Pesto Tortellini Salad - An Easy Tortellini Pasta Salad

This easy Pesto Tortellini Salad is just the thing for satisfying summer dish without a lot of fuss.

I feel tortellini pasta salad is more like a meal than regular pasta salads are, yet it works great as a side dish too.

I like serving it mixed with a generous handful of torn romaine as well... so refreshing!

Pesto Tortellini Salad - How it is so Easy

This Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad is about the easiest pasta salad I make. It is just three ingredients!

This is a great recipe to double or triple up to bring to a summer party.

• a bag of frozen cheese tortellini,
• jarred pesto (store bought basil pesto)
• chopped fresh tomatoes (grape or cherry tomatoes work best)

How to Make

1. Simply cook the tortellini according to package direction, then drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking process.
2. Place the pasta in a large bowl and toss to coat with the pesto sauce.
3. Add the tomatoes and toss to combine.
4. Serve with a little Parmesan cheese. If it dries out toss with a splash of olive oil to refresh it.

Yes, that's it.

You can toss in fresh basil leaves or some torn romaine if you like. I sometimes add a tablespoon of mayonnaise to make it a little creamy (this works well if you serve it with romaine lettuce).

More recipes you may like:

• Vegetarian Crockpot Tortellini Soup
• Chicken Pesto Panini
• Crock Pot Chicken Alfredo Recipe
• Green Pea Salad

Pesto Tortellini Salad Recipe

This simple tortellini pesto pasta salad recipe features pesto and freshly chopped garden tomatoes. A nice meatless meal for a summer day, which also makes a great side dish for dinner or to bring to that next cookout.

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Pasta, Side Dish, Vegetarian

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pesto tortellini salad, pesto tortellini salad recipe, tortellini pasta salad, tortellini pesto pasta salad

Prep Time: 7 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 311kcal

Ingredients

• 12 oz cheese tortellini frozen
• 3 tablespoon basil pesto jarred
• ½ cup tomatoes freshly chopped

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then cook the frozen tortellini until they float to top of water. Drain and rinse the cooked tortellini with cold water, then gently toss in colander to ensure no pockets of water remain.
• Place the cheese tortellini in a large bowl, add the pesto and toss to combine, until well coated.
  
• Add the chopped tomatoes and fold in gently until they are evenly distributed in the salad.

Notes

While you can use any tomato in the recipe, I do find grape or cherry tomatoes are ideal. 

Before serving you may like to sprinkle on a little Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 475mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 380IU | Vitamin C: 2.6mg | Calcium: 138mg | Iron: 2.3mg