Made with cheese tortellini, contemporary tomatoes, salami, and mozzarella, this Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad is ideal for events, cookouts, or weeknight dinners.
The tortellini not solely has an important texture and additional taste from the cheese stuffing, however the sauce will get in all of the nooks and crannies of every noodle, so that you get yummy pesto in each single chew!

That is a kind of versatile summer time recipes good for giant events or meal prep. I love making it in the beginning of the week and portioning out for particular person meals.
It’s a superb aspect dish, however you may simply pair it with a protein like grilled rooster, tofu, or turkey meatballs to make it an entree. Be at liberty to double this recipe relying on how many individuals you’re cooking for or what number of meals you need to prep.
When you make the selfmade pesto, you’re mainly completed with this recipe! The tortellini cooks in simply a few minutes, and you then toss all of the components collectively in a big bowl and set it on the desk. It doesn’t get higher than that.Â
What You’ll Want For Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Selfmade Pesto: Selfmade pesto is really easy to make and is a complete recreation changer when you do.Â
 - Cheese Tortellini: You need to use your favourite sort; you’ll want one bundle. Â
 - Cherry Tomatoes: Juicy and vivid, they assist loosen up the extra savory, earthy flavors of the pesto.
 - Candy Peas: You need to use contemporary or frozen (simply thaw them first).
 - Pink Onion: Sharp and vivid purple onions add nice taste and coloration!Â
 - Exhausting Salami Rounds: I like the salty, hearty taste they add.Â
 - Pine Nuts: Clean and buttery pine nuts within the salad assist tie collectively the pesto flavors.Â
 - Pearl Mozzarella Cheese: You need to use plain mozzarella or the marinated sort.Â
 - Recent Basil: I julienned the basil, however you may hand-tear it into bite-size items, too.Â
 

Can I Use Retailer-bought Pesto As a substitute?
Sure! Be at liberty to make use of store-bought pesto for this pesto tortellini recipe, however have in mind that it often has a bit extra oil and salt than a selfmade model. Add somewhat little bit of store-bought pesto at a time till it reaches your required taste.Â
Can I Use Different Nuts As a substitute Of Pine Nuts?Â
Pine nuts are tremendous tasty however costly and never a quite common ingredient, so I perceive desirous to search for an alternate.
Pine nuts are wealthy and buttery, so cashews are a tremendous substitute. They’re equally clean, mildly candy, and buttery. I like to recommend getting uncooked cashews and evenly toasting them in a pan for the perfect taste.Â

Components:
(Notice: Measurements for our selfmade pesto will be discovered within the recipe card beneath!)
- Basil leaves
 - Grated parmesan
 - Recent lemon juice
 - Garlic
 - Pine nuts
 - Olive oil
 
Methodology:
- Place all components right into a high-speed meals processor.
 - Course of on excessive for about 1 to 2 minutes. Cease to scrape the perimeters as wanted. Be certain that to not over-process as some grittiness is nice for the feel of pesto.
 - In case your pesto is just too thick, add extra olive oil by the teaspoon and pulse till largely clean.
 

Pasta salad will be saved within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Nevertheless, it may possibly dry out the pesto a bit, so add somewhat olive oil and salt (and even one other sprint of pesto in case you have some leftover) earlier than serving.

Serving Concepts For Tortellini Pasta Salad
There are such a lot of scrumptious methods to serve this yummy salad!
For those who’re making this for a cookout, it’s scrumptious alongside black bean burgers, grilled salmon, and grilled veggies like carrots or zucchini.
For those who’re serving this up for weeknight dinner, spoon it on prime a mattress of arugula or child spinach to get somewhat extra greens in your plate!
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If utilizing selfmade pesto, put together selfmade pesto and put aside.*
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Deliver a big pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tortellini to the pot and boil till the tortellini floats to the highest of the water.
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Pressure the tortellini and put aside to come back to room temperature.
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Add the tortellini, tomatoes, peas, onions, salami, pine nuts, and mozzarella to a big bowl and blend. High with basil and salt to style.
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Eat the pasta instantly or place it within the fridge to relax.
 
- Be at liberty to make use of store-bought pesto for this recipe. Remember the fact that store-bought pesto tends to have a bit extra oil and salt. Add somewhat little bit of store-bought pesto at a time till it reaches your required taste.
 - Selfmade pesto recipe: Components: 2 cups packed basil leaves (~40-42 contemporary basil leaves), 1/2 cup grated parmesan, 2 tablespoons contemporary lemon juice, 2 medium cloves garlic, ¼ cup pine nuts, ¼ cup olive oil Methodology: 1. Place all components right into a high-speed meals processor. 2. Course of on excessive for about 1 to 2 minutes. Cease to scrape the perimeters as wanted. Be certain that to not over-process as some grittiness is nice for the feel of pesto.3. In case your pesto is just too thick, add extra olive oil by the teaspoon and pulse till largely clean.
 - For those who retailer this pasta salad within the fridge, you should definitely add extra olive oil and style for salt earlier than serving.
 
Energy: 550 kcal, Carbohydrates: 41 g, Protein: 28 g, Fats: 31 g, Fiber: 5 g, Sugar: 7 g
Vitamin info is robotically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
Images: images taken on this put up are by Erin from The Wood Skillet.

