Tortellini & Chickpea Salad

Choosing Tortellini

Before you grab a package of tortellini for this recipe, here’s what you need to know:

First, fresh is best—you’ll find it in the refrigerated section and it cooks up soft and pillowy in just 3 to 4 minutes. 

Frozen tortellini would work in a pinch, but the shelf-stable dried tortellini? That’s more of an emergency back-up plan than a first choice.

Next up, the filling matters. For pasta salad, always buy cheese-filled tortellini. I like the 3-cheese variety. 

Meat or spinach-filled versions are meant for hot, saucy dishes, but in a bright, fresh salad like this one? Not recommended.

And whatever you do, don’t overcook your tortellini! These little pasta pouches only need a few minutes in boiling water. Leave them in too long, and they’ll go from perfectly plump to soggy little dumplings.

Once they’ve bounced around in boiling water and are cooked to perfection, drain and rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking action and keep them from sticking together. 

A quick rinse locks in their ideal texture and gets them ready for the salad bowl.

Bottom line? When making tortellini salad, choose fresh, pick the 3-cheese kind, don’t overcook it and keep it cool. 

Do that, and your tortellini salad goes from pretty good to “Holy ravioli!” 

Well, sorta.