Looking to up your pasta salad game? You need to make this vegan tortellini salad! It's packed with fresh veggies, basil, and vegan cheese tortellini in vinaigrette dressing.
Tortellini was my ultimate favorite pasta when I was growing up, so I'm very pleased to see vegan tortellini popping up on my grocery store shelves lately. I've really been enjoying the stuff, and creating new recipes to celebrate. One of those new recipes is my vegan tortellini soup from earlier this year.
Soup season is long gone, so these days I'm enjoying this vegan tortellini salad. It's so tasty! This one is a great side dish for summer gatherings, and I think everyone will love it, including your non vegan friends and family members (who would probably never guess that this stuff was vegan).
It's really easy to throw together too!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegan cheese tortellini. I used Kite Hill brand, which is available at Wegmans and Whole Foods.
- Red onion.
- Cherry tomatoes. You can also dice up a large tomato or two if you've got some from the garden that you're trying to use up.
- Cucumber.
- Kalamata olives. I LOVE Kalamata olives, but you could really get away with using any variety of pitted olives.
- Fresh basil.
- Flat leaf parsley. Curly parsley will work in a pinch.
- Salt and pepper.
- Olive oil.
- Red wine vinegar.
- Dijon mustard. Creamy Dijon works best for dressings, so use it if you can (as opposed to whole grain Dijon).
- Garlic.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by boiling your tortellini as instructed on the package. Drain them when they're done, then give them a rinse with cold water to cool them down.
The next step is optional, but do it if you tend to find the flavor of onion overpowering. Soak your sliced onion in cold water for ten minutes. This will reduce the bite!
To make your dressing, simply place all of the ingredients into a jar with a tight fitting lid: olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Shake it up!
Now place your tortellini into a large bowl, along with your red onion, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, basil, and parsley. Add the dressing and toss everything together.
That's it! You can give your vegan tortellini salad a taste-test at this point, and add a little salt and pepper if you'd like. Serve it now or chill it for later.
Leftovers & Storage
Vegan tortellini salad will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three days. While it can be served as soon as it's made, I recommend chilling it for a day before serving it — this gives the flavors a chance to develop!
More Vegan Pasta Salads
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Tortellini Salad
Ingredients
- 2 (9 ounce/255 gram) packages vegan cheese tortellini
- ½ red onion, sliced into strips
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium orange bell pepper, diced
- ½ medium cucumber, diced
- â…“ cup Kalamata olives, halved
- ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
- ¼ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the Dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespooon Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the tortellini. Cook the tortellini according to the package directions and drain it into a colander when it's done. Rinse it under cool water.
- While the tortellini cooks, place all of the dressing ingredients into a jar or container with a lid, such as a mason jar. Shake until the ingredients are well mixed.
- Optional step: Place the sliced onion into a small bowl and cover it with cold water. Let it sit for 10 minutes while you prep the other ingredients, then drain and rinse the onion. This step will reduce the raw onion bite.
- Place the tortellini into a large bowl. Add the cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, olives, basil and parsley. Add the dressing and toss to combine the ingredients (Note 1).
- Season the salad with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or cover the bowl and chill for later (Note 2).
Notes
- This recipe makes a generous amount of dressing. You don't have to use it all if you don't want to. Leftover dressing will keep for at least a week in an airtight container in the fridge.
- I like this salad best when it's been chilling for about a day.
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Hi
Where have you found vegan cheese tortellini? Thanks!
I've gotten them at Wegmans and Whole Foods - Kite Hill brand!