Tortellini Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Artichokes

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This tortellini pasta salad recipe is quick and easy to make anytime of the year, and full of the best savory flavors!

Meet my new anytime-of-the-year tortellini salad recipe. ♡

This one initially came about as I was trying to come up with a festive red-and-green dish to bring to a Christmas party.  But it ended up being so delicious that it’s for sure going on our regular pasta salad rotation from here on out.

Mainly, I love this tortellini pasta salad recipe because it’s made with super-simple pantry and refrigerated ingredients that are easy to source year-round.  (As in, no need to settle for watery fresh tomatoes or lackluster fresh veggies this year when they’re not in season!)   Instead, just reach in your pantry for a jar of artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes, pick up a few packages of fresh tortellini and baby arugula the next time you’re at the store, toast up a a handful of pine nuts and whisk together a quick vinaigrette.  Then in less than 15 minutes, the most flavorful easy pasta salad will be yours to enjoy this holiday season or anytime of the year.

Serve it up cold or warm, use it as an appetizer or main dish, make it gluten-free or vegan if you’d like — the options to customize this versatile recipe are pretty endless.  Let’s make a quick batch!

Tortellini Pasta Salad Ingredients:

To make this tortellini pasta salad recipe, you will need:

• Fresh tortellini: One package of fresh tortellini (whatever flavor you prefer) from the refrigerated section of the grocery store, cooked according to package instructions.
• Artichoke hearts: One jar (marinated or not — up to you), drained and roughly-chopped.
• Sun-dried tomatoes: One small jar, drained and roughly-chopped
• Arugula: Or baby spinach, kale, or any other greens you might prefer.
• Pine nuts: Briefly toasted, to bring out their flavor.
• Parmesan cheese: I used shaved Parmesan, but grated Parmesan would also be great.
• Vinaigrette: Made simply with olive oil, red wine (or balsamic) vinegar, Dijon, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

How To Make This Tortellini Salad:

To make this tortellini salad recipe, simply…

1. Cook the tortellini.  Cook the tortellini according to package directions in a large stockpot of generously-salted boiling water.  Drain the tortellini in a strainer, then rinse with cold water until the pasta has cooled.
2. Make the vinaigrette.  Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl (or shake together in a mason jar) until combined.
3. Mix everything together.  In a large mixing bowl, add the tortellini ingredients and vinaigrette.  Toss until evenly combined.
4. Serve.  Serve immediately, garnished with extra Parmesan cheese.  Or transfer to a food storage container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Possible Variations:

This pasta salad recipe is incredibly versatile, so feel free to customize your own and use whatever ingredients you love best.  For example, you could…

• Serve it warm. This would taste equally delicious as a hot pasta dish, instead of being served as a cold pasta salad.  Just cook and drain the tortellini, toss it with the remaining ingredients and serve warm.
• Add roasted red peppers.  I’m also a huge fan of adding roasted red peppers to pasta salads.
• Add olives and/or capers.  Feel free to toss in some olives or capers, if you would like some extra briny flavors.
• Use pasta.  If you don’t happen to love tortellini or have some on hand, this pasta salad would also be delicious just made with traditional pasta shapes (such as penne or bow-tie pasta).
• Use fresh tomatoes.  If you happen to be making this salad in the summertime when tomatoes are in season, feel free to sub sliced cherry tomatoes in for the sun-dried tomatoes.
• Use a different kind of cheese. Baby mozzarella balls (or burrata) would be delicious in place of (or in addition to) Parmesan cheese.
• Make it gluten-free.  Just use gluten-free tortellini.  (And, as always, double-check that all of your other ingredients are certified gluten-free.)
• Make it vegan.  Use vegan tortellini or ravioli (or you could just use straight pasta).  And you could either use vegan Parmesan cheese, or just add in a few generous pinches of nutritional yeast.

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