Pasta salad is a summer BBQ side dish staple. Take it to the next level by swapping out plain old pasta for cheese-filled tortellini! This Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Tortellini is just the refreshing and satiating side you’re searching for!
Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Tortellini Ingredients
Pasta salad is a staple dish but it was time to change it up a bit. Que- tortellini. Want to know the best part about swapping pasta for tortellini? EXTRA CHEESE!
For this dish you need a fair amount of ingredients, but feel free to omit or swap any that you would like. Making a dish you will enjoy is more important than strictly following a recipe!
To start, you will need a package of cheese-filled tortellini. I used Butoni’s 20oz package of three cheese tortellini. You can prep this by cooking it according to package directions ahead of time. Now, when you go to make your Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Tortellini, you’re one step ahead.
Other ingredients to prepare are a crisp bell pepper, a pint of juicy cherry tomatoes, red onion, plump cucumber, kalamata or black olives, and feta.
Once you have your staple ingredients you also need some ingredients for your dressing. I created a dressing that pairs perfectly with the Mediterranean theme. For the sauce you’ll need bright lemon juice, a Mediterranean diet classic: olive oil, salt, oregano, pepper, and garlic. Of course using freshly squeezed lemon juice and high quality olive oil, but if that’s not possible just use what you have!
If making your own dressing isn’t something you’re interested in you can just use some italian dressing. This is a simple yet delicious way to get you to having your Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Tortellini pasta just a bit quicker!
Pasta Salad Tips and Tricks
- If you make the recommended dressing, make additional if you are not going to have the entire portion in 1 sitting. If you pour the entirety of the dressing over the salad, then place leftover in the refrigerator, the dressing will seep into the pasta. This results in a not-so-tasty pasta salad. You’ll want to add this additional dressing onto the pasta at this time.
- Taste and Change! I made this recipe based on my tastes and preferences. You may want to omit certain ingredients or add others! Some fun additions may be cubed avocado, chickpeas, green peas, or more fresh herbs and spices.
- The olive issue. You would more readily find kalamata olives in the mediterranean diet. In this recipe I used plain ole’ black olives. The flavor of kalamata olives would better pair with the dish but black olives are much more attainable in my area. The olive choice is yours!
Mediterranean Diet Health Benefits
The Mediterranean Diet is based off of eating patterns of those who live in the Mediterranean area. Like most, the foods they consume most often are ones that come from the area they live in.
The Mediterranean Diet is mainly plant-based foods with many fruits, veggies, nuts, beans, fresh fish, olives and olive oil. Most of the protein comes from plant-based sources such as beans and legumes but there is also some fish and yogurt!
In addition to the foods, the Mediterranean diet is beneficial because of the way it is consumed. They will sit and eat with friends over conversation. This means during the meal they are getting positive social interactions, spending time speaking instead of eating, and overall just not in a rush!
A big benefit of this eating pattern is evidence of reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease and overall reduction in the risk of mortality. If you are interested in making a healthy lifestyle change, look deeper into the Mediterranean diet!
Craving More?
If you give this recipe a try be sure to give it a rating and leave a comment! I really appreciate it and it actually helps spread the recipe so others give it a try!
You can even tag me in a photo of your food on Instagram, too!
Looking for some other summer dishes? Try out my:
- Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
- Honey Butter Sweet Potatoes
- Air Fryer Zucchini Bites
- Pigs in a Blanket with Everything But The Bagel Seasoning
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Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Tortellini
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
- 1 Packaged 3-cheese Tortellini 20oz
- 1 Whole Orange bell pepper Thinly slices
- 1 Pint Cherry tomatoes Sliced in half
- 2/3 Cup Red onion Diced
- 1 Whole Cucumber Sliced then quartered
- 1 Cup Olives Black or Kalamata
- 1/2 Cup Feta
Pasta Salad Dressing
- 1 Whole Lemon Juiced with seeds removed
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Oregano
- 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic
Instructions
- Cook tortellini according to package directions. Set aside.
- Clean all vegetables. Slice bell peppers into slices, then cut those slices in half. Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Dice red onion. Cut cucumber in slices then cut those slices into quarters.
- In a large bowl combine tortellini, peppers, tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, olives, and feta.
- In a small bowl combine juice of 1 lemon, olive oil, salt, oregano, pepper, and garlic.
- Drizzle dressing over pasta salad. Stir well to evenly distribute.
Notes
- As noted above recipe, I recommend you make additional servings of the dressing!
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator
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