Summer Tortellini Pasta Salad

Tortellini Pasta Salad: Your New Favorite Summer Dinner

Juicy, ripe tomatoes and pillowy balls of fresh mozzarella dot this hearty summer tortellini pasta salad. Tossed with pesto and fresh basil, it’s a recipe that’s as easy to love as it is to make. Not only can you prep many of the ingredients ahead of time, you can make the entire tortellini salad recipe a day ahead of time, and let it chill in the fridge until you’re ready to eat. On hot summer days, that’s the best news ever, right? 

I suggest you do the standing-over-a-hot-stove work in the cool morning hours, and enjoy a work-free (and heat-free!) meal when dinner time rolls around! This is a big hit at BBQs and potlucks, too. Or maybe for a summer picnic in the park? All you’ve got to do is reach into the fridge and pull out that gorgeous, pesto-dressed Italian tortellini salad. For more refreshing pasta salad recipes, try gyro pasta salad, or this simple pesto pasta salad.   

Everything You Need To Make Summer Tortellini Pasta Salad

This pesto tortellini salad is an Italian-accented celebration of all things summer! Perfect tomatoes, bursting with ripeness, fragrant fresh basil, and easy, cool, make-ahead dinners. You’ll need: 

• Cheese tortellini: I like the simplest cheese tortellini for this recipe, but you could use any tortellini you like best.  
• Cherry tomatoes: The freshest, ripest tomatoes are always best. If they’re a little bigger than bite-size, just cut them in half. 
• Fresh mozzarella cheese: I really love to use small, bite-sized balls of fresh mozzarella like bocconcini or ciliegine. However, the larger fresh mozzarella balls work, too! Just cut them into bite-sized pieces. 
• Shredded chicken: I often cook chicken breasts on the weekends to have and use throughout the week. But, you could also use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken and save yourself some work. Or, if you’d like to keep this pasta salad vegetarian, just leave the chicken out.
• Roasted bell peppers: From a jar. No need to make extra work!  
• Basil pesto: While homemade basil pesto sauce is always the best, it’s OK to use store-bought pesto. Take it easy if you need to!

Tools You’ll Need:

• Large stock pot
• Colander
• Sharp knife

Easy Cheesy Tortellini Pasta Salad

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