Enjoy a quick and delicious Pasta Salad with Tortellini, full of fresh veggies and a vibrant dressing. It’s perfect as a packable lunch, a fast main dish, or an easy side.
Tortellini Pasta Salad is a pretty hearty, one-dish dinner, however, it’s a fun side dish to Grilled Dijon Basil Chicken or a delicious companion to other salads such as Cabbage Slaw with Apples and Almonds and Caesar Salad.
When you’re looking for an easy, make-ahead meal, you can’t go wrong with a pasta salad. And if you choose tortellini for your featured pasta, you’re bound to enjoy a dish that is flavorful as well as filling.
This pasta salad with cheese tortellini is accented by crunchy carrots, sweet tomatoes, tender spinach, hearty chick peas, and a homemade dressing. It’s the perfect weeknight supper!
Why Make This
It’s quick and easy. Prepping this salad takes less than 30 minutes and comes together with very little prep work. Just chop some carrots, mix up the dressing, and cook the pasta!
It’s great for meal prep. Pasta salads are a great dish to pack for work or school lunches. This one promises to keep you satisfied until dinnertime.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this easy tortellini pasta salad:
tortellini – Tortellini is a twisted, ring-shaped pasta, filled with cheese or another mixture like squash, meat, or mushrooms. It wouldn’t be pasta salad with tortellini without this pasta, but if you’re in a pinch you can use another shaped pasta.
garbanzo beans – I love chick peas or garbanzo beans in this salad, but if you want another option, cannellini beans are a great choice.
baby spinach or kale – The addition of greens adds color and nutrients to this salad, but keep in mind that dressed spinach will be very wilty after a day or two. If you want a longterm meal prep, use kale or add the greens just before serving.
grape tomatoes – I like grape tomatoes because they are typically decent all year-round and they hold up well in salads. You can use chopped fresh tomatoes or even sundried tomatoes if you like.
carrots – Sliced or shredded carrots add great texture and color to this pasta salad.
red wine vinegar – You’ll need an acid for the homemade dressing. I like to use red wine vinegar, but you can use your favorite vinegar or even lemon juice as a replacement.
Italian Seasoning Mix – Making your Italian herbs mix is easy and affordable, but you can use the commercial blend or substitute another favorite spice mix.
fresh garlic – Fresh garlic really complements the tortellini. Try not to skip it.
sugar – Just a pinch of sugar is all you need to offset the acid in the dressing.
olive oil – Olive oil adds great flavor to homemade dressings, but you can use another oil if you prefer.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make this easy pasta salad with tortellini:
- Cook the tortellini according to package directions. Rinse and drain.
- In a serving bowl, whisk together the vinegar, Italian seasoning mix, garlic, and sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil.
- Add the tortellini, garbanzo beans, spinach, tomatoes, and carrot to the dressing and toss gently to combine.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Make-ahead tip: The pasta salad should be good for several days refrigerated. However, the salad will last longer if you add the spinach right before serving.
FAQs
Pasta salads are usually served cold with a dressing such as a vinaigrette. You can use any pasta you like. A tortellini pasta salad, of course, features tortellini as the pasta.
You can freeze fresh tortellini but best not to freeze it after it’s been made into a pasta salad. Better to cook it and prepare the salad after freezing.
Pasta salad is often considered a one-dish dinner. It doesn’t really need an accompaniment. If you like, you can serve it as a side dish to grilled or cooked meats or with an array of salads.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- tortellini – $6.42
- garbanzo beans – $0.62
- baby spinach or kale – $0.30
- grape tomatoes – $2.00
- carrots – $0.60
- homemade dressings – $0.99
Your costs may vary, depending on how and where you shop, but you can expect to spend about $10.93 or $1.37/serving.
How to save even more
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. Tortellini are the high ticket item here. Buy them when you find them on sale. I prefer fresh tortellini; the dry variety just doesn’t taste as good.
- Make your own dressings. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of pasta salad recipes that call for bottled dressing. Those bottles are either way too expensive or full of junk. Make your own and save money.
More Pasta Recipes
Pasta Salad with Tortellini
Equipment
Ingredients
- 20 oz fresh cheese tortellini
- 1 16-ounce can garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
- 3 oz baby spinach or kale for longer storage
- 1 10-ounce box grape tomatoes
- 1 cup carrots peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning Mix
- 1 clove garlic minced
- pinch sugar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the tortellini according to package directions. Rinse and drain.
- In a serving bowl, whisk together the vinegar, Italian seasoning mix, garlic, and sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil.
- Add the tortellini, garbanzo beans, spinach, tomatoes, and carrot to the dressing and toss gently to combine.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published February 29, 2012. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Mae
What can we substitute the cheese tortellini with if our guests are lactose intolerant?
Jessica Fisher
You could use your favorite pasta.
Sarah
Fyi: As written, for 4 servings this is about 670 call per serving. Thought I’d save anyone else looking the trouble of calculating it. 🙂
And it’s delicious by the way!!
Kristi
I made this salad tonight as part of one of the $70 meal plans. It is amazing! Even my husband, who is not the pasta fan that I am, loved it. Thank you!
Jessica Fisher
I love it when husbands give good reviews. 🙂
Ellen
I’ve made this tortellini salad twice this week. I made it once to feed a family that had a new baby, and I made it again to feed a couple of gals at a playdate. It’s sooo good. Have I mentioned that your blog is my favorite one right now for recipes and cooking advice? We’ve loved just about everything I’ve tried from it, people give me more credit than I deserve for being a good cook, and it works for my crazy kidlet lifestyle. Thank you. I almost never buy cookbooks, but I will be buying yours when it comes out.
P.S. If you don’t like garbanzo beans, great northern beans work just as well, and I threw a handful of sharp cheddar in there, too. Delish.
Jessica
@Ellen, oh! This made my day! Thank you!
Liz Slater
My favorite would be Caprese salad or pasta or pretty much anything with Brie.
Bibi @ Frugal Wannabe Cooks
Very interesting fact….I didn’t know that about Leap Day. My favorite chick food is baked brie with honey and nuts with little baquette pieces or nice fruit plate with yogurt dip.
Jessica
Sounds fab!
Ellen
What kind of tortellini is it? Boxed, frozen, or fresh?
Jessica
@Ellen, mine is Trader Joe’s dry. But, any kind would work.