This creamy pesto tortellini salad is easy to make and loaded with summer flavor. Fresh and colorful, this tortellini pasta salad can be made ahead of time and is the perfect side dish to serve at summer parties or to take to a potluck.

Pesto tortellini salad in two plates with forks on left and a bowl of extra pesto on right.

❤️ About This Pesto Tortellini Salad Recipe

This pesto tortellini salad has a brilliant fresh flavor from homemade spinach pesto (with basil) tossed with fresh cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls. It’s so good, you’ll be adding this to your summer staples.

It’s fresh, light and loaded with herby, vibrant pesto.
Quick to make: It takes only 20 minutes (from making pesto to a ready salad). Or it can take just 10 minutes if you’ve pesto ready or use a store-bought one.
It’s healthy and super simple to make.
It is perfect for picnics or summer gatherings.
Make this tortellini salad ahead of time as meal prep and enjoy it as a quick lunch.

🧾 Ingredient Notes

Here is the pic of the ingredients to make homemade spinach basil pesto.

Spinach basil pesto ingredients with label on marble surface.

Baby spinach & Basil: Use fresh ones. Frozen spinach or dried basil won’t work here.
Garlic: Use fresh garlic or use readymade minced garlic.
Walnuts: It adds a nice nutty flavor. Another classic option is to use pine nuts.
Lemon juice: Again use freshly squeezed lemon juice. It’s much better than bottled lemon juice.
Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil should be used while making any pesto as it has a mild flavor. Plus, pesto is eaten raw, and fresh so extra virgin should be used.
Parmesan cheese: As being vegetarian, I only buy vegetarian parmesan cheese and not the original Parmigiano Reggiano that has rennet.

Here is the pic of the ingredients you’ll need to make pesto tortellini salad.

Pesto tortellini salad ingredients with labels

Tortellini: I prefer to use fresh cheese tortellini from the refrigerated section of the grocery store. You can use frozen cheese tortellini as well. Cook as per the package instructions.
Cherry or Grape Tomatoes: Highly recommend using cheery or grape tomatoes as these baby tomatoes are sweeter and more crisp. Plus, they don’t leave excess juice so perfect to toss into salads.
Fresh pearl mozzarella cheese: These mini mozzarella balls are perfect for this pasta salad. Drain the liquid, slice them in half or keep them whole and toss them into the pasta salad. The package is often labeled as Fresh mozzarella pearls.
Pine nuts: Toasted pine nuts add some crunch and nutty flavor.

👩‍🍳 How To Make Pesto Tortellini Salad?

Make Spinach Basil Pesto:

To a food processor, add baby spinach, basil, parmesan, walnuts, garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
Also, add oil.
Cover and run the processor until it is a pesto consistency.
You may need to stop and scrape the sides with a spatula and blend again. You’ll need ½ cup of pesto and store the rest for later use.

Collage of 4 images showing spinach pesto ingredients in food processor, adding oil, running and ready pesto.

Make Tortellini Salad:

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and then add a generous pinch of salt. Add tortellini and cook as per the package instruction or until al dente. Drain the water, toss the pasta in a tablespoon of olive oil and let them cool down.

Take cooked tortellini, halved grape tomatoes, mozzarella pearls and pesto in a large bowl.
Toss everything together until every nook and cranny of the cheese tortellini is covered with pesto.
Lastly, garnish with toasted pine nuts.

Collage of 3 steps showing salad ingredients in a bowl and tossing together.

💭 Expert Tips For Tortellini Salad

Always add salt once the water comes to a boil. Salted water takes longer to come to a boil.
Cook tortellini until al dente meaning slightly underdone (toothsome bite). The remaining cooking is done while the pasta is cooling down and they become perfectly soft.
Don’t forget to toss the cooked tortellini pasta in some olive oil to prevent them from sticking to each other.
Toasting pine nuts: Dry roast them in a pan on medium-low heat until lightly brown and aromatic. Or toast them in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 5 minutes on a baking sheet in a single layer.
You can use store-bought pesto instead of making it at home.
Add pesto to room temperature or cold pasta to retain pesto’s vibrant green color. Though you can add it to warm tortellini, the pesto will get cooked slightly and result in the loss of that vibrant color. Either way, it tastes good.

Pesto tortellini pasta salad served in a plate.

Check Out Other Pasta Recipes

Did you try this pesto tortellini salad recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.