Looking for a spooktacular dish to serve this Halloween? Look no further than this wicked good Halloween Caprese Pasta Salad.
Photos by Catcher in the Rye Photography. This post contains affiliate links.
Halloween is one of my all-time favorite holidays. It’s just sooo much fun to celebrate. Each year, I love to host a fantastically freaky meal to mark the occasion.
In the past, I’ve made dishes like Dried Mummy Skin Parmesan Crisps and Fried Ogre Fingers. This year I am making something a bit more simple, but every bit as eye-catching. Let’s make some Wicked Good Halloween Caprese Pasta Salad.
I went on the hunt for a bit of spooky pasta about a month ago. Initially I was looking for simple, black squid ink Italian spaghetti. It’s fairly easy to find online. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can nab it here. And, if you’re not a Prime member yet, what on Earth are you waiting for?
While I was on the hunt for the stringy black pasta, I found gorgeous black and white bow tie pasta. You can purchase it here. It’s perfect for Halloween and serves as the foundation for this caprese-style pasta salad.
Wicked Good Halloween Caprese Pasta Salad
While this zebra striped pasta tastes just like any other farfalle pasta, the stripes provide such a bold visual statement I wanted to keep the remaining ingredients fairly simple.
I decided on a caprese-style salad. The ingredient combination is absolutely timeless, it’s ultra easy to make and it tastes just as fantastic when leftover as it does right when you make it.
Honestly, the hardest past of this whole dish is cooking the pasta, which takes about 10 minutes. The black and white bow tie pasta is a bit larger than regular farfalle, so bring a LARGE pot of water to boil. As the water comes to a full boil, add in one heaping tablespoon of fine sea salt and then add in the pasta. Be sure to stir the pasta every couple of minutes, because these guys like to stick…either together OR to the bottom of the pot! Once the pasta is fully cooked (about seven minutes), drain and rinse with cold water. The water rinses off some of the starch and keeps the pasta from sticking together.
Make this dish a few hours ahead and refrigerate for a few hours for the best result.
I just love how the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella pearls pop against the black and white pasta in this wicked good Halloween Caprese Pasta Salad. It blends in perfectly with this year’s Halloween decor. I’ve decorated the house in black and white with pops of orange.
Wicked Good Halloween Caprese Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dry black and white farfalle pasta
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes I used red, yellow and a dark, dark maroon
- 8 oz. mozzarella pearls
- 1/3 cup shredded basil
- 1/3 cup EVOO
- 3 tblsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water al dente (about seven minutes), according to the instructions on the package.
- Drain the pasta and rinse in cold water for about 30 seconds.
- Combine pasta, cherry tomatoes (sliced in half, if desired) and mozzarella pearls and set aside.
- Whisk together EVOO, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over pasta.
- Toss shredded basil in salad.
- Serve immediately, or store in a tightly covered container in the fridge for up to three days.
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Fried Ogre Fingers (Potato Wedges)
I love the look of this pasta. I have never seen anything like it. I’ve got to get me some! Pinned it.