This pesto tortellini salad is a flavorful summer pasta salad that can be served as a side dish for your next picnic or cookout or as a quick and easy main dish that's perfect for lunch or a weeknight dinner in just 10 minutes!
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Why this Recipe Works
Looking for a tasty pasta salad option? Try this cheese tortellini pasta salad with pesto, also known as Caprese pasta salad. It's made with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil, just like a classic Caprese salad. This side dish is best served cold, but can also be served warm for a quick and easy lunch or dinner option.
This tortellini salad with pesto is filled with the freshness of summer, thanks to the juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, pesto sauce, and fresh mozzarella balls. What I love most about it is that it can be whipped up in no time.
With the use of store-bought ingredients, preparing this dish only requires a few minutes of chopping basil and tomatoes. And the cooking time is a mere 3 minutes, so you can have it ready in just about 10 minutes from start to finish!
Ingredient Notes
- Tortellini - I like to use cheese tortellini with a mixture of regular and spinach pasta for added color. Plain cheese tortellini will also work, or you can use a variety with a different filling if you want to change the flavor.
- Fresh Mozzarella - I use fresh mozzarella balls called pearls. They are miniature balls, and the size is perfect for this tortellini pasta salad. If you can't find the pearls, larger mozzarella balls will work, or you can dice a full-sized ball of fresh mozzarella.
- Pesto Sauce - To make this dish quick and easy, I used store-bought refrigerated pesto. This is typically sold alongside the packaged tortellini. Of course, you can also use a batch of my homemade pesto sauce if you prefer.
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients and measurements.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain the noodles in a colander and rinse with cold water for around a minute until cool.
- Add the pasta to a mixing bowl along with the pesto, basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella balls, and stir to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
What to Serve with Tortellini Pasta Salad
This pesto pasta salad is ideal for summer cookouts and backyard barbecues. It pairs well with grilled dishes like my spinach and feta turkey burgers and kebabs like my Greek chicken souvlaki, huli huli chicken kebabs, and my Greek yogurt marinated lamb kebabs.
Recipe Variations
This tortellini pasta salad is fresh and flavorful, but you can easily change up the flavor by swapping the pesto for a store-bought salad dressing. Here are some of my favorites:
- Greek- For a Greek-flavored tortellini pasta salad, replace the pesto with ½ cup of red wine vinaigrette dressing and replace the mozzarella balls with crumbled feta cheese. Then add in olives, sliced cucumber, and sliced red onion.
- Italian - Another variation is to use Italian dressing in place of the pesto. You can keep the ingredient list the same or add other additions like sliced red onion, diced bell peppers, salami, and black olives.
- Balsamic - You can give this pasta salad a sweeter flavor profile by swapping out the pesto for ½ cup of balsamic vinaigrette.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
You can make this pasta salad 2-3 days ahead. If you do plan to make it ahead, I recommend only adding half of the pesto sauce when preparing it. Then stir in the rest just before serving since the pasta soaks up the sauce as it sits.
Yes, you can use most shaped noodles like rotini or macaroni in place of the tortellini if you prefer.
More Delicious Side Dish Salads
📖 Recipe
Pesto Tortellini Salad
Ingredients
- 20 ounces cheese tortellini
- 1 cup pesto sauce
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls
- 16 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup chopped basil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain the noodles in a colander and rinse with cold water for around a minute until cool.
- Add the pasta to a mixing bowl along with the pesto, basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella balls, and stir to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
* All nutrition information we provide are estimates based on third party calculators. We encourage you to calculate these on your own for accurate results.
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