READY IN 1½ hrs

Tortellini Pesto Salad

Read Reviews (55)

"Wonderful pasta salad. So different from the Italian dressing pasta salads. Very hearty side dish or main dish for lunch. Crunchy veggies and rich pesto sauce...." — jmacsaunders

Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place tortellini in the pot, and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, until al dente. Drain, and cool.
In a large bowl, mix the cooked tortellini, red bell pepper, broccoli, carrots, olives, and garlic.
In a separate bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, pesto, milk, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and vinegar. Pour over the tortellini and vegetables, and gently toss to coat. Cover, and place in the refrigerator 1 hour, until chilled. Serve over spinach leaves.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 15 mins
COOK 8 mins
READY IN 1 hr 30 mins

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Sep 22, 2004

VERY GOOD I ONLY USED THE OLIVE OIL, VINEGAR WITH THE PESTO. DIDNT USE THE MILK OR MAY.

—WANDERWSH

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Jun 28, 2010

If you are looking for bold pesto flavor in your salad, this may not be the recipe for you. The milk in the dressing really helps tame the bold basil flavor. I used the dressing in a tortellini salad with ingredients I had on hand. I used artichokes, roasted red pepper, kalamata, and sun-dried tomato. I like the addition of the spinach leaves so I threw them in. Makes for a pretty salad. I like the dressing, it was good because it was more on the mild side and more suitable for a wide range of taste buds.

—CRAZY4SUSHI

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66 Ratings

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Oct 25, 2005

Substituted 1 lg red pepper (coarse chopped), reduced broccoli & carrot by 1/4. Omitted olives (wife hates them), split the quantity of pesto between basil pesto and sundried tomato pesto, added cubed proccuito. Absolutely the best pasta salad I have ever tasted!

—Lance

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Oct 09, 2005

I was looking for a pasta salad with a twist and I definitely got what I was looking for! This salad was a HUGE hit - with several people asking me for the recipe. I made it exactly to recipe, but added halved cherry tomatoes. Wonderful!

—amyd

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Jun 13, 2007

This is a good recipe, that is not so generic, like so many of your other pasta salad recipes. I followed the recipe completly, except I used roasted red peppers (from a jar) instead of the fresh ones, and I ommited the olives. It was tasty and I received compliments on it from some very picky and not so darring diners. Thanks for the recipe and everyone else who submits recipes, reviews and hints.

—gary olson

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Jun 23, 2005

Due to the amount of pesto used (and the garlic it contains), I omitted the extra clove, and it was still a bit overpowering. I wanted a unique pasta salad to splurge with, but this may not have been worth the calories to us. Nice to try something different, though!

—KIMBERLY KAY

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Aug 03, 2012

This was a huge hit at a family gathering. I used tri-colored spirals instead of tortellini, jarred red bell pepper instead of fresh, and omitted the carrots and spinach. I also chopped the green olives so they were spread around nicely in the pasta and not overpowering. I omitted all the dairy except for what was in the pesto, and used balsamic vinegar instead of white so it wasn't too tart. This version wasn't too heavy but still had a unique flavor that had everyone asking for the recipe.

—Emily

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Jul 14, 2010

This was very good. My family does not like olives so, I omitted them and slightly cut down on the milk to make a thicker dressing. I just wanted a pure pasta salad so I did not add the spinach but I'm sure it would taste fine with it. The only other thing I did was to add 6 slices of crisp crumbled bacon... very yummy!

—LovesToCook

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Nutrition

Calories
383 kcal
19%

Carbohydrates
26.1 g
8%

Cholesterol
31 mg
10%

Fat
27.3 g
42%

Fiber
3.5 g
14%

Protein
11.2 g
22%

Sodium
615 mg
25%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Tortellini Pesto Salad

Serving Size: 1/6 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 383
Calories from Fat: 245

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 27.3g 42 %
Saturated Fat 6.2g 31 %
Cholesterol 31mg 10 %
Sodium 615mg 25 %
** Potassium 458mg 13 %
Total Carbohydrates 26.1g 8 %
Dietary Fiber 3.5g 14 %
Protein 11.2g 22 %
** Sugars 3.1g
** Vitamin A 144 %
Vitamin C 72 %
Calcium 22 %
Iron 23 %
** Thiamin 7 %
** Niacin 11 %
** Vitamin B6 19 %
** Magnesium 21 %
** Folate 71 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.