This easy and flavorful Tortellini Pasta Salad is loaded with veggies, has a simple homemade dressing and comes together in less than 30 minutes.
A few of our other favorite tortellini recipes include You might also enjoy Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad, One Pan Lemon Chicken Tortellini and Creamy Tomato and Spinach Tortellini.
I love the versatility of this Tortellini Pasta Salad as a quick and healthy main dish, or an easy, crowd-pleasing side for dinner with some grilled chicken, or to bring to a potluck. The ingredients are simple and much of the dish can be prepped ahead, to save time..
How to Make Tortellini Pasta Salad:
- Cook the tortellini according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Add tortellini to a large bowl. Add cooked corn, black beans, bell pepper, avocado, cherry tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.
- Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a resealable jar. Shake until combined. Pour desired amount of dressing (you may not want to use it all) over the pasta and toss to coat.
Use Good Quality Tortellini!
Although the dry packaged kind will work for this recipe, I just don’t think they taste as good. The refrigerated kind only take a few minutes to cook once your water is boiling and they’re much better tasting.
Variations:
- Add protein: grilled chicken, tofu, shrimp or steak.
- Substitute what you already have! Use your favorite kind of beans, and incorporate other veggies you like or already have on hand.
- Adjust Spice: add some hot sauce to the dressing, to turn up the heat.
- Dressing: if you don’t want to make it from scratch (sigh!) you can add your favorite store-bought zesty southwest or Italian.
Make Ahead Instructions:
Cook the tortellini, chop the veggies and make the dressing, but store separately. Combine everything just before serving!
More Popular Pasta Salads:
- Healthy Chicken Pasta Salad
- Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Italian Pasta Salad
- BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad
- Pasta Primavera
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Recipe
Tortellini Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 20 ounce package three cheese refrigerated tortellini
- 1 cup corn , fresh cooked, canned or frozen
- 15 ounce can black beans , drained and rinsed
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 avocado , peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes , halved
- 1/4 cup red onion , chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro , chopped
Dressing:
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- juice from 2 limes
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the tortellini according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Add tortellini to a large bowl. Add cooked corn, black beans, bell pepper, avocado, cherry tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.
- Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a resealable jar. Shake until combined. Pour desired amount of dressing (you may not want to use it all) over the pasta and toss to coat.
Notes
- Add protein: grilled chicken, tofu, shrimp or steak.
- Substitute what you already have! Use your favorite kind of beans, and incorporate other veggies you like or already have on hand.
- Adjust Spice: add some hot sauce to the dressing, to turn up the heat.
- Dressing: if you don’t want to make it from scratch (sigh!) you can add your favorite store-bought zesty southwest or Italian.
Nutrition
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe February 2017. Updated April 2021 with process photos and improved instructions.
This post contains affiliate links.
What can I use in place of the rice vinegar? Thanks.
White wine or apple cider vinegar will work just fine!
Accidentally bought four cheese small ravioli 🤦🏼♀️, but this was fantastic! The dressing is amazing! The combo of black beans and veggies is delicious. This is the best pasta salad we’ve ever eaten. Flavor, flavor, flavor!
If using frozen corn do I steam it or just rinse it?
Cook it first!
I’d like to make this ahead of time for Fourth of July pitch-in. Will the avocados turn brown if the the salad (minus the dressing) is prepared the night before?
They might brown a little. You could prep everything else and add them right before going OR add a couple of tsp. of lemon juice to help keep them from browning! Enjoy!
So easy and so, so good. Love that it’s a different take on pasta salad.
Will be trying this, this weekend! I like how it’s more Mexican style due to the avacado, black bean,and corn and cilantro. That part is almost the same as a black bean and corn salsa recipe that is good with anything! Thank you!
Fell in love with this recipe! Such a tasty dish. Easy to make with a bunch of leftovers making my life so much easier.
Thank you
Another winner!! I made this pasta salad yesterday and it was delish. Your recipes are spot on!
I made this as a warm dish – I didn’t rinse the tortellini with cold water and I heated the corn and black beans, it was delicious and very filling!!
The amount of salt/pepper is “to taste” for dressing mix… what is a good starting point?
Thank you for yet another fast, family friendly meal. I love that it’s fast to throw together, it’s loaded with veggies, and the whole family loves it. What’s not to love?!
This is really really great! I super love this! Thank you so much for sharing this 🙂
We’re in love with his dish!!! It’s outstanding!!! I added lemon juice at the end and tortilla chips to top it off. The dressing was excellent!!!
Thank you for this great and easy recipe!!!
Can this be made ahead and served chilled?
Yes, but the longer it sits the drier it will be as the pasta absorbs the dressing.
Instead of keeping the pasta separate from all the toppings, can I mix it all together refrigerate and then add the dressing at dinner time?
Yes sure!
This was so delicious! Wasn’t sure about that Rice vinegar but went ahead and tried it and it was delicious! Another great recipe!
Is there a premade dressing I can buy that would go good with this? i don’t really like making dressings from scratch
You can use whatever dressing you like, but this one is REALLY easy to stir together (takes less than 5 minutes) and has a tex-mex flavor. I can’t think of anything similar that’s store-bought.
Loved this recipe so much. My husband did too & we are adding this recipe to our meatless Mondays!
This was a satisfying and tasty dish.
Do you think substituting the sugar for Truvia/Stevia would work?
Sure! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
I have made this many times for potluck dinners, etc. and this recipe is always a HIT!!
Can you use lemons instead of limes?
Sure 🙂
Thank you for all your recipes, they all look amazing. I love trying new recipes, can’t wait to try some.
Not sure as to how many packages of tortellini are used. Thanks!
One 20 ounce package of tortellini
Absolutely delicious! I’m going to use that dressing with my taco salad, too. We now have another favorite pasta salad.
Tastes as good as it looks. Made this twice now. Tried to save some to take to my son but it’s just so good, I ended up eating all of it.
If I opt to use another pasta, how much would you suggest I cook? One pound would be my guess??
Yes, that would probably work well. Enjoy!
Wow, this dish was delicious! The dressing really sets it apart. I could eat it everyday!
This was super yummy! Question though…I used this recipe as part of my meal prep this week. I prepared it on Sunday, portioned it out into individual servings, and made the dressing in a separate container. However, when I went to eat the first serving for lunch the next day, the dressing had hardened. I was sort of able to add some water and shake it up, but it continued to harden throughout the week. Any idea why or how I could keep that from happening? Thanks…awesome recipe!!
Hi Kristen, I’m so happy you liked it, and I love the idea to meal prep this. I’m really confused about your dressing hardening…it would only do this if butter or another type of saturated fat was included–but olive oil doesn’t harden. Possibly it was in a cold spot in the fridge?
This delicious summer pasta salad should not be missed! I did not have fresh corn, so I used canned. To add flavor, I blackened the corn with the black beans and some spice over medium heat. I made this salad with the bean burritos on this website and dinner was a hit. Thank you so much Lauren
Thanks for sharing, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and the burritos!
Made this recipe with double the sauce and that wasn’t enough…recipe to mr so…so.. would not make again.
Delicious! I now have a “Go To” recipe for gatherings that is a huge hit. This Salad packs so much flavor and was quick to make. I have also , by request, removed the Avocado and replaced with a European Cucumber quartered and cubed. It was great this way too. Thank you for the recipe.
I’ve found this one to be a crowd favorite too! Thanks for sharing Mike.
My daughter does not like raw onions, she would like to sauté them. Will that be ok.
Of course–sounds delicious! Enjoy!
Great recipe and such a colorful dish! I couldn’t get my picky younger kids to try this salad but my health-conscious older kids loved it and were impressed mom had made a dish containing so many vegetables. We especially liked the chopped avocado. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m Italian and … no, please! Tortellini can not, must not, be eaten cold! It is a heresy! 🙂
I am going to serve this as the main dish for a ladies luncheon. Do you think for 9 ladies, double the recipe is enough, or should I triple it?
Hi Diane, If you’re serving this with a few others sides to go along with it than I think doubling the recipe should be fine (especially since ladies at luncheons don’t usually eat a ton). If it’s all you will be eating for the main course then you may want to triple it, expecting that you’ll end up with some leftover. Hope that helps! I’d love to hear how everyone likes it 🙂
just made this for lunch this week! so good – thanks!
Hi I am curious how many people does this serve as a side dish? The recipe looks yummy!
I’d think it would serve about 6-8 people as a side dish.
A delicious, fresh, and light summer meal. I’ve been so frustrated with finding recipes that don’t require heating up the house or manning a hot grill in this insane TX heat. This fit the bill. I followed the recipe exactly, and it was a huge hit!
Making this today to take to a party. The hostess is vegetarian, so I’m sure she’ll love it. Will let you know how it goes over. Thanks for the great recipe!!
Awesome! I would love to hear how everyone likes it!
A hugh success!! I did double the dressing and added an extra avocado, but otherwise, changed nothing else. Will definitely be making this again. Thank you!!
I have two teenage boys and am wondering if this would be enough as a main dish for them or if I should have this as a side dish. Thoughts?
If there are just 3 of you eating (you and your 2 teenagers), I think it would work great as a main for your boys. If there are more people than that I would probably have something else to go with it. Maybe some grilled chicken and fruit. Hope that helps!
Just made this to take to a bridal shower tomorrow. Recipe notes sat to add dressing when ready to eat but I would really like to finish it up today…..will it be ok or will it get soggy? And will the avacados be ok since there’s a lot of lime juice in the dressing?
Thanks so much!
Hi Lisa, sounds perfect for a bridal shower! The reason I suggest adding the dressing right before serving is that the noodles will absorb most of it if it sits overnight. I would add some extra lemon or lime juice to the avocados before they sit overnight, just to make sure they don’t brown. Hope that helps!
Thanks so much….I made extra dressing so I will just a little more if it gets all soaked up overnight. Looks so yummy!
I made this last night for a pot luck good bye party and it was a hit all around! Thx for such a great recipe! It’s beautiful to look at and absolutely delicious to eat
Love to hear that! Thanks so much for sharing! <3
I’m eating this right now. Wonderful!!!
So happy to hear it! Thanks for sharing!
Just made this… and almost ate the whole bowl! SO tasty! Thank you!
Love to hear it! Thanks!
This sounds simple enough to make. A shout out to our sisters and brothers in arms at the realfood-project.com