Simple Caprese Pasta Bake

This simple caprese pasta bake is the perfect weeknight comfort food meal using fresh tomatoes and basil!

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This simple caprese pasta bake is something I like to make when I'm in the mood for a fresh meal, but not in the mood for effort. We'll bake tomatoes in the oven first to burst them and make a fresh tomato sauce, then we'll stir in some pasta, top with cheese, and bake until melty to get an easy and comforting meal on the table. Let's make it!

Ingredients

• Cherry or grape tomatoes
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Pasta - smaller variety of pasta such as rotini or penne pasta.
• Fresh mozzarella
• Basil
• Salt + pepper

How to Make Simple Caprese Pasta Bake

1. Step 1: First, we're making a tomato sauce by baking tomatoes in the oven. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and fill a ceramic baking dish (9"x13" is best, or slightly smaller such as 8"x11"). The tomatoes should be snug next to each other to create steam that will help the tomatoes cook into a sauce. Roast the tomatoes for 25 minutes or until most of them are bursting.
2. Step 2: Meanwhile, make the pasta. Bring a large pot of a water and salt to a rolling boil. Add pasta and reduce heat slightly. Cook the pasta, stirring occasionally, until al dente. The pasta packaging usually gives an indication of how long to cook the pasta, but after 9-10 minutes I typically take out a noodle and taste test it. Al dente means the pasta is fully cooked but there's still a bit of chew. Once the pasta is done cooking, drain it in a strainer and give it a light rinse.
3. Step 3: Remove the tomatoes from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Gently press into the tomatoes with the back of a spoon to fully burst them. Transfer the pasta to the baking dish and stir to coat with the tomatoes. Layer fresh mozzarella slices over the pasta, and add some more fresh basil and black pepper. Loosely cover the baking dish with foil (to keep moisture in) and bake at 375 for another 10 minutes to warm everything together and melt the mozzarella just enough to be warm and stretchy without getting rubbery. Serve immediately!

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Simple Caprese Pasta Bake

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This simple caprese pasta bake is the perfect quick and easy weeknight meal! It's a warm and melty version of a summer classic -- the caprese salad.

• Author: Tera
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 35
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x
• Category: Pasta
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
• ¼ teaspoon salt + 1 teaspoon for boiling the pasta
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 8 ounces small pasta (such as rotini or penne)
• ½ cup fresh basil, sliced into ribbons
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced or cut into chunks

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Instructions

1. Prep. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and drizzle some olive oil into a 9x13-inch baking dish (slightly smaller will work).
2. Roast tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper to the bottom of the baking dish, and stir to evenly coat the tomatoes. They should be crowding each other, which will help create steam to make saucy tomatoes. Roast at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, or until bursting. 
3. Cook pasta. While tomatoes are roasting, bring a medium-large pot of water to a rolling boil with 1 teaspoon of salt. Add pasta, then reduce heat slightly. Cook pasta, stirring occasionally until al dente (see package instructions for anticipated time), then drain the pasta in a colander and give it a quick rinse with warm water (helps to remove starch and prevent noodles from sticking together).
4. Combine ingredients and bake. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and gently mash them with the back of a spoon. They should be bursting and easily mash, creating a saucy tomato layer in the bottom of your baking dish. Top with the mozzarella cheese slices, and sprinkle with pepper and more fresh basil. Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees, loosely cover baking dish with foil, and bake for another 10 minutes until the mozzarella is just melted. Serve warm!

Notes

1. Fresh mozzarella. Fresh mozzarella is higher in moisture than the blocks of low moisture mozzarella you see at the store. Because of that, they can get a bit more chewy or rubbery as they cool. To avoid this, we don't bake the pasta for too long once the mozzarella is on (10 minutes total). I used fresh mozzarella to stay true to the caprese theme here, but if you don't like the texture of mozzarella that's been cooked and cooled, feel free to use shredded!
2. Foil. Covering with foil in the last step helps to keep the pasta moist and heats the mozzarella more gently, so that it's melty when it comes out of the oven.