chopped basil, plus more for serving
Dressing
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil — this is a key ingredient, so use a good one
- 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
Serves 4. Per serving: about 515 kcal, 65g carbs, 18g protein, 32g fat.
5 simple steps
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta. One trick: I suggest cooking it slightly over the suggested cook time on the back of the package. Gluten free pasta firms up as it sits in the fridge — an extra minute keeps it from going chalky by Wednesday.
- While it cooks, whisk together all the dressing ingredients and set them aside.
- When the pasta is done, rinse it under cold water and drain well in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the halved tomatoes, mozzarella, and chopped basil, then toss everything with the dressing. Taste and adjust — more vinegar, a pinch of crushed red pepper, more basil. I never overdo the basil; there’s no ceiling on it, in my opinion.
- Serve with extra basil on top, or a drizzle of balsamic glaze if you have it. Eat straight from the fridge — no need to heat it up.
Make it your own
A few notes from the ones I’ve actually learned:
Pasta. Among gluten free options, brown rice pasta is the closest to regular pasta in texture — I specifically like Jovial. I love lentil and legume pastas too, but they tend to go a bit dry after sitting in the fridge, which matters for a make-ahead salad. Elbows, shells, and penne all work fine in place of fusilli.
Tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are the move here. Grape tomatoes work as a swap.
Mozzarella. The small balls are the right size and mix through evenly. In a pinch, tear or chop a larger ball into bite-sized pieces.
Balsamic. I like a mix of white and regular balsamic — the white keeps the color pretty, the regular gives it a more classic flavor. All of one or the other works fine.
Basil timing. If you’re making the whole batch ahead, wait to add the basil until you’re ready to serve. It oxidizes and turns brown fast, so the last-minute handful is the one that looks (and smells) fresh.
Start today
- ✓ Pick your pasta and check the pantry: tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, olive oil, balsamic. That’s the whole shopping list.
- ✓ Block 30 minutes on a Sunday — one pot, one bowl, and your lunches are handled through Friday.
- ✓ Keep the basil in a separate container and fold it in at serving time, so day-three still looks like day one.
Storage
Cover it with foil or keep it in an airtight container and it will keep in the fridge for up to 3–5 days. Since it’s a salad, just eat it right from the fridge — it’s made for an on-the-go lunch.
Today’s tiny step
Buy the basil today. It’s the cheapest way to make sure this salad actually happens this week.
— E, your habit neighbor