Tortellini Salad with Lemon Herb Dressing
This Tortellini Salad with Lemon Herb Dressing just makes me think of summer. And I adore summer! I love the sunshine, the warm days, the long summer nights and the occasional lazy day by the pool. I also love the idea of having the kids home all day.
Although, as they have gotten older, I have learned that even in the summer, especially in the summer, we are very rarely home. And never all day.
Between tennis matches, baseball practice and games, summer dance, rehearsals, golf, music lessons and jiu jitsu, and the addition of movie nights, pool days, bike rides, and day trips, our days and nights are just as crazy as they are during the school year.
So I love to have my fridge stocked with lots of grab and go foods that taste delicious and fill us up. And if it’s packed full of veggies, all the better. Like this tortellini salad with lemon herb vinaigrette.
Ooh . . . this recipe is so good.
Why I Love It!
Let’s start with how pretty it looks. I know food doesn’t have to look pretty to taste good (just check out my ice cream sandwich cake – yikes!), but all those pretty colors and fresh veggies make me want to dive right into this salad.
Then there’s the fact that it’s crips and cool and perfect for hot summer days! There’s just something about a cold, refreshing salad that tastes so good when it’s hot outside.
How to Make Tortellini Salad
I don’t know about you, but I love cold pasta. Especially tortellini. For this Tortellini Salad I combine trip-colored tortellini (you can use plain too, I just think the three colors look pretty), cooked al dente, with a bunch of chopped vegetables.
I added red and orange peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, kalamata olives, artichokes, and avocados. (I add the avocados right before serving so they don’t get brown and mushy). Then I tossed in some cubed mozzarella cheese. This would be delicious with feta too. Or parmesan.
I topped the whole thing with an unexpected lemony-herb dressing for a nice fresh, summery flavor. To make the dressing I combined olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice, cup white wine vinegar, and cup water in a large mason jar. Then I added some fresh minced garlic and a variety of fresh herbs. I finished it off with salt and a generous dash of fresh ground black pepper.
I love to make dressing in a mason jar because once all the ingredients are added you can secure the lid tightly and shake vigorously to mix everything up. If you love mason jars as much as I do, do yourself a favor and invest in these plastic lids for your mason jars. No leaks, no mess, no rust, and easy clean up.
I poured about half of the dressing onto the salad, mixed it well, and refrigerated the salad overnight. The next morning, before serving, I added some additional dressing because the tortellini drinks up a lot of the dressing and the avocados. I like to keep the extra salad dressing in the fridge so I can add it as I serve the salad throughout the week.
Enjoy It!
I think this Tortellini Salad with Lemon Herb Dressing makes the perfect lunch. I also love to serve it on a heaping bed of greens for a more substantial dinner. It is also the perfect side for grilled chicken, burgers or swordfish steaks. You can also pack it in a cooler and take it with you on the go.
Happy Eating!
P.S. Explore more great salad recipes here.
Tortellini Salad with Lemon Herb Dressing
Ingredients
Tortellini Salad
- 32 ozs. frozen tri-color tortellini
- 6 quarts of water
- pinch of salt
- 1 large red bell pepper diced
- 1 large yellow pepper diced
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 1/2 cup red onion diced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes cut in half
- 1 cup cucumbers diced
- 8 ops. artichoke hearts drained and chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots shredded
- 1/2 cup fresh mozzarella cubed
Lemon Herb Dressing
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp thyme
- ½ tsp salt
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- ½ tsp lemon zest
Instructions
Tortellini Salad
- Lightly salt water and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, chop veggies, except avocado, and make dressing (recipe below).
- Combine tortellini and veggies in a large bowl. Toss with about 1/2 the dressing. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Add 1/4 cup dressing and avocado immediately before serving. Reserve remaining dressing to use with leftover salad.
Lemon Herb Dressing
- In a large mason jar combine olive oil, lemon juice, white wine vinegar and water. Add garlic, freshly chopped herbs and salt and pepper. Shake vigorously to mix well. Use immediately. Refrigerate leftovers and be sure to shake before each use.
