Cheese Tortellini Salad with Honey Vinaigrette
An easy and delicious cold Cheese Tortellini Pasta Salad with Honey Vinaigrette tastes like an Italian antipasto platter and is loaded with veggies for a great side dish recipe.
It has finally reached the 90’s here in Rochester this week – finally! No, weather this hot is not ideal, but there are things that I love about it (don’t hate on me now). When summer is here I want it in to be all here or not at all. I’m sitting here in the heat enjoying this Cheese Tortellini Salad and have zero complaints.
Might as well be all in with the 90’s and humidity through the roof, right? It’s a short season and I know I will be wishing for this when it’s -10 out in a few short months (ha ha). Now, onto this Cheese Tortellini Salad with Honey Vinaigrette.
I will be making this pasta salad along with my California Spaghetti Salad exactly one bazillion times in my future. It is fool proof so you can’t really mess it up unless you really tried. It looks pretty on the table for a dinner party or outdoor BBQ.
Is there anything better than a pretty pasta salad, sitting there all colorful just ready to be devoured? My Macaroni Coleslaw salad is one of those pretty ones. It is easy to make, cheap to make, and packed full of all the awesome things people love (except cheese haters like my father-in-law).
The fresh basil adds a nice pop of freshness for the summer. The hardest part about this Cheese Tortellini Salad with Honey Vinaigrette is cooking the tortellini and chopping up the vegetables. In other words, it’s not hard at all.
Lately, I have been seeing pumpkin this and that popping up everywhere. No…just NO. Fight it! It is way too soon, people. Caprese pasta salad and all the salads are all I want right now.
Pumpkin season is more than long enough as it is, so I am staying put in full summer mode until September 20th (or whenever the first day of fall is – I’m too lazy to look it up right now). So join me in this boycott of pumpkin and apples and come enjoy a nice summer tortellini salad with me.
- 8 oz. pack Cheese Tortellini
- ½ red pepper, sliced into strips
- ½ green pepper, sliced into strips
- 2 ¼ ounce can slicked black olives, drained (or get a can and slice them yourself)
- 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced or julienned
- 1 stalk of celery, diced
- ½ cup Fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- Honey VIinaigrette
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp. Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- Make the dressing by placing all the ingredients in a bowl except the olive oil. Then slowly whisk in the olive oil until you have a nicely thickened dressing. Set aside. The dressing will get more body as it sits, from the honey.
- Place the red and green peppers, carrots, black olives and celery in a large mixing bowl.
- Cook tortellini according to the package (I cooked mine for 10 minutes in salted water). Drain and place hot tortellini into bowl with the peppers. Pour dressing over and toss all ingredients together gently to make sure all ingredients are coated evenly. As the ingredients sit with the dressing, the warm pasta will absorb a lot of it.
- Stir in the parsley.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve.
Recipe source: adapted from Country Woman Magazine March/April 2000
This looks awesome, Ashley! We typically eat tortellini warm so this would be a great way to introduce a cold version to our 5-year old. Maybe it’ll help her eat more veggies too! I mean, who doesn’t want to eat food with Christmas colors?
Oooo that honey vinaigrette sounds amazing! I haven’t made a tortellini pasta salad in far far too long!
I love this tortellini salad! And that dressing sounds perfect.
Way too early for pumpkin! It’s not even August, much less September! Anyway, what a lovely salad — perfect for the really hot weather (100F) we’ve been having. Thanks!
LOL – I almost pinned a pumpkin recipe the other day…but I resisted!! But this salad – I could go for it anytime!
Haha – I guess I shouldn’t even mention that I put some of the p-word onto naan as a pizza base eh? 😉
Btw – this pasta salad sounds wonderful – hey – what if it had some pumpkin in it?! Ooops I said the p-word! 🙂
hahaa I’m dying!! No – not the P word!
This looks amazing! And yes, its 95 here today so I want summery comfort food like this salad! And I love you dearly Ashley, but bring on the pumpkin!! 🙂
No – I will not succomb! LOL
Your photos look fantastic!
I haven’t even tried it yet and I want to make is one bazillion times too! Yum!
90s over here in Buffalo, too (yuck)! I’m trying to stay in summer mode too but it’s hard as i love fall so much. You salad looks tasty and I like the dressing a lot!
This is a great recipe! quick and easy for sure. No way I can make it to mid-Sept for pumpkin!
The pumpkin thing is crazy. Soon pumpkin season will start in March and I’ll still be whining that pumpkin season starts in October. 🙁 But hey, at least you’ve got this delicious salad! 😀
Love using tortellini in a cold pasta salad too!
Love your salad. I need this for the fridge when we are all on different schedules.
Oh, I want to make this a bazillion times, too – that vinaigrette!
Love the idea of pasta salad with tortellini! And the vinaigrette is too yummy!
Cheese tortellini salad is one of my favorite things to enjoy in the summertime. This sounds delicious with that honey vinaigrette!