Summer Tortellini Salad
This month's meatless meal comes from Maria Litchy of Two Peas and their Pod.
This easy tortellini pasta salad has all of your favorite summer ingredients: tomatoes, Red Pepper, corn, cucumbers, and the BEST basil vinaigrette. It is the perfect salad for summer potlucks.
Ingredients 1x2x3x
Ingredients
20 oz cheese tortellini, fresh or frozen
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and chopped
1 ear sweet corn, kernels removed (about 1 cup)
1 medium cucumber, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Shredded Parmesan cheese and chopped basil, for garnish
Instructions
Cook the tortellini according to package instructions. Rinse with cold water and drain well.
Place the cooked tortellini in a big bowl. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, corn, cucumber, and green onions. Drizzle with basil vinaigrette and stir until the ingredients are well coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Finish the salad with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Note-the salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Salad Tips
Salad Tips
You can use fresh or frozen cheese tortellini for this salad and you should be able to find it at any grocery store. If you can’t find tortellini, you can use your favorite pasta salad, but the cheese tortellini makes the pasta salad extra tasty.
I love using grape or cherry tomatoes in this salad because they are so sweet and colorful. If you have larger garden tomatoes to use up, you can chop the tomatoes and add them to the salad.
Cook the tortellini according to the package instructions, it will only take a few minutes. Once it floats to the top it is done, you don’t want to over cook it.
Rinse the tortellini with cold water and drain well.
You don’t have to cook the corn before adding it to the salad. Use a sharp knife to remove the corn kernels from the cob. If you can’t find good, fresh sweet corn, you can use frozen corn.
You can make the basil vinaigrette in advance, it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Just whisk it before adding it to the salad.
Pesto would also work well in this salad.
I like to finish the salad with Parmesan cheese and a little extra basil.
Serve cold or at room temperature. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Enjoy this easy tortellini salad all summer long! It is a family favorite!
