A simple Mediterranean-inspired cold tortellini pasta salad with chicken, veggies, feta, and olives in a red wine vinaigrette is the recipe of the season! This crowd-pleasing dish is a great make-ahead dinner, an easy contribution to your next potluck, and a packable solution for picnics or travel.
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If you’re looking for even more easy salad recipes, be sure to try this English pea salad, a cucumber tomato onion salad, this marinated vegetable salad, and a broccoli grape salad, too!
You can’t beat a cold tortellini salad for an easy summer meal! Cheese tortellini comes together with chicken, fresh vegetables, olives, and feta cheese in a simple vinaigrette for a satisfying and nutritious make-ahead lunch or dinner.
When my family of 5 devours a meal without complaint, I consider it the ultimate culinary stamp of approval! There’s nothing particularly fancy, difficult, or unusual about this recipe. Instead, it’s just a lovely combination of really delicious, fresh ingredients that work perfectly together. You can even start with a store-bought rotisserie chicken for minimal prep!
Ingredients for a Cold Tortellini Salad
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a simple tortellini salad recipe. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar: come together to create a classic vinaigrette that highlights the rest of the ingredients.
- Garlic: for savory flavor.
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper: to enhance the other flavors in the dish.
- Chicken: use raw chicken breast tenderloins (which cook quickly in a skillet), or start with a store-bought rotisserie chicken for an easy shortcut.
- Tortellini pasta: I use a refrigerated three cheese tortellini, but another variety of cooked tortellini will work well, too. Try a sausage-filled tortellini, frozen tortellini, dried tortellini, or tri-colored tortellini.
- Baby spinach, red onion, cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, and cucumber: fresh veggies that bulk up the dish, and also contribute great flavor, color, and texture.
- Sliced black olives: for a salty, briny touch.
- Feta cheese: a classic cheese that adds salty, creamy, Mediterranean flavor to the dish.
- Basil: use fresh herbs for the best flavor.
Should you rinse pasta for pasta salad?
Yes, I recommend rinsing the tortellini for this cold pasta salad. The rinsing accomplishes two things:
- Stops the cooking process and cools down the pasta right away so that you can toss it with the veggies, chicken, and dressing; and
- Removes some of the starches so that the tortellini doesn’t stick together in a big clump as it cools.
How to Make Tortellini Salad
The total prep time for this Greek pasta salad, from start to finish, is about 30 minutes. To make the process most efficient, prep the vegetables while you’re waiting for the pasta and the chicken to cook! I’ve included the detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:
- Boil the tortellini in a large pot of salted water according to package directions. Drain, rinse under cold water, and let cool.
- Cook the chicken in a skillet, or use pre-cooked chicken (such as a rotisserie chicken) for a shortcut.
- Shake together the red wine vinaigrette.
- Toss everything together in a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate. Add the basil just before serving.
What to Serve with Tortellini Salad
This hearty dish is filling enough to serve as an entrée, but it also works as a side dish with a piece of fish or grilled meat. Here are a few options that go well with the cold tortellini salad:
- Garlic Bread or Breadsticks
- 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, Flaky Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits, or Drop Biscuits
- Crusty French Baguette, No-Knead Cast Iron Focaccia, Focaccia Bread, No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread, Soft Dinner Rolls, or Homemade Crescent Rolls
- 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins, Pumpkin Muffins, or Pumpkin Bread
- Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, Mixed Greens with Dijon Vinaigrette, Wedge Salad with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, Caesar Salad, or our favorite House Salad with Candied Pecans
- Fennel Salad with Apples and Creamy Cider Dressing
- Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower or Garlic Roasted Broccoli
- Sauteed Zucchini or 3-Ingredient Parmesan Roasted Yellow Squash
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: For convenience, you can make this chicken tortellini salad the night before you plan to enjoy it. You might need to add a little bit more dressing to the salad the next day if you find that the pasta has absorbed too much of the vinaigrette. If the dressing solidifies when it’s chilled, just let it sit on the counter and come to room temperature before using.
- Storage: The pasta salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- I do not recommend freezing the tortellini salad. The pasta and vegetables will be mushy when thawed.
Recipe Variations
- Instead of making your own dressing, sub with your favorite store-bought vinaigrette. Any Italian dressing, vinaigrette, pesto, or Greek dressing will work!
- Make it vegetarian by substituting a can of drained, rinsed chickpeas for the chicken.
- Use just about any tortellini that you like. Frozen or dried tortellini is fine as a sub for the fresh tortellini — just cook according to package directions. You can also use a meat or spinach-filled tortellini instead of the cheese tortellini.
- Try adding more fresh herbs, such as parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano, or chives. Italian seasoning would also give the dish even more Mediterranean flavor.
- Give it a little bit of a spicy kick with some crushed red pepper flakes.
- Use other veggies, such as frozen peas (thawed), diced carrots, marinated artichoke hearts, or diced sweet red bell pepper. Capers or kalamata olives would also be great!
- If you don’t care for feta cheese, try cubed mozzarella, shaved Parmesan cheese, or the little fresh mozzarella pearl balls.
- Cooking for a smaller family? Cut all of the ingredients in half.
Tips for the Best Tortellini Pasta Salad Recipe
- Cook the tortellini just until al dente, so that it’s not too mushy in the salad.
- Liberally salt the pasta cooking water, since this is your chance to season the tortellini.
- Rinse the tortellini under cold water to stop the cooking process. This also removes some of the starches from the pasta so that it doesn’t stick together.
- This recipe yields about 1 cup of dressing, but you will not need all of it initially. Save the extra dressing for later, since you might want to add a bit more vinaigrette to your tortellini salad if the salad has been sitting in the refrigerator for a day or two.
More Cold Pasta Salad Recipes to Try
Tuna Pasta Salad
50 minutes mins
Antipasto Pasta Salad
32 minutes mins
Easy Pasta Salad with Mayo, Lemon and Basil
2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Tortellini Salad with Chicken
Ingredients
FOR THE DRESSING
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons minced, grated, or pressed fresh garlic (about 2 large cloves)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
FOR THE SALAD
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast tenderloins (or 2 cups of chopped or pulled rotisserie chicken)
- 1 (9 or 10 ounce) package fresh three cheese tortellini pasta
- 2 cups loosely packed baby spinach
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 1 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup diced seedless cucumber
- 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
Instructions
Prepare the Vinaigrette
- Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a large jar or measuring cup. Shake (or whisk) until completely combined. Set aside.
Prepare the Chicken
- If you're using cooked rotisserie chicken, you can skip this step!
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper on all sides, to taste. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the chicken in the skillet and allow the chicken to cook on one side, undisturbed, for at least 6-7 minutes. Flip, and cook the chicken for about 6-8 more minutes, or until it is nicely browned on both sides and cooked through.
- The chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, or when the juices run clear.
- When the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the skillet and place it on a cutting board to rest.
Prepare the Tortellini
- Cook the tortellini in a large pot of well salted boiling water, according to package instructions. Drain; rinse under cold water.
- While the tortellini cooks, dice the chicken into bite-size pieces or shred with two forks.
Assemble the Salad
- In a large bowl, gently combine the diced chicken, cooked tortellini, spinach, onion, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and feta cheese. Pour about ¼ cup vinaigrette over the salad (or more, to taste). Reserve the remaining vinaigrette.
- Serve the salad immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Stir in the chopped fresh basil just before serving. Add extra reserved vinaigrette to moisten the salad as needed, and season with additional salt and pepper to taste. If the dressing solidifies when chilled, just let the salad/dressing sit on the counter and come to room temperature before enjoying.
Notes
- Instead of making your own dressing, sub with your favorite store-bought vinaigrette. Any Italian dressing, vinaigrette, pesto, or Greek dressing will work!
- Make it vegetarian by substituting a can of drained, rinsed chickpeas for the chicken.
- Use just about any tortellini that you like. Frozen or dried tortellini is fine as a sub for the fresh tortellini — just cook according to package directions. You can also use a meat or spinach-filled tortellini instead of the cheese tortellini.
- Try adding more fresh herbs, such as parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano, or chives. Italian seasoning would also give the dish even more Mediterranean flavor.
- Give it a little bit of a spicy kick with some crushed red pepper flakes.
- Use other veggies, such as frozen peas (thawed), diced carrots, marinated artichoke hearts, or diced sweet red bell pepper. Capers or kalamata olives would also be great!
- If you don’t care for feta cheese, try cubed mozzarella, shaved Parmesan cheese, or the little fresh mozzarella pearl balls.
- Cooking for a smaller family? Cut all of the ingredients in half.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in April, 2018. The photos were updated in June, 2023.
This looks amazing — can’t wait to try it! Thanks for the giveaway, too! Love how the pots stack together!
Thank you, Linda! 🙂
My grandkids are picky eaters and they Loved this! Thanks so much!
As a newlywed, I would love to have a new set of pots and pans to used in making this salad. It looks delicious. I bet the red pans would be beautiful!
I have a mix matched srtbuo pans and as a ‘grownup’ (do we ever real grow up?) I would love a matching set! What a great giveaway.
Blair! Entering this giveaway, and also just wanted to let you know that we have been pulling HEAVILY from your blog while we live with my folks (waiting on those home renovations) looking for things to feed a crowd of 6 ranging in age from 2 to 70 and literally every recipe has been a hit. You’re the best!
Em!!! You seriously know how to make a girl feel good! I love knowing that my recipes are being enjoyed by your whole family. Say hi to your parents for me, too! Mwah!
That looks delicious. Will add that to meal plan for next week.
You seriously rock, Blair! I’m looking forward to trying this recipe, I was eyeing it last week on your blog ????
My daughter and I are heading up to the Skylinr Drive this afternoon…we will have to check out Whiteoak Canyon Trail sometime!
Great giveaway too- good luck to everyone!
Hi, Megan! Thank you!! Whiteoak Canyon is definitely a great one to bring your daughter to. Hope you enjoyed Skyline Drive today. Such a beautiful afternoon!
This looks awesome!!
Yum! Awesome cookware. Thanks for the giveaway!
Recently found your site, we have been trying everything as it’s easy to whip up for dinner, game changer . Thanks so much, from our small family with young kiddos 🙂
Hi, Jaci! Yay! I’m so glad that you found the site and that the recipes have been helpful. Thanks for letting me know, and have a great weekend!
You know you’ve reached adulthood when you get excited for new pots and pans!!! Lol Can’t wait to try the recipe!
Looks delicious! Those pans look so handy — I am always so frustrated with how my cabinet with all the pots, pans, lids, etc. is always a mess!
These sets sound great!
That looks so delicious and perfect for the spring!
Would love to win the giveaway sets. Did I mention today is my birthday?! I enjoyed Chi-Chi’s famous Texas sheet cake. We pretty much use this recipe now for all the birthdays. Thank you for sharing!
Happy birthday, Amanda! I’m so glad to hear that you love the cake recipe! It’s such a family favorite around here, too! 🙂
I love how conveniently these pots and pans stack – such a difference from my current ones.
What a beautiful salad. It looks (and the ingredients sound) delicious.
This looks so good! So much better than your average pasta salad!
This looks delicious and light! Adding it to the meal plan for this week!
Also, we have been on the hunt for new pots and pans to replace the ones we got from our wedding. These would be perfect 🙂
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try this at home.
Awesome giveaway! Thanks for a great spring recipe.