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 salad looks like spring in a boel!! Crisp & delicious!! Easy enough to make & even easier to enjoy!! Thanks for the post????
This salad looks amazing! Thanks for sending it to my inbox! I enjoyed hiking with my daughter when she was a Girl Scout.
Love your weekly updates Blair. And look forward to trying this salad.
Thank you, Barb! 🙂
Love this salad. Can’t wait to try it. Getting ready to prep it now. Am participating in study dealing with diet and dementia and find that I could always use your delicious recipes. Love the idea of the nesting pots — one has only so much space!
That’s wonderful, Helen! I’m so happy to hear that my recipes work well with the study that you’re participating in! Thanks for your note. 🙂
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I love all of the ingredients you’ve used. The pots and pans would be a fantastic addition to my very, very small kitchen. Thank you, for the opportunity to win them.
Love farber ware they stand behind their products. I am still using what’s left of my set I bought 35 years ago! Quality speaks and cooks for itself! This recipe is a must make too! Thank you
That’s amazing, Cindy! They are definitely high quality, sturdy pots and pans! 🙂 Thanks for your note!
Thank you for the recipes and the chance to win this very nice Farberware set! I have printed the recipe for Chicken and Tortellini Salad — I think everyone will like it. 🙂
Can’t wait to try this. It looks awesome!
Seems real easy to make. I love a great salad.
Thank you for doing the give away.
Can’t wait to see who wins. And thank you
For the awesome recipes
Oh Blair…..You never cease to amaze me!! I love getting your emals and have tried your recipes….awesome.
I bought my house 40 years ago this Labor Day. My uncle, who was a sheet metal worker, told me to buy GOOD cookware….Farberware! I still use that OLD set today. It’s been burned, scratched…..you name it. It doesn’t look as good as new but it does get the job done.
BUT…I would love to win that new set of Farberware! It’s beautiful. It would still work good for inbetween sized cooking.
I have got to try the salad, too. You come up with some extreeeeeeemly yummy recipes.
Have a wonderful week, I’m going shopping for tortellinni!!
Hugs, Lauren
Hi, Lauren! The Farberware is so sturdy, right?! Thank you for your kind note and for reading the blog! 🙂
I would love to win these pans to give to my daughter as a wedding present!
Love almost ALL your recipes! Just cooking for myself is hard but with your help, I’ve been very pleased with the results. And I live in Canada!! Have to do some adapting but I love it.
That’s great! Thanks, Connie! 🙂
This Chicken and Tortellini Salad looks fantastic! I can’t wait to try it myself. The pans are wonderful, keeping my fingers crossed… Thank you for the chance!
So excited to see this salad recipe. Lots of get togethers planned in next few months to celebrate graduations and birthdays. This will definitely be on the buffet table. Thank you!
The pots and pans look great so does the pasta salad!
Great Giveaway
This looks like an amazing summer or anytime salad. Will definitely be making this one for my family. I live in NC at the Blue Ridge Mountains love the scenery of your walks each time I see them. Thank you for the wonderful recipes.
Hi, Debbie! The NC Blue Ridge are also a beautiful part of the country! Thanks so much for your note. 🙂
I can’t wait to try this when the vegetables start coming in. I am so excited to plant my own little garden this year!
Love your blog and these pots and pans!\
Thank you, Laurie!
This looks fantastic! We love pasta salad in our house so I will definitely give this a try. Thanks for the chance to win this awesome gift.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for the chance to win this awesome gift!