In my house, we eat a lot of pasta. I love, love, love pasta because it is easy and you can do so much with it! We also eat a lot of string cheese so I wanted to find a way to incorporate it into a healthy meal. I have had tomato, basil, and mozzarella salads and loved them but I do not like paying the price of fresh mozzarella and I wanted something more filling.
My husband is not a big fan of tomatoes, but he really enjoys my Tomato and String Cheese Pasta Salad. It is a great mixture you can eat warm or chilled for lunch, dinner, or even a snack! It is healthy and lightweight and the combination is so fresh and springy. The string cheese sticks (we used Frigo cheese) taste like fresh mozzarella cheese and they look adorable too. *NOTE: While I have adjusted it, the nutritional information on this dish is still a little bit high compared to what it should be; my generated nutritional label uses macaroni pasta, cherry tomatoes, and regular mozzarella cheese as bowtie pasta, grape tomatoes and string cheese were not options. For exact nutritional data, read the packages on the brands you purchase.
You Will Need
- Pasta, any type, I used farfalle/bowtie pasta
- Grape tomatoes
- String cheese
- Basil, freshly chopped
- Olive oil
Directions
1. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box then drain. You can rinse the pasta if you choose, but personally I just serve immediately.
2. If you want to serve chilled, you can mix everything then refrigerate. Otherwise, begin plating first with the the pasta.
3. Drizzle the pasta with a little olive oil. This will add some great flavor, but it will also help to separate the pasta so it is not too sticky.
4. Dice up the mozzarella cheese sticks and add on top of the pasta.
5. Slice the grape tomatoes. You can simply cut them in half or slice them like I did.
6. Sprinkle some freshly chopped basil over top. You can use dried basil as well, but fresh is best. I actually used frozen basil.
7. Serve warm or cold and enjoy!
*While I have adjusted it, the nutritional information on this dish is still a little bit high compared to what it should be; my generated label uses macaroni pasta, cherry tomatoes, and regular mozzarella cheese as bowtie pasta, grape tomatoes and string cheese were not options. For exact nutritional data, read the packages on the brands you purchase.
- ¾ cup of bowtie pasta, cooked
- 3 grape tomatoes, sliced
- 1 string cheese stick, sliced
- pinch of basil, freshly chopped
- drizzle of olive oil
- Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box then drain. You can rinse the pasta if you choose, but personally I just serve immediately.
- If you want to serve chilled, you can mix everything then refrigerate. Otherwise, begin plating first with the the pasta.
- Drizzle the pasta with a little olive oil. This will add some great flavor, but it will also help to separate the pasta so it is not too sticky.
- Dice up the mozzarella cheese sticks and add on top of the pasta.
- Slice the grape tomatoes. You can simply cut them in half or slice them like I did.
- Sprinkle some freshly chopped basil over top. You can use dried basil as well, but fresh is best.
- Serve warm or cold and enjoy!
Check out my other uses for string cheese sticks HERE.
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-How do you use string cheese in cooking?
Thought I would mention that I have been using a healthier pasta. Creamette 150 Calories has 13g of fiber and Barilla White Fiber has 6g of fiber and 200 calories per serving. They cost a few pennies more than regular pasta but well worth it.
That’s great, thanks for sharing! As a disclaimer, my recipe only has about 285 calories in total (silly auto-generated nutritional label is waaay off) but every little bit helps! I will definitely have to look into trying Creamette!
Yum!!! The pictures of this recipe are outstanding!
Thanks girlie! It tastes great too; even my husband thinks so and he really (and I mean REALLY) does not like tomatoes!
Looks super yummy! my 4 year old would love it but i am going to change it up a bit to cut calories/fat 🙂
Awesome! My little man loved it too! The calorie count is off (definitely NOT near 1000 calories haha; more like 285 only and less fat too of course) but try the Creamette pasta Dorothy mentioned in a previous comment to save a few extra calories!
This looks very good and simple my kiddos would love it.
Thanks! It is very simple to throw together and the whole family enjoyed it! Let me know if you try it!
Looks delicious and kid friendly! We love summer caprese salad and this is a fun twist on it!
Thank ya! My kids sure liked it! It’s definitely like Summer Caprese Salad (which I love) but more substantial for a meal and reminds my son of spaghetti so he will eat it 🙂
Thanks so much for the recipe, after seeing the pic of the finish product I will be making this for my Sisters Baby Shower, this is sure to be a hit with the ladies!
Sounds great! Come back and let me know what you all think of it!
YUM! I will have to try this! Thanks!
Great! Let me know how you like it!
I would have to add some type of vinaigrette, but it sounds tasty
That would be good too!
I was about to freak when I saw 980 calories per serving but I am assuming that is the calorie count for the entire dish and not an actual serving. It looks very tasty I will have to try this.
I freaked when I saw it too lol. It auto-generates and does not know what grape tomatoes are or a “pinch” and a “drizzle.” It is actually right around 285 calories only.
Looks delicious! I bet kids love all the colors too. Thanks for sharing.
Yes! My son loved how colorful it was.
That looks so yummy. I need to make that for my kids tomorrow!!
Come back and let me know how you like it!
YUM!! Perfect for summer and so easy too!
Definitely!
Looks delicious and easy to make!
It definitely is both!
I love string cheese! 🙂
Me too!
This might be the first time that I’ve seen string cheese used in a recipe. Cool. I recently discovered that I like grape tomatoes…for some reason, I’ve always avoided them until now.
Awesome! My husband claims to hate tomatoes, but somehow I can get him to enjoy them like in this dish. I actually have another recipe that uses string cheese as well, it’s my Eggplant Parmesan recipe! That is really tasty and healthy as well!
What an easy and healthy side! This could also be a great light lunch.
We had it for lunch and it was filling and tasty!
Oooh, that is something I would love to try! I have never bought the fresh mozzarella because it somehow seems intimidating, so I love the string cheese idea! I like to make Chicken Parmesan with slices of string cheese on top! Yum!
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