This Cheese Tortellini Pasta Salad could possibly be the best pasta salad ever. Really! It’s that good. A wonderful pot luck, crowd pleasing pasta salad with bacon, broccoli and cheese tortellini. With cherry tomatoes and a creamy unique dressing, this one is worth a look.
This Cheese Tortellini Pasta salad is loaded with cherry tomatoes, crisp bacon bits, broccoli florets and sliced green onion. And being the coleslaw lover that I am, I’ve smothered it in a sweet and tangy bottled coleslaw dressing to make this one delicious creamy tortellini pasta salad. Pillowy cheese tortellini never had it so good.
It’s hearty, comforting and with Summer pasta salads in demand from Memorial Day to Labor Day, this Cheese Tortellini Pasta Salad will be your best friend this Summer.
This summer side salad deserves it’s place right up there with my favorites, Old Fashioned Potato Salad, and my Amish Macaroni Salad. Both very popular recipes.
Grilled burgers, pasta salads, hanging out on the back deck…get your flip-flops on, grab a cold glass of iced tea and Let The Summer Games Begin.
One day, just for fun, I decided to Google “the best pasta salad ever”. What was the return? A pasta salad with cheese tortellini. A new idea for me. I took the basic recipe and made it my own.
This pasta salad recipe will go with any grilled entree, but my favorite way to serve it is with my recipe for Grilled Chicken.
Let’s take a look.
- Cheese Tortellini: You can use cheese tortellini found in the frozen food department. Or cheese tortellini found in the refrigerator section. Both will work well here.
- Fresh Broccoli Florets
- Bacon, Preferrably thick cut, cut into bits and cooked crisp.
- Cherry Tomatoes, halved.
- Bottled coleslaw dressing: Surprisingly, the dressing for this tortellini pasta salad is simply bottled Coleslaw Dressing. I can find two brands. Light House Cole Slaw Dressing in the refrigerator section of the produce department. And Hidden Valley Ranch dressing on the bottled salad dressing aisle. There’s always the option of making homemade coleslaw dressing.
- Green Onions
Chef Tip: I like to purchase Cherub brand tomatoes. Cherubs are a variety of grape tomatoes which have a stronger outer skin and meatier, less watery flesh. They are easier to slice for salads, hold up better during cooking or roasting and are reliable year round with their mild, sweet flavor.
Step by Step Instructions, It’s So Easy
- Step 1: Cook The Bacon: Cut the bacon into small squares and cook until golden and starting to crisp. This will take about 15 minutes if using a good quality thick cut bacon.
- Step 2: Cook the cheese tortellini according to package instructions and drain well. Place the tortellini in a large bowl and add the ingredients on top.
- Step 3: Using a large spoon, gently stir until well combined. To stir, it’s better to dig under the ingredients with the spoon and gently fold over. Remember, the cooked cheese tortellini is delicate and you don’t want to break them open.
Tips For Success
- Tortellini: I have used both Buitoni and Rani brand refrigerated cheese tortellini. Both work well for this recipe. I have also used a frozen brand, which can be harder to find.
- Be careful not to over-cook the tortellini. If the pasta shells get too soft, they’re more likely to fall apart when you stir in the ingredients. I recommend cooking the tortellini 30 seconds less than instructed time for al dente.
- Pasta salads like this one always taste better the next day. But pasta is notorious for absorbing more sauce once it sits for awhile. Simply stir in some more coleslaw dressing or even a drizzle of milk if needed.
Storage
Store any leftovers covered or sealed in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
CheeseTortellini Pasta Salad
This Tortellini Pasta Salad is quite a tasty recipe, and, as always, much better after sitting in the fridge overnight, gotta give those ingredients a chance to get to know each other better.
I have taken this pasta salad with cheese tortellini to countless pot lucks, BBQ’s and parties. It never fails, someone always asks for the recipe.
More Popular Pasta Salad Recipes
And if you’re looking for even more side dishes for picnic style gatherings, don’t miss this line-up of Summer cook-out sides. I’m positive you’ll find something you love. And take a look at this pot-luck-perfect side dish for Old Fashioned Pea Salad with Eggs. Bacon and cheese make this a popular recipe.
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Cheese Tortellini Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 19 ounce package Cheese tortellini Package sized vary from 19 – 20 ounces.
- 1 pound Thick cut bacon chopped and fried until crispy, grease drained.
- 4 cups broccoli cut small into florets
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
- 3 green onions sliced
- 1 cup Coleslaw dressing bottled.
Instructions
- Cook The Bacon: Cut the bacon into small squares and cook until golden and starting to crisp. This will take about 15 minutes if using a good quality thick cut bacon.
- Cook the cheese tortellini according to package instructions and drain well. Place the tortellini in a large bowl and add bacon bits, broccoli florets, cherry tomatoes, green onions, and coleslaw dressing.
- Using a large spoon, gently stir until well combined. To stir, it’s better to dig under the ingredients with the spoon and gently fold over several times. Remember, the cooked cheese tortellini is delicate and you don’t want to break them open.
Notes
- Tortellini: I have used both Buitoni and Rani brand refrigerated cheese tortellini. Both work well for this recipe. I have also used a frozen brand, which can be harder to find.
- Be careful not to over-cook the tortellini. If the pasta shells get too soft, they’re more likely to fall apart when you stir in the ingredients. I recommend cooking the tortellini 30 seconds less than instructed time for al dente.
- Pasta salads like this one always taste better the next day. But pasta is notorious for absorbing more sauce once it sits for awhile. Simply stir in some more coleslaw dressing or even a drizzle of milk if needed.
Nutrition
Cheese Tortellini Pasta Salad … it’s What’s For a Side Dish
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
We make this quite often, but use Jimmys Coleslaw dressing with Pineapple.
The only other changes we do is add black olives and use the purple onion, then before serving I toss it with shaved parmesan on top.
This looks wonderful! I like it that it can be made with a few things already on hand. Great post!
I never make pasta salads I don’t know why! I could easily make this one and my daughter would inhale it! Thanks for sharing an easy and flavorful recipe!
Tortellini in salad is new to me but it sure looks good!
In MN, the hills are called mountains and the lakes are ponds….go figure!
It was new to me also Berin, but when I read the recipe I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it! Thanks for stopping by
Oh, I love the sammie wrapped like that…too cute! I don’t have a favorite pasta salad recipe…but I love tortellini in my pasta salad, that’s a definite plus! Sounds yummy. =)
Thanks for stopping by GC
I have my mother’s Spaghetti salad which is my favorite that I need to do a post on soon. It’s the ONLY dish that I will eat with regular store bought tuna in it.
Great area to take a picnic!
You know now that you say “spaghetti”, I do believe my lost recipe was a cold spaghetti salad. Don’t think it involved Tuna. I’ll be anxious to see your recipe.
I really think tortellini makes for the best pasta salad. Those little cheesy rings are just awesome. I really love pesto pasta salad with tortellini, cherry tomatoes, and black olives. Good stuff.
I think your combination really sounds good. Saving that idea!
Not bad for a girlie girl pasta salad…HeeHeeHee..
awrightie Mr. BD……I’ll have you know that I don’t throw a softball ball like a girl!
I played center field on a winning team into my mid- thirties! Remember the song “Anything you can do, I can do better”..God, I can be an annoying man! 🙂
Your salad looks good from here and like most things, it’s a matter of what you like. I think the one I posted about on May 16 was about as good as I’ve ever had, except I’d use Newmans Caesar dressing as I usually do. I’ve used the same dressing on a salad that is lots of veggies with the pasta and it works well there also, I mix in the veggies while the pasta is hot to take a little of the raw edge off the veggies. Looks like a good picnic spot.
oh that’s right, I’ll have to go back and take another look at your pasta salad. I agree with your method of mixing in vegies while pasta is hot, it also helps blend the flavors better. I also do that with potato salad. Heading over to Big Dude right now.
I wish I had friends who took pictures of cutely wrapped sandwiches and sent them to me!
Well, I don’t know what that says about me.
And I will be copy catting those wraps in a couple of weeks when I take the kids on a picnic! Cute idea.
Alos love the idea of using tortellini in a pasta salad. The ingredients sound like a great combo.
-haha, “lousy with birds” 🙂
I knew you’d like the “lousy with” reference! 🙂
While this looks very good and I trust your taste…I have to say I do this I have a recipe for the best pasta salad ever.
Take the trifecta of basil, tomato and mozzarella, add avocado and pine nuts and then drizzle with balsamic dressing…I mean I know your mouth is watering, isn’t it?
The picture (crappy that it is) is meaningful as it was the very last one taken with my old point and shoot. Forced me to buy a DSLR and things haven’t been the same since! Seems I need to make it myself, soon, if only to get a better picture (oh, yeah, and eat half of it before company comes too!).
http://vinolucistyle.com/2009/09/avocado-tomato-and-mozzarella-pasta-salad-with-pine-nuts/
Have a safe and fun Memorial Day Lea Ann!
Barb, I did head over to your blog to see that pasta salad and it looks and sounds WONderful. I’ll give it a try soon. Love the addition of avocado. Thanks for sending me the link.