Our quick, easy and creamy Caprese pasta recipe takes inspiration from the classic Caprese salad of tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and basil from Italy’s island of Capri. Evoking Mediterranean summers, this comforting pasta with a creamy sauce of cherry tomatoes, shredded chicken, bocconcini, and basil will warm you on a winter’s day. Skip the cream and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil to lighten it up for lunch in the sun.
If you’re in the southern hemisphere, where the end of winter can’t come soon enough, like me, you might be dreaming of sultry days, outdoor meals and a Caprese salad in the sunshine. Unfortunately, it’s still well and truly stew weather, with a hearty pasta as light as we can go. Agree? Then make this quick and easy Caprese pasta recipe this week.
Likewise, if you’re in the northern hemisphere. If you’re savouring the last balmy days of summer, but can’t help but notice the breezes are beginning to cool, and wishing summer wouldn’t end, try this light and lively Caprese pasta tonight. It’s perfect if you’re starting to wrap a cardigan over your sun-kissed shoulders in the evenings.
Having said that, I could tuck into a bowl of this Caprese pasta year-round. Although while I’ll use cream in cooler weather to create a comforting creamy pasta, I prefer to lighten things up in warmer weather, skip the sauce, and simply douse the lot in loads of quality extra virgin olive oil. Try that if you’re not ready for pastas with creamy sauces.
Now before I tell you about this Caprese pasta recipe with chicken, cherry tomatoes and basil, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo by buying a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever; booking a cooking class or meal with locals on EatWith; or buying something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers or classic cookbooks for serious cooks.
Looking for more cooking inspiration? We’ve got hundreds of recipes in our archives from around the world from places we’ve lived, worked, travelled, and loved. Don’t forget you can save your favourite recipes in a private account by clicking on the heart on the right of the post. Now let me tell you all about this recipe for Caprese pasta with chicken, cherry tomatoes and aromatic basil.
Caprese Pasta Recipe with Chicken, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil
A Caprese salad is sublime, especially eaten al fresco in the sunshine on Capri. Or any Italian island. Or anywhere in Italy, frankly. Or at home, if you want to bring a taste of the sunny Mediterranean to your dining table — which does wonders for the spirit in an icy southern Australian winter. Trust me on this, speaking from experience.
Whenever Terence and I were in Italy, we’d nearly always kick off a meal with prosciutto and melon, bresaola and rucola, and an insalata Caprese. Paradise on plates right there. All washed down with glasses of a chilled dry Italian white. Followed by bowls of handmade past, it was the perfect meal.
A Caprese salad might not be one of those recipes that make even better leftovers — because it’s hard to beat the deliciousness of a Caprese salad, and how many people seriously leave any on their plate?! — but if you have leftover Caprese salad, there are two things to do with it: make this Caprese pasta salad or Caprese-inspired pasta.
I began experimenting with this quick and easy Caprese pasta recipe at the start of autumn when I began making this Caprese salad-inspired pasta for mum during her lung cancer treatment and recovery. We were enjoying classic Caprese salads for lunch over summer, but because mum barely eats anything, there were always leftovers. On hot evenings, I’d transform leftover Caprese salad into this Caprese pasta salad. Because mum’s favourite food is pasta.
When autumn arrived, and we were wishing it hadn’t, my Caprese pasta salad evolved into this quick and easy Caprese pasta. One night, I tossed in some shredded leftover rotisserie chicken, and this Caprese pasta with chicken, cherry tomatoes and basil was the result. It became our new favourite pasta.
As regular readers know, it’s been a tough year and a half or so. It’s been emotionally draining, dealing with a barrage of eviction notices and looking for a new home for mum during a housing crisis. All the while supporting her through cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery. Bowls of comforting pastas have been our balm.
But it’s also been fiscally challenging, so just like at the start of the pandemic when we learnt how to transform one dish into three meals, I’ve been doing the same during my time here in Australia — which also explains how a Caprese salad evolved into a Caprese pasta salad and Caprese pasta.
I’ve had to be more frugal than ever and in the process I’ve learnt that the answer to saving money yet still eating well is to shop at Aldi — which must stock some of the most delicious and most affordable cheeses of any supermarket in Australia.
Aldi has excellent, reasonably-priced tubs of bocconcini, which, when sliced, can be stretched across a couple of meals. And this Caprese pasta is nothing if not versatile. Swap the bocconcini for buffalo mozzarella or another white cheese. Or skip the cheese altogether. Not really ‘Caprese-ish’, but there’s a fun dinner game: come up with a new name.
By the same token, while this Caprese pasta is a fantastic use of leftover roast chicken or rotisserie chicken, or those poached chicken breasts you always have in a container in the fridge if you’re like Terence and I, but it’s just as delish without chicken. A classic Caprese salad doesn’t come with chicken, after all.
Just a few tips to making this Caprese pasta recipe with chicken, cherry tomatoes and basil, as it’s super easy to make and comes together quickly.
Tips to Making this Caprese Pasta Recipe with Chicken, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil
I only have a few tips to making this Caprese pasta recipe with chicken, cherry tomatoes and basil as, like many of our best pasta recipes, it’s quick and easy pasta that comes together quickly. Let’s start with the ingredients.
The Ingredients
True traditional Italian cooking is rooted in simplicity and is all about using great quality ingredients and letting those ingredients shine. If there was such a thing as a Caprese pasta recipe in Italian cuisine, it would be simpler than my concoction, made with quality extra virgin olive oil rather than cream. And I’m sure it wouldn’t include chicken!
So do purchase the best quality ingredients and produce you can afford, especially when it comes to fresh produce, namely the cherry tomatoes, bocconcini and fresh basil, but also the extra virgin olive oil, even if you’re only using a little. It makes a difference! I’ve been fortunate that I can consistently source fantastic truss cherry tomatoes, affordable tubs of bocconcini, and beautiful fragrant fresh basil here in Australia.
Do use a good quality grated Parmiagiano Reggiano (authentic Italian ‘parmesan cheese’) as that’s what adds flavour, colour, and umami to this pasta.
The Process
This Caprese pasta recipe with chicken, cherry tomatoes and basil couldn’t be easier, with just three stages: first you’ll cook the pasta; while the pasta is cooking you’ll make the Caprese pasta sauce; then when the pasta is ready you’ll add that to the sauce and serve.
Cooking the Pasta
I’ve been using a dried ‘orecchiette’ pasta for my Caprese pasta recipe, which is nothing like an authentic fresh homemade orecchiette from its native Puglia, which, for starters, is ear-shaped. Hence the name ‘orecchiette’. But that’s what it’s called and I’m using Italian brands, so who am I to question the name. I love the shape for this pasta and the pasta salad, but use whatever shape you prefer or whatever you have in your pantry.
When it comes to cooking the pasta, make sure the water is on a rolling boil before adding the pasta to the salted water, give it a stir so the pasta doesn’t stick together, and take care to cook the pasta until one minute before it’s al dente. Check the packet instructions then subtract the recommended time by a minute. For the dried pasta brands I’ve been using that’s around 8-9 minutes.
Making the Caprese Pasta Sauce
While the pasta is cooking, you’ll be make the Caprese pasta sauce. Use a large pan, which you’ll heat over medium-high. Pour in the extra virgin olive oil and heat it until it’s shimmering. Then add the cherry tomatoes and cook them for a few minutes, making sure to stir them occasionally.
To the same pan, you’ll be adding the shredded chicken, and, as I said, this is a great use of leftover roast chicken or rotisserie chicken, which you can pull apart. Or use poached chicken, which Terence and I always have in the fridge in our Siem Reap kitchen.
When the pasta is a minute before al dente, use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked pasta to the pan and use a large serving spoon to take two or three spoonfuls of the pasta water to the pan for extra sauciness. Then add the bocconcini and half the fresh basil, and you’re done.
Serving the Caprese Pasta
It’s important to serve this Caprese pasta immediately so work quickly to distribute it between bowls or transfer it to a serving plate for the centre of the table if you’re serving it as part of shared family meal.
Drizzle on a little extra virgin olive oil, grind on more cracked black pepper, sprinkle on the rest of the grated Parmiagiano Reggiano and fresh basil leaves, and serve with a big green salad and plenty of crusty bread for mopping up the sauce. Enjoy!
Caprese Pasta Recipe with Chicken, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200 g dried orecchiette pasta - or any pasta shape you like
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil - plus more for drizzling
- 250 g cherry tomatoes - sliced into halves
- 200 g shredded chicken - leftover roast chicken or rotisserie chicken is perfect,
- 100 ml thickened cream - light thickened cream if you prefer
- 200 g bocconcini - small fresh mozzarella balls, cut into slices
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese - divided, preferably Parmiagiano Reggiano
- ¼ tsp cracked ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp sea salt - or to taste
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves - divided
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: put a large pasta pot of salted water on the stove to boil. When it’s on a rolling boil, add the pasta, give it a stir, and cook until one minute under al dente following the packet instructions; probably around 8-9 minutes.
- Make the Caprese pasta sauce while the pasta is cooking: to a large pan over medium-high, pour in the olive oil and heat until shimmering; add the cherry tomatoes and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
- To the same pan, add the shredded chicken, cream, tablespoon of the grated Parmiagiano Reggiano, salt and pepper, stir to combine, and leave for the chicken to warm and cream to reduce, stirring occasionally; increase the heat for a minute, so the cream bubbles and sauce thickens, then reduce the heat to medium.
- When the pasta a minute before al dente, use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked pasta to the pan, stir to combine, and use a large serving spoon to take two or three spoonfuls of the pasta water to the pan for extra sauciness, and cook for another minute or so. Add the bocconcini and half the fresh basil, and stir to combine.
- Serve immediately: distribute between bowls or transfer to a serving plate for the centre of the table if part of shared family meal. Drizzle on a little extra virgin olive oil, grind on more cracked black pepper, sprinkle on the rest of the grated Parmiagiano Reggiano and fresh basil leaves, and serve with a big green salad and plenty of crusty bread for mopping up the sauce.
Nutrition
Please do let us know in the comments below if you make my Caprese pasta recipe with chicken, cherry tomatoes and basil, as we’d love to hear how it turns out for you.
