Tortellini Salad Recipe

A light-weight-weight pasta salad—stuffed with veggies tossed in a zingy dressing—is a perfect year-round back-pocket recipe for as soon as you could make an unlimited batch of 1 factor to have the benefit of all by means of the week. Add cheese and meat and it is hearty enough to face by itself as a simple however satisfying summer season meal for a crowd. Plus, leftovers are the proper packed college or desk lunch, so make extra!

This salad swaps plain pasta for plump cheese and spinach-filled tortellini. Cucumbers and bell peppers add crunch, and artichokes, kalamata olives, up to date basil, feta, and summer season sausage add giant flavors and textures.

This recipe makes enough to hold to a potluck and is quick and easy enough for when summer season temperatures are too scorching to cook dinner dinner—you do should boil the pasta. Plus, it’s an superior pasta salad to prepare upfront as a result of it solely will get increased as a result of it sits— up to date, vivid, and zingy!

What Type of Tortellini to Buy

I exploit store-bought up to date tortellini, nonetheless you’ll fully make the pasta from scratch should the inspiration strike.

You’ll uncover up to date tortellini throughout the refrigerated a part of your grocery retailer. Dried ones are throughout the boxed pasta aisle and frozen tortellini is throughout the freezer half. You must use any choice, nonetheless I select up to date tortellini on account of it cooks in a short while—about 3 minutes as compared with 10 minutes or additional for dried.

As for the filling, you’ll not at all go flawed alongside along with your favorite! I opted for spinach and cheese, nonetheless three-cheese or pesto would even be delicious.

Merely Recipes / Alison Bickel

Two Ideas for Utterly Cooked Tortellini

Salt the pasta cooking water generously sooner than together with the tortellini. It’s your one likelihood to season the pasta from the inside out.
Put together dinner the tortellini until al dente following bundle directions. Drain and immediately rinse them beneath chilly working water to relax to room temperature. This stops the pasta from persevering with to cook dinner dinner—they may get mushy in case you don’t cool them down instantly—and prevents the greens throughout the salad from softening and the cheese from melting.

Make It Your Private

It doesn’t matter what form of greens, cheese, and meat you resolve to utilize, chop them to in regards to the similar dimension as a result of the tortellini so it’s easy to get barely little little bit of the whole thing into each forkful. Listed below are some ideas:

Swap summer season sausage for pepperoni, salami, or rotisserie hen.
Make it meatless by altering the sausage with a can of rinsed and drained canned chickpeas.
Attempt mini mozzarella balls or shredded Italian combine cheese instead of feta.
Add cherry tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, or carrots.

Merely Recipes / Alison Bickel

Pasta Salad to the Rescue!

Put together dinner Mode
(Maintain show awake)

For the dressing

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons up to date lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons purple wine vinegar
2 cloves garlicgrated
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly flooring black pepper
1 small purple onionfinely chopped (about 1 cup)

For the salad

2 (10–ounce) packages tortellini (any type)
1 small yellow bell pepperchopped (about 1 cup)
1 English cucumberquartered lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
3/4 cup pitted and sliced kalamata olives
1 (14–ounce) can artichoke heartsdrained and roughly chopped
8 ounces turkey summer season sausagequartered lengthwise and sliced (about 2 cups)
6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped up to date basil leaves

Boil water:

Carry a giant pot of salted water to a boil over extreme heat.
Within the meantime, make the dressing:

In a giant bowl, whisk collectively the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Stir throughout the purple onion. Put apart.

Merely Recipes / Alison Bickel
Put together dinner the tortellini:

As quickly because the water comes as a lot as a boil, cook dinner dinner the tortellini until al dente following bundle directions. Drain proper right into a colander set throughout the sink. Rinse with chilly working water until the pasta cools to room temperature. Drain properly.

Merely Recipes / Alison Bickel

Merely Recipes / Alison Bickel
Assemble the salad:

Add the cooled tortellini, bell peppers, cucumbers, kalamata olives, artichokes, sausage, feta, and basil to the dressing. Toss properly to combine. Fashion and season with salt and black pepper, if wished

Merely Recipes / Alison Bickel
Chill sooner than serving:

Cowl the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half-hour sooner than serving to sit down again and let the flavors come collectively. Toss collectively as quickly as additional sooner than serving.

Leftovers is perhaps refrigerated tightly lined for 3 to 5 days. Bear in mind to provide it a stir sooner than serving to redistribute the dressing.

Did you are eager on the recipe? Depart us stars underneath!

Merely Recipes / Alison Bickel

Food regimen Particulars (per serving)
510	Vitality
26g	Fat
47g	Carbs
24g	Protein

Food regimen Particulars
Servings: 6 to eight
Amount per serving
Vitality	510
% Day by day Value*
26g	33%
Saturated Fat 9g	44%
85mg	28%
898mg	39%
47g	17%
Dietary Fiber 5g	20%
Entire Sugars 4g
24g
Vitamin C 43mg	217%
Calcium 262mg	20%
Iron 3mg	16%
Potassium 472mg	10%
*The % Day by day Value (DV) tells you methods quite a bit a nutrient in a meals serving contributes to a daily weight reduction program. 2,000 vitality a day is used for regular vitamin suggestion.

Food regimen information is calculated using an ingredient database and must be considered an estimate. In circumstances the place quite a few ingredient choices are given, the first listed is calculated for vitamin. Garnishes and optionally accessible components aren’t included.