This Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad recipe is made with cheese tortellini tossed with pesto, artichoke hearts, mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes and more! It’s the best salad for parties, picnics, potlucks and summer barbecues, and it can be prepared in under 15 minutes. Double or triple the recipe if you need to serve a crowd!
If you’re a lover of tortellini salad, be sure to try my Greek Tortellini Salad recipe too!
Pesto tortellini pasta salad is the best summer salad. It’s a fun one to share on the food table at a holiday celebration like 4th of July or Memorial Day because it’s always a crowd favorite. I love that it’s an extremely versatile salad that can handle anything added in. Kids happen to love this pasta salad too!
Ingredients Needed for this Easy Pasta Salad:
- Tortellini: I like to use cheese tortellini. The most important thing about the tortellini is that you’re only going to cook it in boiling water for TWO MINUTES. No more.
- Artichoke Hearts: Quartered artichoke hearts in the can are perfect.
- Mozzarella Cheese: Fresh mozzarella will be best for this tortellini salad. Look for mozzarella balls or pearls.
- Olives: Medium black olives in the can are perfect.
- Sun Dried Tomatoes: I like to buy the already julienned sun dried tomatoes so I don’t have to bother with cutting them.
- Red Onion: Finely chop your red onion so you’re just adding a bit of flavor instead of big chunks of onion.
- Pesto Sauce: Use jarred pesto sauce or homemade pesto sauce… whatever you prefer.
- Basil: You’ll need a little bit of fresh basil to finish off your pasta salad!
How to make Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of the post. This is just a recipe overview:
- Cook the tortellini. Rinse and drain.
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl, and toss. Sprinkle with fresh basil. Cover and refrigerate.
Suggested Additions:
- Add a protein to make this a more hearty main dish salad. Try adding grilled chicken or shrimp.
- Use fresh cherry tomatoes in place of sun dried tomatoes.
- Add chopped bell pepper, chopped spinach or arugula.
- Chopped bacon is a delicious addition.
- Toasted pine nuts or toasted walnuts are good in this tortellini salad too.
- By the way, use any sort of tortellini you like. Try spinach tortellini or sausage tortellini.
Recipe Tips:
- Don’t overcook the tortellini. Two minutes is plenty. You don’t want mushy tortellini for this pasta salad recipe!
- If you don’t have access to fresh mozzarella balls or mozzarella pearls, use some fresh mozzarella and just chop it into cubes.
- Make some homemade pesto for this recipe!
- To get the best results using the pesto as the seasoning for the pasta, add a tablespoon of pesto to the pasta water while cooking. And drizzle in the pesto a little at a time as you’re mixing.
- Add 1/3 cup of mayonnaise or Greek yogurt to your pesto sauce to turn this salad into a creamy pesto tortellini salad.
- Keep extra pesto on hand. Once the salad has chilled, the pasta tends to soak up the pesto, so you might want to mix in a little bit more.
What to serve with Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad:
If serving this as a main dish, grilled veggies or chilled tomato soup are an excellent pairing. Otherwise, tortellini pasta salad is a delicious side dish to sandwiches, meat or fish.
Storage Instructions:
You can make this salad up to 48 hours in advance of serving. Serve it cold or at room temperature (don’t heat it!) If serving at room temperature, 2 hours is about the maximum I’d leave this salad out for serving. After that, it really needs to be tossed because of the cheese in the pasta. Don’t freeze pesto tortellini pasta salad.
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tortellini, and bring the water back to a boil. Boil for two minutes, then drain and run under cold water. Add the drained tortellini to a large bowl.
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To the tortellini, add the artichoke hearts, cheese balls, olives, sun dried tomatoes and red onion. Toss lightly. Drizzle in the pesto sauce and toss again. Add more pesto, if needed- so that everything is lightly coated. Sprinkle on fresh basil, for garnish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 523kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 31g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 63mg, Sodium: 1391mg, Potassium: 125mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 1081IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 381mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.