Lemon Veggie Tortellini Salad is made with fresh summer garden ingredients with tender cheese pasta and tossed with a lemony vinaigrette dressing!
This healthy salad can be made in about 20 minutes and is sure to be a favorite all summer long.
Let's talk about a perfect summer salad that tastes delicious and can be served as a main dish. It is also vegetarian and super easy to make.
I was inspired to make this recipe from our local Hy-Vee monthly magazine. As soon as I saw the first word being lemon, I knew it was calling my name. I changed around a few of the ingredients as you could do as well.
Who's ready to make tonight's dinner?
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Ingredients
Here are the ingredients for the salad - dressing ingredients below in the step by step instructions.
Instructions
Step 1: in a large saute pan, add one tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the veggies and cook until they are crisp-tender (about 5 minutes); stir often and then remove from heat
Step 2: cook cheese tortellini according to instructions on package then drain and rinse with cold water (this will prevent further cooking)
Step 3: measure out the ingredients for the vinaigrette - lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, lemon-pepper seasoning, dried basil, salt, garlic powder and olive oil
Step 4: whisk all ingredients in a bowl minus the olive oil. When mixed, drizzle in the olive oil and keep whisking to combine
To assemble the Lemon Veggie Tortellini Salad combine the sauteed veggies, grape tomatoes, shaved parmesan cheese and cheese tortellini then drizzle the lemon vinaigrette dressing over and gently mix until coated. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Recipe Notes
- this salad is vegetarian but you could add grilled chicken for extra protein
- other cheeses could be used like feta, mozzarella balls or cheddar cheese
- to make salad ahead, store the cooked veggies and tortellini in refrigerator; toss the remainder of ingredients and vinaigrette right before serving for maximum flavor (the salad will keep for about 4 days refrigerated)
- vinaigrette can also be made ahead; give a good shake to mix it back up
- HyVee suggests pine nuts but I did not add
- running cold water over cooked tortellini will stop the cooking process so they don't get mushy
Tools used in this recipe
More summer salad recipes
- Heirloom Tomato Caprese
- Roasted Golden Beet
- Fresh Corn Caprese Salad
- Triple Berry Salad with Goat Cheese
- Lemon Caprese Salad
Get the Recipe
Lemon Veggie Tortellini Salad
A delicious summer salad with fresh ingredients that can be made in a snap!
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small zucchini, sliced and then quartered
- 1 small yellow squash, sliced and then quartered
- 10 asparagus stalks, cut into 1" pieces
- 10 oz. cheese tortellini
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, shaved
- Basil leaves
Vinaigrette
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Cook tortellini according to package then drain and run under cold water; set aside
- In a medium saute pan add 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat and saute zucchini, squash and asparagus until crisp-tender; remove from heat and set aside (about 5 minutes)
- In a medium bowl add vinaigrette ingredients (minus the olive oil) mix until well blended then whisk in olive oil until blended
- Combine the veggies, tortellini, tomatoes, and parmesan.
- Drizzle vinaigrette over top and toss gently until everything is combined
- Add fresh basil leaves on top and serve
Notes
SEE RECIPE FOR STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 294Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 579mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 9g
Nutritional information provided is computer-generated and only an estimate. You may want to do your own research with the ingredients listed if you have concerns about health or specific diets.
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