Greek tortellini salad is a delightful light pasta salad full of fresh, out of the garden flavors and a tangy lemon and olive oil dressing topped with feta cheese.
The weather is heating up which means it is time to break out those refreshing summer dishes. We love spring and summer food. Everything feels lighter and healthier. This cold Greek tortellini salad is exactly what a summer dish should be. It’s got some great garden items combined with the refreshing tang of lemon. It’s a great one to take to summer picnics or potlucks.
Cooking Lesson: Generally you don’t rinse pasta because in doing so it rinses away starch. However, rinsing that starch away can come in handy sometimes. The starch is what causes pasta to stick together and clump up. So, say you are serving a large spaghetti dinner and don’t want to add a bunch of olive oil to your pasta? Well, just rinse that starch away and your pasta won’t end up a clumpy mess. It changes the texture of the pasta a bit (more slippery), but it’s a handy trick. This recipe asks you to rinse the pasta both to help it cool quickly and to keep it from clumping together before you combine it with the veggies. That way you can either eat it right away, or put it in the fridge until ready to eat.
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Are olives optional?
Not a fan of olives? You’re not alone. We love the extra flavor olives bring to this dish, but if you don’t love olives this will still be an incredible dish without them. -
What should I serve with greek tortellini salad?
This works as a great side dish to grilled pork, but is also hearty enough to be the main dish at a light lunch on a hot summer day. -
How long will this keep in the fridge?
Greek tortellini salad needs to be stored in an airtight container in the fridge, and should last between 3-5 days.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious summer salad recipes:
Greek Tortellini Salad
- 1 package cheese tortellini
- 2 cucumbers diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 1 can whole olives
- 2 lemons juiced
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 cup feta cheese
- Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water.
- Combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and olives in a large bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice over the vegetables and add in the olive oil and feta. Stir to combine.
- Add the cooked tortellini to the vegetables, stir, and let cool in the fridge until ready to serve.