Healthy Tortellini Pasta Salad
Jump to Recipe
This Tortellini Pasta Salad recipe is the definition of ‘eating the rainbow’. There’s such a variety of colour & produce which provides an array of nutrients and flavour
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
I love incorporating delicious carbs such as tortellini into bright and vibrant salads to bring them to the next level.
Usually tortellini recipes are delicious, but quite calorific & lacking in nutrients, but when you combine the tortellini with ingredients that are packed with nutrients, fibre and volume, we reduce the calories and make the meal a lot healthier – without skipping out on the flavour of course.
Other recipes you should try after this recipe; The Best Halloumi Salad, Panzanella Salad with Halloumi and Dorito Taco Salad
Ingredients
Tortellini
I chose spinach and ricotta tortellini for this recipe as I think the flavours really suit being served cold. Whereas a tortellini with a meat filling would be best served hot.
Cherry Tomatoes
You could use regular tomatoes here but I think the cherry tomatoes have an additional sweetness that really amplifies the flavour in this recipe.
For the tomato lovers, try these recipes I made using cherry tomatoes/vine tomatoes; Slow Roasted Cherry Tomato Ricotta Toast, Halloumi Tray Bake with Roasted Vegetables and Pizza Toast
Marinated Artichokes
I love the texture and saltiness of artichokes – they’re so versatile and have such an intense flavour.
Mixed Peppers
The perfect fresh crunch for this tortellini salad. The mix of colour in the peppers offers additional nutrients on top of the array of colour that we already have with the other ingredients.
I love mixing peppers in other dishes; Gochujang Noodles, Chicken Fajita Salad Bowl and Vegan Red Pepper Macaroni and Cheese
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make this recipe
- Start by preparing all the colourful salad ingredient (Image 1).
- Add the prepped salad to a large mixing bowl, including the black olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, artichokes, mixed peppers and onion (Image 2).
3. For the dressing, use a food processor to roughly chop a large handful of basil, lemon juice, garlic and extra-virgin olive oil (Image 3).
4. You only need to blitz the basil, lemon juice and garlic a few times with the olive oil and then season with salt and pepper (Image 4).
5. Then add your spinach and ricotta tortellini to salted boiling water. The pasta will only take a couple of minutes to cook, before draining and then cooling in cold water (Image 5).
6. Add the basil dressing and stir together so all the dressing is incorporated into the salad before serving immediately. Add some salt and pepper to taste (Image 6).
Keep the dressing in a separate container, if you are going to keep the salad for meal prep.
Tips for Best Results
- Don’t over cook the tortellini as it will become mushy, so remove from pan when al dente.
- Add some additional protein with your salad; Garlic Butter Chicken, Chicken Goujons or KFC Popcorn Chicken Recipe
- Make different variations of the salad add pomegranate, avocados, nuts and sun-dried tomato.
FAQs
This pasta salad stays fresh for around 4 days in the fridge, when storing the dressing separately. This prevents the veggies from getting soggy.
Yes definitely! It’s best to serve this salad as chilled as possible for maximum freshness so making a few hours ahead of consumption can be great for this.
This recipe makes 4 servings, which might make you wonder about 1 packet of tortellini isn’t enough for 4 servings in usual tortellini recipes. But when you add the other elements of the recipe into the mix, 1/4 of the packet is definitely enough for each serving of tortellini pasta salad – trust me on this one!
To meal prep this recipe, store the basil dressing separately to the tortellini salad. Divide the pasta salad into four separate containers and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. I wouldn’t freeze this recipe. Stir the dressing into the salad when you’re about to eat and season with salt and pepper.
Here are some more easy and tasty recipes to try; Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles, Lentil & Chickpea Curry and Crispy Fried Paneer with Naan
Explore More Recipes
If you tried this Healthy Tortellini Pasta Salad recipe, it would be mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Healthy Tortellini Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 50 g pitted black olives, roughly chopped (£0.49)
- 500 g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (£0.48x2)=(£0.96)
- 1 large cucumber, diced (£0.43)
- 90 g marinated artichokes, roughly chopped (£1.60/2)=(£0.80)
- 3 mixed peppers, diced (£1.34)
- ½ red onion, finely diced (£0.09)
- 300 g spinach and ricotta tortellini (£1.35)
- Large bunch of fresh basil (£0.55)
- ½ lemon, juiced (£0.59/4)=(£0.15)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (£0.69/3)=(£0.23)
Cupboard Essentials
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
Method
- Combine the prepped veggies and salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl. That is the black olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, artichokes, mixed peppers and onion.
- Meanwhile, add your spinach and ricotta tortellini to salted boiling water to boil until cooked. Rinse in cold water until cool.
- To make the dressing, roughly blend a large handful of basil, lemon juice, garlic and extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the cooled tortellini into the mixing bowl and stir. If you’re meal prepping, store the dressing separately. If you’re serving immediately for four people, pour the dressing onto the salad and toss to get everything coated. Taste to adjust the seasoning and enjoy!
Notes
- Cook tortellini al dente to prevent mushiness.
- Add protein to make the salad more filling.
- Customize the salad with favorite ingredients like pomegranate, avocado, nuts and sun-dried tomatoes.
Nutrition
- Weekly meal plans with a £20 budget
- 150+ exclusive recipes
- Personal dashboard
- Exclusive step by step videos
- Shopping list tools
- Advert Free experience
