This easy pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella recipe is SO GOOD and has all the best flavors of caprese salad right in a yummy warm spaghetti skillet. The fresh tomato sauce comes together quickly, and gooey mozzarella or burrata mixed in just absolutely shines against the sweet summer tomatoes. I love this alone, but a nice green salad and a loaf of no-knead bread never hurt anything.
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Ohhhh, Children.
This one is good.
I first made this years and years ago for Jay's mama and niece (who was 3 at the time and now is driving so, there's that), and THERE WERE NO LEFTOVERS.
This is creamy. This is fresh. This has herbs and cheese and tomatoes and wine and a dinner that comes together beautifully in less than half an hour, aka all the time I care to spend on dinner in the summertime.
The end. For real. So delicious.
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Recipe Notes
- The basic gist of caprese pasta is tomatoes, mozzarella (or burrata, my preference!), and basil made into a very quick light, fresh tomato sauce while some pasta boils.
- My recipe has some extras like white wine, butter, and tomato paste to make a nearly-creamy sauce, and the cheese stirred in right at the end combines with the hot sauce to make things even creamier.
- The recipe is vegetarian as written, but is hearty enough to be a main course thanks to the cheese. Always thanks to the cheese, right?
- The only thing to note about the recipe time-wise is that this is REALLY good freshly made, so prep your ingredients first so that you can cook and serve quickly - mostly the sauce can be made entirely while the pasta water boils and then the pasta cooks, so once you prep you have about 20 minutes of actual cooking to do.
Ingredients and Ingredient Variations
The ingredients are simple here, and there are a few swaps you can make based on what you have and your preferences.
- Pasta. I like a thin spaghetti or angel hair, but any long pasta you like will work great. Whole wheat pasta, GF pasta, it all works!
- Pasta water, reserved right before draining the pasta.
- Fresh tomatoes, honestly anything you have will work, from large hierlooms, to cherry tomatoes, to regular plum tomatoes if you're making this in the winter when there isn't much else around. The equivalent of 4 medium tomatoes, so about 4 cups chopped - don't obsess about the amounts too much.
- Garlic, tomato paste, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and butter to build the sauce and add flavor.
- White wine (or a very light rose in this case). If you prefer to not cook with wine, you can use veggie stock, chicken stock, or just a little extra pasta water at the end to make a nice sauce. The wine adds a nice acidity to the sauce but it's not necessary for a delicious end result.
- Fresh basil for tons of caprese flavor.
- Fresh mozzarella OR burrata. I like both equally, with a slight preference for burrata - the middle creaminess adds a great texture to the finished pasta, but fresh mozz or even tiny mozzarella pearls are lovely in this dish as well.
ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE MY FAVORITE FLAVORS.
Step By Step Instructions
Seriously, this could not be easier. It's fast, too!
First, pasta: Start the pasta water to boil, and heavily salt the water. Since we're going to use some of it in the sauce, we want it to be very flavorful. When the water boils, cook the pasta (whatever the package says!), take out a mug full of pasta water right at the end, then drain the pasta.
While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce.
- Grab a skillet large enough for the sauce and pasta so you can toss everything together at the end. Something in the 10-12 inch range will work!
- Heat the oil to medium heat in the skillet, then add the garlic and tomato paste to the oil. Let the garlic and tomato paste fry for 2 minutes until they're lightly browned but not too dark or burned - that will make the sauce bitter. Stir as this is happening.
- Next, add the wine to the skillet and reduce it until it's nearly all condensed and evaporated - stir the tomato paste into the wine to start to build the sauce.
- Next up, the fresh tomatoes! Add the tomatoes and salt to the skillet and stir them into the tomato paste mixture. Let the tomatoes cook for 5 minutes; they'll start to wilt and combine with the tomato paste mixture and life will make perfect sense.
Now, at this point you have fully cooked pasta with some reserved cooking water. Fresh tomato sauce. Basil, butter, and mozzarella/burrata standing by.
Add the pasta, butter, and basil leaves to the skillet with the tomato sauce. Turn the heat OFF the pan, and toss everything together really well with tongs to melt the butter and coat all the noodles in the sauce.
As you're doing this, splash in the cooking water a few tablespoons at a time to make enough sauce to cover the noodles but not so much that the dish is soupy.
Also during this time, taste the pasta and add more salt if needed - it should be very flavorful and you may need some more salt depending on how salty your pasta water was (or wasn't).
Now, we finish the dish! I like to add the cheese directly to the skillet so that it starts to melt, then transfer the pasta caprese to shallow bowls or plates. Tear and scatter the cheese you're using (burrata in these pictures) all over the skillet, tucking it in a bit to help it start melting.
WOWOWOWOW YUM.
Serving Suggestions
I serve this straight from the skillet with the following things:
- Flaky salt and black pepper
- More basil
- Parmesan cheese
- Some olive oil for drizzling if I'm feeling fancy
For a group meal, it's easy to ask someone else to bring bread, salad, wine, dessert to round out the meal nicely.
Make Ahead and Leftover Storage
Because this is so simple to make, I like to make it all at once and serve it immediately. If you're worried about time, you can slice the garlic and chop the tomatoes in advance and store them separately in the fridge until you're ready to cook.
Leftovers keep well in the fridge for a few days, just microwave the pasta until it is warm again. If it seems dry, a little olive oil drizzled over top is a nice pick-me-up.
Weekend, weeknight, lunch, brunch, snack....when could you NOT eat this? It is SO good, tastes like summer (but can be made year round!), and is a truly delicious simple dinner. Enjoy this one!
Recipe
Pasta with Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti
- 4 tomatoes, chopped (medium size, about 4 cups total)
- 4 cloves garlic chopped or thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup dry white wine (see note)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves gently torn
- 4 ounces burrata or fresh mozzarella
- parmesan, black pepper, crushed red pepper, optional for serving
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in heavily salted water until cooked through. Right before draining, reserve about a cup of the pasta water to finish the sauce. Drain the cooked pasta and set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat with the garlic and tomato paste.
- Stir the tomato paste and garlic into the oil and let it sizzle for just about 2 minutes until fragrant but not burned.
- Add the wine to the sauce and stir; let the wine reduce until about 2 tablespoons remain in the skillet.
- Add the tomatoes and salt to the wine mixture; stir to coat the tomatoes in the sauce and cook, stirring (scrape the bottom of the skillet if needed!) until the tomatoes have released some juice and started to wilt, about 5 minutes.
- Turn the heat OFF the skillet and add the cooked pasta, butter, basil, and a few tablespoons of the pasta water to the skillet. Toss well with tongs and taste; add more salt to your preference.
- While hot, tear the mozzarella or burrata over the entire skillet (or bowls if you prefer to separate the pasta first) to let it melt into the pasta a bit. Top the pasta with more basil, parmesan, and anything else you like. YUM.
Notes
This recipe was originally posted in August 2012 and has been updated with prettier pictures. The original recipe remains the same; it is a TRUE keeper.
This is so yummy looking and your instructions made me laugh. Love you. Love your food. Love.
HA, thanks! It is SO easy and delicious. We loved it!
Caprese salad and pasta - 2 of my loves - what a winning combination!
I'm tempted to stir in arugula and top it with balsamic drizzle for a REAL salad effect...there are so many fun ways to dress this one up! I'm so excited to make it again.