Italian Burrata Pasta Salad recipe with creamy burrata cheese, pasta, tomato, rocket, and basil oil. The perfect summer meal ready in just 15 minutes!
Summer for me is all about salads, and as a proud Italian, pasta salads are 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!
What’s in this burrata pasta salad
You'll be absolutely amazed by the simplicity of this recipe, and I promise you'll be making this Italian salad at home all summer long.
This easy pasta recipe uses the most simple ingredients, in typical Italian fashion.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- penne pasta (or another short pasta of your choice)
- rocket leaves (arugula)
- burrata cheese
- cherry tomatoes
- garlic
- basil leaves
- extra-virgin olive oil
- sea salt and black pepper
To make the best pasta salad, always start with high-quality pasta.
I'm a huge fan of bronze-cut pasta, which holds the cooking and keeps al dente better than other kinds of pasta, and has a lovely rough texture.
Of course, Italian-made pasta (even better if you go for pasta made in Gragnano) is my favorite.
What is burrata cheese?
Burrata is basically the creamy little sister of mozzarella. It's made from Italian cow milk cheese, and it's a combination of mozzarella and cream.
The outer shell is mozzarella, while the inside embraces cream and stracciatella, giving it a creamy, soft unique texture.
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:
- mozzarella cheese
- sun-dried tomatoes
- roasted peppers
- grilled eggplant
- chickpeas or cannellini beans
- spinach leaves
- grilled chicken
- grilled shrimp
Step-by-step Instructions
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!
Step 1. Prepare the pasta.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water, until al dente, about 2-3 minutes shy of the time on the package instructions.
- Rinse very quickly under cool running water, drain, and let it cool before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients.
Step 2. Combine all ingredients.
- Place the pasta in a large serving bowl. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, and add them into the bowl, followed by the rocket leaves and basil leaves.
- Finally, top the pasta with burrata cheese, drizzle some basil oil on top and mix everything together.
For the burrata, you can leave it 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.
Pasta Salad Dressing
Basil is growing like crazy in our garden, so a delicious basil oil had to be made ASAP.
You can pretty much drizzle it on everything you like, I especially love it into this Tuscan Panzanella, but goes super well on grilled chicken or roasted fish too.
And, of course, it goes beautifully with this salad recipe I'm sharing right now with you. Burrata, basil, tomatoes, they were all just 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.
Step 1. Place basil leaves, garlic cloves, a generous pinch of sea salt, and a tiny bit of water in the jug of a blender or the bowl of a food processor.
Step 2. Pulse, slowly incorporating the olive oil into the jug/bowl, until all the ingredients are combined.
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.
Make this salad ahead
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 simply 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
Recipe
Burrata Pasta Salad with Basil Oil
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 well-salted boiling water (1.5 tbsps of sea salt for 3.5 lt of water) , until al dente, about 2-3 minutes shy of the time on the package instructions.
- Transfer the pasta in a colander 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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