Garden Fresh Tortellini Pasta Salad with fresh veggies, mozzarella cheese and seasoned with a flavorful basil avocado oil dressing!
While summer time can be quickly associated with hot grilled dishes, perhaps the ones deserving the real attention are the cold entrees or sides that helps balance our body internal temperature and are refrigerator friendly foods. I also find that cold side dishes makes entertaining a lot easier too!
I can’t imagine having time to enjoy my guests if I had to cook everything on the spot! Thankfully with pasta salads, potato salads, salads meals and rice dishes available, half of the cooking gets done ahead of time!
FAVORITE SUMMER MAKE-AHEAD RECIPES FOR:
Tortellini Pasta Salad
What makes tortellini pasta salads a great candidate for your summer menu is...
1. everyone LOVES pasta
2. it’s mega fulfilling
3. incredibly versatile and taste just as good cold as it does when served hot!
I also love distracting my tortellini pasta salad with veggies from my garden, olives for a salty contrast, fresh mozzarella or feta cheese and lot’s basil!
I find it that my kids are more likely to eat veggies in pasta when served cold rather then hot. It’s quite intriguing how their mind works but hey -whatever excuse we get to give them move veggies right?
This tortellini pasta salad is packed with garden veggies and aromatic basil, seasoned with avocado oil (or olive oil), salt a pepper.
I almost always like to add olives to my salads and cold pastas but that’s entirely up to you. My recommendation is that you add lot’s of hydrating veggies such as juicy tomatoes and cucumber, an aromatic herb such as basil, oregano or mint and your favorite cheese.
Garden Fresh Tortellini Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh tortellini pasta
- ⅓ cup red onion, sliced
- ½ cup grape tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup mixed olives, in oil
- ½ cup cucumber, quartered
- ½ cup fresh mozzarella, chunks
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 handful fresh basil, chopped
- 1 pinch sea salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook tortellini according to package instructions. I recommend cooking for 1-2 minutes less then recommended, so the tortellini can hold it’s shape better and dish will last longer.
- Meanwhile chop the onion, tomatoes, cucumber, olive and mozzarella cheese and add to a large bowl.
- In a small glass bowl mix in the oil dressing with fresh basil and salt and pepper to taste.
- When tortellini is done cooking and cooled a bit, add to the bowl along with oil dressing and fold to combine.
- Serve at room temperature or cold. Leftovers can be refrigerated and will taste amazing for up to 3 days!
Jessica Robinson says
Such a great pasta salad for the summer! Perfect for family picnics! I'm pinning for later!
Silvia Ribas says
It’s a good leftover recipe too!