Tortellini Caprese Salad

5 from 49 votes

This easy Tortellini Caprese Salad makes the most of summer tomatoes and fresh basil, and can be made in under 20 minutes.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Servings:

Calories: 581kcal

Author: Chef Molly Pisula

Ingredients

1 pint cherry tomatoes (about 13.5 ounces)
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese bocconcini or ciliegine preferred
9 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini
⅓ cup pesto
¼ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil plus more for garnish
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Coarse sea salt to taste

Instructions

Rinse cherry tomatoes, and slice each in half.
If your mozzarella cheese is not in bite-sized chunks, cut into smaller pieces.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add tortellini.
Cook according to the package instructions, reserving a couple of tablespoons of cooking liquid before draining.
Drain tortellini and rinse under cool water until lukewarm.
In a small bowl, whisk together the pesto and mayonnaise.
Put tortellini in a large bowl and toss with pesto sauce, tomatoes, mozzarella, chopped basil, and black pepper. If salad is not saucy enough, add a tablespoon of the reserved cooking liquid and stir (then add more if needed).
Season to taste with sea salt, then serve.

Notes

Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe a day or two ahead of serving. Toss it together and refrigerate it. You can serve it cold, at room temperature, or warm. If the pasta sauce dries out a bit, add a little water or a little more pesto before serving.

Tortellini Tips: Make sure to read the package instructions when cooking tortellini, and even pull out a piece to taste if it looks to you like it’s getting close to done. Overcooked tortellini turns mushy quickly. Also, do rinse the tortellini in cold or cool water when it is done—that will stop the cooking process. Finally, drain the pasta well before tossing with the pesto sauce and the rest of the ingredients. That will make sure you don’t have a watery tortellini caprese salad!

Nutrition