Man, that is a mouthful, isn’t it? This salad is beautiful, delicious, filled with fresh vegetables, and topped with the most awesome Basil Vinaigrette dressing. It is also wonderful to prepare in advance for dinner with friends or to take to a picnic etc.
Preparation is simple
The prep is super simple and there are three main steps: 1) chop the veg 2) boil up the tortellini and 3) make the dressing. (The dressing is so versatile that it’s got its own post…check out the ingredients there before grocery shopping for this salad.)
I have found if you make the dressing the day before, the process seems a whole lot easier and overall less time consuming to get the salad ready.
One time I was eating this salad, and wanted to #VegItUp even more – and I added Arugula that I had in the veg drawer to make this more salad-y. It was really good that way too. Assuming you like Arugula, that is. 🙂 You may want to add a bit more of the dressing if you are adding lettuce / greens to this salad.
Fresh Ingredients are Key
Make sure you stop at your local farmers market, grocery or farm store and pickup all the fresh ingredients you will need for this salad. Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Fresh Corn on the Cob, a Bell Pepper and some Green Onions. Don’t forget the Basil, Shallot, Garlic etc. for the basil vinaigrette!
I like to get the baby / grape tomatoes – the ones that are multi colored if they have them. I generally take the seeds out of the cucumbers and chop them moderately small. While the original recipe says you don’t need to cook the corn, I take the husk off, wrap a very wet paper towel around the cob(s) and toss it in the micro for 3 minutes per cob. All the rest of the veg are chopped and prepared the usual way…
The pictures are from various iterations of this salad … the more you make something the more you know how you like it or want to make it! The last time I made it – I used a 10 oz container of tortellini from TJ’s and basically halved this recipe – and made a whole recipe of the basil vinaigrette to use on other things…
Where did this recipe come from?
As with the basil vinaigrette recipe – this recipe is also from Two Peas and Their Pod. I’d found these two recipes years ago when I was recipe surfing through pinterest. I have been loving and making this salad since 2019. The original recipe is posted here.
Cheese Tortellini Basil Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumber, Pepper and Corn
Ingredients
- 20 oz Cheese Tortellini – Fresh or Frozen
- 1-2 Ears Fresh Corn – Corn sliced off the Cob (~1 C)
- 1 Large Cucumber – Deseeded and chopped
- 1 Large Sweet Pepper – Green, Red or Orange – chopped
- 1 C Grape Tomatoes – Sliced in half
- 3-4 Green Onions – Chopped
- Fresh Basil Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
Garnish – Optional
- ¼ C Pine Nuts – Toasted 5 min in a dry pan
- ¼ C Grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Make the Fresh Basil Vinaigrette Salad Dressing.
- Boil the Tortellini in salt water – until al dente and drain. Place Tortellini in a large bowl.20 oz Cheese Tortellini
- Wash, Trim, Peel (if you like) the cucumber and then deseed using a spoon. Chop the cucumber and add to the bowl.1 Large Cucumber
- Chop the pepper(s) and add to the bowl.1 Large Sweet Pepper
- Slice the corn off the cob(s) and chop the green onions and add to the bowl.1-2 Ears Fresh Corn, 3-4 Green Onions
- Slice the tomatoes in half and add to the bowl.1 C Grape Tomatoes
- Add the basil vinaigrette to the bowl and stir. Taste and adjust the seasonings / S&P.Fresh Basil Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
