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Home » Main Dish » 30-Minute Meals » Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad

Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad

By Lauren Allen on March 22, 2017, Updated November 5, 2019

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 Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad is completely delicious and comes together in just a few minutes. The creamy caesar pesto dressing shines paired with tender tortellini pasta. This is a family-favorite, served as a side dish or a main course. 

Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad is completely delicious and comes together in just a few minutes. The creamy caesar pesto dressing shines paired with tender tortellini pasta. This is a family-favorite! | Tastes Better From Scratch

When the warm weather comes around I turn into a pasta salad junkie. I’ve shared tons of pasta salad recipes, (this Spinach Avocado Pasta Salad and this Teriyaki Bowtie Pasta Salad being two top favorites!) and lately I’ve been really into tortellini pasta salads! I feel like the addition of tortellini makes it that much more “filling” and perfect for an easy dinner.

Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad is completely delicious and comes together in just a few minutes. The creamy caesar pesto dressing shines paired with tender tortellini pasta. This is a family-favorite! | Tastes Better From Scratch

This would also work great as a side dish at a BBQ or summer potluck.

Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad is completely delicious and comes together in just a few minutes. The creamy caesar pesto dressing shines paired with tender tortellini pasta. This is a family-favorite! | Tastes Better From Scratch

If a dish calls for “pesto”, my ears immediately perk up. It’s one of my favorite flavors of all time! You can buy a good quality store-bought basil pesto for this recipe, or you can make it from scratch. (Tip: Use your leftover pesto to make one of these recipes!) The pesto will be mixed with a creamy caesar dressing, which creates the tastiest flavor combo! I use the Newman’s Own brand of creamy caesar dressing, but any good quality brand will work. But, I’d shy away from the store brand of generic dressing–they’re never as good. As with most recipes, high quality ingredients make all the difference! I hope you enjoy the fresh, delicious flavors of this dish as much as I do!

Consider trying these tortellini recipes:
  • One Pan Creamy Lemon Chicken Tortellini
  • Roasted Red Pepper Tortellini Pasta 
  • Vegetable Tortellini Soup
  • Southwest Tortellini Pasta Salad

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Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad is completely delicious and comes together in just a few minutes. The creamy caesar pesto dressing shines paired with tender tortellini pasta. This is a family-favorite! | Tastes Better From Scratch

Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad

Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad is completely delicious and comes together in just a few minutes. The creamy caesar pesto dressing shines paired with tender tortellini pasta. This is a family-favorite, served as a side dish or a main course.
4.34 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 462kcal
Author: Lauren Allen

Ingredients

  • 20 ounce package three cheese refrigerated tortellini
  • 2/3 cup caesar salad dressing , divided
  • 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes , halved
  • 6 ounces black olives , drained and chopped
  • 3 green onions , chopped
  • 1/4 cup basil pesto ,homemade or store-bought
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper ,to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
  • 2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese ,divided
  • 6-8 fresh basil leaves ,chopped, for garnish

Instructions

  • Cook the tortellini according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
  • Add tortellini to a large bowl. Add caesar dressing to the pasta and toss to coat. Add tomatoes, olives, green onion, basil pesto, salt and pepper and garlic powder and toss to combine. Add sunflower seeds and 1/3 cup fresh parmesan cheese and toss to combine.
  • Serve warm or cold. Store in the fridge. If it seems to dry after sitting in the fridge (the pasta can absorb a lot of moisture) you can add another spoonful of caesar dressing and/or pesto. Garnish with the remaining parmesan and fresh chopped basil before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 462kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 1079mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 515IU | Vitamin C: 7.2mg | Calcium: 236mg | Iron: 2.8mg
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Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad is completely delicious and comes together in just a few minutes. The creamy caesar pesto dressing shines paired with tender tortellini pasta. This is a family-favorite! | Tastes Better From Scratch

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30-Minute Meals· Italian· Kid-friendly· Main Dish· Pasta· Vegetarian
11 Comments

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Comments

  1. Amanda says

    April 28, 2017 at 9:58 pm

    Holy cow! This was delicious! My family gobbled this up. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      April 29, 2017 at 7:44 am

      I love to hear it! Thanks for sharing Amanda!

      Reply
  2. Amy says

    July 15, 2017 at 9:34 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent recipe. I’ve taken this to several picnics, potlucks. Always have compliments

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      July 15, 2017 at 9:37 pm

      So happy to hear it! Thanks so much Amy!

      Reply
  3. Andrea says

    July 17, 2017 at 6:28 pm

    5 stars
    This was delicious. I added some grilled chicken to make it a little heartier as a main dish. It was a hit!

    Reply
  4. Toots says

    July 3, 2018 at 2:13 pm

    4 stars
    This is SO good! I subbed artichoke hearts for the olives cuz my husband hates olives. I love pesto and mixing it with the dressing made it so creamy and delicious. Definitely will be making this for more parties!

    Reply
  5. Mari says

    July 22, 2018 at 1:41 pm

    5 stars
    I made this for a church bbq today. Delicious! There were no leftovers and it was happily gobbled up. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!

    Reply
  6. Vickie says

    May 17, 2019 at 10:52 am

    Loved this recipe, added yellow bell pepper for a pop of color and crunch factor. If made ahead of time it does tend to soak up the dressing as stated in the recipe, so just add a bit more before serving. Great addition to my summer salad rotation!

    Reply
  7. Stephanie says

    June 12, 2019 at 10:55 am

    This is sooooo good!!!!!

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      June 12, 2019 at 11:11 am

      Thanks Stephanie, I’m glad you liked it!

      Reply
  8. Kathleen says

    September 30, 2019 at 9:24 am

    I hope to continue seeing your wonderful yummy recipes..My e mail is not working bummer for me !!I hope to have it fixed A.s.a.p..

    Reply

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Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos. Read More
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