Caesar Basil Pasta Salad
This Caesar Basil Pasta Salad is a unique but simple recipe. Made with rotini pasta, a caesar basil pesto dressing, cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella!
A Deliciously Creamy Pasta Salad
Don’t you just love pasta salads? I don’t know what it is about them, but if I see one at a potluck, like this Caesar Basil Pasta Salad, I am on it with a quickness! What I love about this particular creamy pasta salad is that it is so unique and not your traditional Italian-style or ranch pasta salad but it’s packed with so much flavor!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Some other ingredient suggestions would be diced cucumbers or sliced black olives. Marinated mozzarella is also a delicious option. This recipe does not disappoint. It is creamy without being heavy and the touch of basil brightens all the flavors and makes it so darn good! You can even make a Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing for this pasta salad!
Yes, you can. If you’re planning to make this ahead of time, I do have a tip. I recommend adding about ½ cup milk to the dressing mixture. This will help to keep it creamy as it sits in the fridge since pasta likes to keep soaking up that dressing as it sits. You can, of course, just add a bit more caesar salad dressing to it to kind of moisten it up as well.
If you find that your pasta is still pretty warm when you’re ready to mix the pasta salad, taking a minute or two to rinse it may be smart. Rinsing the pasta cools it and stops the cooking process. If you’re quick in the kitchen and ready to mix it altogether with the dressing super fast, then you’re pasta may be too warm. If you don’t rinse the pasta, it could continue to cook and may get mushy faster than anticipated.
Any leftover pasta salad can be transferred to an airtight container for up to 3 days. I suppose you can keep it up to an additional 2 days, but, you may lose flavor and the pasta may start to break down. I don’t recommend freezing this.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- rotini pasta – any similar size pasta can be used.
- grape or cherry tomatoes – I tend to prefer cherry tomatoes these days. I think the skin is a bit thinner and easier to eat.
- red onion
- fresh mozzarella – you want a softer mozzarella cheese here so it’s easier to eat. Not the block of mozzarella cheese. You could use that of course but that is generally made more for shredding. You could also use the smaller mozzarella balls as well.
- shredded Parmesan cheese
- basil pesto– you can use store-bought or homemade basil pesto
- creamy caesar dressing– use your store-bought favorite or your Homemade Caesar Dressing.
- house seasoning– this is made up of equal parts of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
How to Make Caesar Basil Pasta Salad
Cook and drain pasta according to package directions. Pour pasta into a medium-large bowl. Mix together Caesar dressing with Basil Pesto.
Pour over pasta and the rest of the ingredients. Stir well.
Cover and place into refrigerator until ready to eat.
Craving More Recipes?
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Copycat Ruby Tuesday Pasta Salad
- Pasta Salad with Sweet Balsamic Dressing
- Caesar Basil Pasta Salad
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
- Pea Salad with Ham
- Tuna Macaroni Salad
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad
- Taco Pasta Salad
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
- The Best Macaroni Salad
- Amish Macaroni Salad
- Chicken Macaroni Salad
- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad
- Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Pesto Pasta Salad
- Spaghetti Salad
- Italian Grinder Pasta Salad
Caesar Basil Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounce box Rotini Pasta cooked
- 1 cup creamy Caesar dressing
- ¼ cup basil pesto, fresh or jarred
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes diced
- ½ cup diced red onion
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup fresh mozzarella cubed
- 2 teaspoons house seasoning (equal parts salt, pepper and garlic powder)
Instructions
- Cook and drain 16 ounce box Rotini Pasta according to package directions. Pour pasta into a medium-large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup creamy Caesar dressing with ¼ cup basil pesto,.
- Pour over warm pasta and coat throughly.
- Add the rest of the ingredients- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup diced red onion, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 cup fresh mozzarella, 2 teaspoons house seasoning, and toss.
- Cover and place into refrigerator until ready to eat.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: June 2011
Updated & republished: April 2026
Recipe Adapted from: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
This is very easy and always a favorite. I sometimes add chicken for a protein. Thank you.
I love it!!!
I realize I’m a few years late grading the salad, but oh my goodness, is it yummy! I never would’ve thought of putting pesto with my Caesar dressing or adding the house seasoning. Super Yum!
It’s never too late!! Love reading that Michelle! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
The second I saw the photo my mouth started watering! In a big way! I’ll be making this soon.
I made this but substituted green pepper for onion. It was amazing!
I'm going to make this as a Mason jar salad!!
That's wonderful Marty! I love the addition of some marinated artichoke hearts – YUM! Thank you for coming back to let me know how it turned out for ya!
Made this for our girls game night. Added checked and artichoke hearts to made it again dish. Everyone loved it and wanted the recipe. Great pasta salad!!!
LOVE hearing that Alicia! Thank you!!
i love this. i have made it 2x this week!
We loved this! Going into the rotation. 🙂 The pesto/Ceasar combination is great!
So happy to hear that Becky! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
Oh my! This salad has all my favorites in it. Starting with the pasta (I live for pasta) and creamy Ceasar (there better be Creamy Ceasar in heaven)! I think I will try cutting up some pepperoni in there too! Thanks for sharing, Brandie.
LOVELY!!!
Ty for this recipe 🙂
Greetings from Holland
Hi! Thank you for stopping by!
Good pasta salads are hard to come by – this one looks great! I just pinned your recipe to my Pinterest site.
Thank you for posting your "go to" pasta salad. I just made the sauce and I LOVE it. It's going to be hard not to eat all of pasta salad in one sitting.
I've never ate pasta salad, but your recipe sounds great! I should put these ingredients on my grocery list!
I love pasta salads, especially in the summer! Such a shame that pasta has come out of favor because of the low carb movement, but I have been using the protein and fiber-enriched kind and my family doesn't know the difference!
This recipe I have to try soon! I love how you made it and pictures are so delicious looking!
This was so awesome!!
Brandie….Your food never seems to disappoint. This looks aaaamazing!!! I always love a good pasta salad. And I'm with you on the fly on poop thing…:)
I'm with you on the pasta salad, Brandie. Love them so much! And pesto pasta salad is by far my favorite. We always have multiple jars of that Classico pesto in the pantry for when the cravings hit…and that's often. I love how you've combined Caesar dressing with it. I have got to try that this week. Yum!
It's okay to mention poop as long as you follow up with something this yummy looking! Yum 🙂
Now that is my kind of pasta salad. Love everything about it. That is always my go to kind of basil pasta. Good, easy, already for me!
I love pasta salad and this one sounds fabulous! I'll be making it soon 🙂
P.S. Lovely blog!
Brandie, This salad looks just wonderful and pasta salad is one of our favorites. I will definitely try this one. Thanks for sharing.
Healthy and refreshing!
Thanks for sharing, my mouth is salivating….
Looks like a winning combination!
An award for you,
Oh, boy, I love the sound of this pasta salad….mmmmmmm…might be part of my 4th picnic food!!
I love that I can make this and put it in the fridge until I am ready to eat. It was so great on a hot day like today. I made it exactly to your recipe.
I love pasta! Thanks for sharing!
Love this idea!!! I love pesto, and I love pasta salad!! Thank you for making my next pasta salad just that much better!
Pesto + Caesar Dressing. Brilliant. That combination will go with so many things. I'm thinking avocados to start with…
Pretty! And just perfect for summer!
Oh Brandie – this is right up my alley! Delicious recipe
Mary
I always go for the pasta salad first too! And I usually go back for seconds, or eat my kids' leftovers. It's even better the next day. Love this recipe, and can't wait to try it.
I love pasta salad and I'm always looking for new recipes…I can't wait to try this. Caesar is also a favorite of mine 🙂
This look great Brandie! I never get tired of pasta salad….or pasta in general! Great with the addition of chicken.
Pesto in a pasta salad sounds wonderful.
I'm with you. If there is pasta salad I'm all over it. I'll go back for thirds without shame. I love the flavor play in this pasta salad. Yummy!
I used to love pasta salad but lately I've been finding it too heavy and it makes me a bit queasy if I eat more than a few bites. Yours does look lighter and I just love the basil pesto!