Italian burrata pasta recipe with creamy burrata cheese, pasta, tomato, rocket, and basil sauce. The perfect summer meal ready in just 15 minutes!
Summer for me is all about salads, and as a proud Italian, this burrata pasta salad is high on my list of favorite salads!
This delicious combo of burrata+pasta+veggies makes a healthy, easy-to-make meal or a flavorful side dish.
It's the perfect meal for hot summer days, and it's a wonderful option if you need something fast, easy, nutritious and delicious to feed the whole family.
But it's an equally amazing option if you want something super easy to prepare and with the WOW factor, to bring to picnics or dinner parties!
Jump to:
What is burrata cheese?
Burrata originates in Apulia, south of Italy, and is the creamy little sister of mozzarella cheese.
The name "burrata", translates into "buttery" or "buttered" (quite fitting, isn't it?).
Whilst it looks very similar to a classic, round ball of fresh mozzarella, the center is filled with pulled mozzarella (known as stracciatella) and cream, which gives the burrata its creamy unique texture.
Burrata pasta ingredients
You'll love the simplicity of this recipe, and I promise you'll be making this burrata cheese pasta recipe at home all year round.
This easy pasta recipe uses the most simple ingredients, in typical Italian fashion.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Pasta: You can use penne, rigatoni, fusilli or your favorite short-cut pasta. I like to use Gragnano pasta because it's perfect for al dente pasta.
- Rocket leaves (arugula): You can substitute it with spinach leaves for a milder flavor.
- Burrata cheese: the star of the pasta, you can leave it whole, or tear it into pieces and evenly mix it with the other ingredients.
- Cherry tomatoes: You can also use datterino tomatoes.
- Garlic: This is optional, but adds an extra layer of flavor.
- Basil leaves: You'll need fresh basil leaves, wash and pat dry before use.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: Opt for the best fruity extra-virgin olive oil, I recommend organic single-origin extra-virgin olive oil (Sicilian EVOO is my favorite!).
Add or swap ingredients
Use the ingredients list above as a base and feel free to add or swap with other ingredients, here are some of my favorite additions/substitutions:
- Cheese: You can swap the burrata cheese with classic mozzarella, or dollops of fresh ricotta cheese.
- Grilled veggies: I like to add leftover peperonata, caponata or simply roasted veggies.
- Beans: Add a handful of canned cannellini beans or chickpeas for a welcome veggie protein boost.
- Meat & fish: Feel free to add grilled chicken breast, salmon fillet, or tuna chunks into your burrata pasta salad, for an extra layer of flavor.
How to make burrata pasta
This recipe takes no more than 20 minutes to make, and requires basically no cooking skills.
Follow these super simple steps and you'll have an awesome Italian meal in a blink!
Scroll until the end of the post for the full printable recipe.
STEP 1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water, until al dente, then cool it under cold running water, drain and place in a large bowl.
STEP 2. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, and add them to the bowl, followed by the rocket leaves and basil leaves.
STEP 3. Finally, top the pasta with burrata cheese, drizzle some basil oil on top and mix everything together.
You can leave the burrata cheese whole and cut it at the table, or cut it open and give all the ingredients a quick mix before serving.
I personally do a mix of the above suggestions. I like to tear one burrata ball into pieces and mix it with the salad, and serve another burrata on top, to cut open right when I serve the salad.
Burrata pasta sauce
During the summer, when fresh basil is in abundance, I like to make a simple basil sauce, an easier and more forgiving version of classic basil pesto.
You can pretty much drizzle it on everything you like, I especially love it drizzled over this Tuscan Panzanella, but it goes super well on grilled chicken or roasted fish too.
And, of course, it goes beautifully with this salad recipe I'm sharing with you. Burrata, basil and tomatoes were meant to be together!
This simple, flavorful oil is made with just 4 ingredients, basil, garlic, good extra-virgin olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt.
Plus, it takes about 2 minutes to make.
Make sure you don't overmix it, as the basil might turn a little bitter.
You want to reach a smooth sauce but not quite like pesto, it's more like a rich olive oil with tiny bits of basil in there.
Storage tips
This is a great make-ahead salad that can be prepared the day before and keeps well in the fridge for the next day ( and up to 3 days).
However, I always recommend to leave the burrata cheese out of the mix and add it just before serving.
It's a delicate cheese that's best eaten right after you cut it.
If you're looking for a great salad for meal prep, lunchboxes, BBQs and summer parties, then this is definitely it!
More Italian recipes to try:
- BEST Italian Homemade Pizza Dough
- Sicilian Pasta alla Norma
- Italian Fried Mozzarella Sandwich
- Authentic Italian Potato Frittata
- Tomato Confit Bruschetta with Ricotta & Basil Pesto
Did You Try This Recipe?
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Recipe
Burrata Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 350 g penne pasta
- 2 burrata cheese balls, (125 g each)
- 80 g rocket leaves
- 250 g cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
- 6 basil leaves
- sea salt
Basil oil:
- 15 g basil leaves, (roughly 30 leaves)
- 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 teaspoon cold water
- a pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, until al dente, about 2-3 minutes shy of the time on the package instructions.
- Transfer the pasta to a strainer and place it very quickly under cool running water for a couple of seconds. Drain the pasta, and let it cool slightly, before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients.
- Place the pasta in a large serving bowl. Add in the tomatoes, followed by the rocket leaves and basil leaves. Mix all the ingredients.
- Finally, top the pasta with burrata cheese. You can leave it whole or cut it open and give all the ingredients a quick mix. Drizzle the basil oil on top and serve.
For the basil oil:
- Place the basil leaves, garlic, a generous pinch of sea salt, and a tiny bit of water in a blender or food processor.
- Pulse for 30 seconds, slowly incorporating the olive oil into the jug/bowl, until all the ingredients are combined.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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