Summer Tortellini Salad Recipe

Updated June 01, 2020 Our garden is out of control and I am pleasantly surprised. I have never really had a green thumb, but this year I feel like all of my fingers are green. Our garden is thriving, especially our basil. I can’t keep up! I have been making pesto and basil vinaigrette nonstop and I still don’t make a dent in our basil. I decided to put all of our garden goodies to use and make a Summer Tortellini Salad. Best decision ever because it was easy to make and the entire family loved it, including the kids. You need to put this salad recipe on your summer to do list because it is guaranteed to be a favorite!

Perfect Summer Salad

Most of you LOVE our Greek Tortellini Salad and I think you will like this summer tortellini salad too. It is the perfect cold pasta salad for summer BBQ’s, potlucks, and picnics. I love that you can make it in advance and it has all of summer’s BEST ingredients like:

tomatoesred peppercorncucumbersbasil

If you have a garden, chances are you have all of these ingredients right outside in your yard, if not, go ask your neighbor or hit up the farmers market. Make the most of summer’s produce, it is all so good! And I have to say that the basil vinaigrette MAKES this salad. If you’ve had my basil vinaigrette, you know what I am talking, if you haven’t, you are in for a real treat. It is the BEST!

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!

More Pasta Salad Recipes

Greek Tortellini SaladTortellini Caesar SaladPesto Pasta SaladSouthwest Pasta SaladEasy Pasta SaladBacon, Corn, and Tomato Pasta Salad

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