Tender tortellini and fresh colorful veggies combine in this standout spinach salad. Super healthy, delicious and so easy to prepare!
Lately, I’m all about cooking up scrumptious, light meals that leave you feeling satisfied instead of starved. A salad just isn’t a salad to me without lots of bright, fresh flavors and a little protein to keep you going. Whether by tossing in some grilled meat or seafood, a handful of black beans or a hardboiled egg, there are lots of additions that can take a salad from flat to fabulous!
On a bed of spinach leaves, I piled cooked three-cheese tortellini, chopped bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash and cucumber. Tossed with my favorite Italian salad dressing and freshly grated Parmesan cheese, this delicious combo made for a colorful, flavorful and pretty darn healthy dinner!
Try this tasty tortellini salad sometime for yourself and you’ll agree that this is one scrumptious springtime meal to make over and over again. Just don’t forget the glass of wine and garlic bread!
Tortellini Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- 1 zucchini
- 1 yellow squash
- 1 red bell pepper
- 9 oz. frozen three-cheese tortellini
- 1/4 cup Italian salad dressing, or more, if desired
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, or more, if desired
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1 block Parmesan cheese or Parmigiano Reggiano
- 2 1/2 cups fresh spinach
Instructions
- Chop cucumber, zucchini, yellow squash and red bell pepper into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
- In a 4 quart pot of boiling salted water, cook the tortellini according to package instructions (usually 7-9 minutes). Remove pot from heat, strain tortellini and rinse with cold water. Add to a large bowl. Stir in chopped vegetables and Italian salad dressing. Season with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Cover bowl and chill up to 1 day, or serve immediately over spinach.
- Enjoy!
What a vibrant-looking salad. I love it! And it’s chock-full of veggies, which means I have more room for cake :)
I love all the colours in this salad, it looks like a perfect spring meal. Wonderful Georgia!
Beautifully colored and healthy to the boot – great post :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
This sounds so yummy!! Love it!
ahh yum! this looks so refreshing!
I think a picture of this needs to go right by the definition of “The Perfect Summer Meal” :) Looks fantastic!
What a beautiful, healthy salad. My kids just might eat their spinach if I serve it this way. Thanks for the inspiration!
gorgeous Georgia, this dish is just gorgeous. i don’t typically like pasta (i know, i’m a weirdo!) but i could definitely see myself eating it this way. so fresh and healthy. :)
This looks delicious! I love all the veggies in this :)
This looks so good! I just love when a meal has so many colors. Beautiful presentation!
This certainly looks like a bowl-o-spring! I love the colors.
What a great idea to use tortellini as a salad ingredients!!! It looks amazing!
Georgia, yum! This looks so good. I love tortellini.
What a great idea for a salad. Very creative, and so colorful. I love this, Georgia!
Such a pretty and yummy salad! I love the idea of flavored pasta, healthy and delicious!
I’m all for meals that are good either hot or cold as well. And pasta salads are a great way to use up leftover pasta!
This is beautiful and simple all at the same time. I love your new photo format. There is a similar dish at a restaurant near our house that I am dying to recreate and you have re-inspired me. Thank you!
Gorgeous….perfect for a warm weather get-together.
I love tortellini! That looks delicious.
sounds fantastic! i love pasta salads, especially if there’s tortellini involved. yum!
Love this Georgia!!!
It is getting so so hot here, this is a perfect salad.
So fresh and light yet satisfying…
Who does not love tortellini right…
I live for tortellini salads during the summer but I don’t think I can wait after seeing this! It has all of my favorite ingredients!
I am a fan of light meals in the evening and like this recipe you have shared. A perfect Spring dinner.
This is so bright and pretty, looks amazing perfect for a summer dish!
That looks wonderful!!!!!!
What a vibrant salad – perfect for a warm spring evening.
Georgia…I’m with you. I love adding protein or a little something extra to a salad to make it a little heartier! Tortellini is a perfect addition and this salad would certainly leave me satisfied! Beautiful! : )
Hi Georgia! Your photos always cheer me up – always have beautiful colors in your food and I realize the importance of colors and freshness in food. This salad looks delicious!
oh my! this is SO pretty! And it sounds so delicious!! I have a bag of tortellini in my freezer that I suddenly know what to do with! :) Thankss!
What a great looking ‘salad’ Georgia, and a nice alternative to a rich sauce over the rich tortellini. The photo looks so fresh and colourful.
Eva http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com
That is one beautiful spring meal! The colors and ingredients are wonderful together.
What a great combination. I love that it is so pretty, too.
This looks so bright and refreshing!
Love your salad. Great for summer bbq family gatherings :)
This looks so amazing! I’d normally add a lot more cheese, but this dish doesnt loo like it needs it.
This is the perfect summer lunch! I’m all about protein too. I’m a runner and I feel like I really need a little protein in each meal to get through the day. This is beautiful!
Great looking salad! Love this for a quick weeknight meal.
So pretty with that bed of spinach. I’m so excited that it’s practically pasta salad season. Yay! (Although I just heard it’s supposed to get down to 30 tonight..?? I’m in New Jersey and we’ve had pretty mild weather here.) Thank you for the recipe!
Congratulations on your foodbuzz top 9, today!
This salad looks incredible. I love tortellini, and the addition of the veggies makes it look even tastier. Can’t wait to try this!
This salad looks so yummy!
I LOVE this!!!!!!!
Good -looking salad! Like this fast working day dinner.