Make Ahead Mexican Tortellini Pasta Salad

Do you love flavors like lime and fresh cilantro? This one has all that, plus pasta, crunchy vegetables and black beans. This dish is a mash up of “Mexican restaurant inspired” flavor, with Italian cheese tortellini. Sounds weird, but it works!

Today, I’m making this pasta salad with cheese tortellini from Trader Joe’s.

Some people might call this like a taco salad or they might call it a taco bowl salad or taco salad bowl. The reason I call it a make-ahead Mexican tortellini pasta salad is because whenever I’m craving going to a Mexican restaurant, it’s usually because of flavors like fresh cilantro, sweet bites of corn, and squeezes of fresh lime juice.

All those Mexican restaurant flavors go into this tortellini pasta salad.

Ingredients for Mexican tortellini pasta salad

Cheese tortellini is the base of this Mexican pasta salad recipe. In these photos, you’ll see I used Trader Joe’s refrigerated tortellini cooked to al dente.

Pasta salad mix-ins include cherry tomatoes, carrots, onion, black beans, corn, and cilantro. Though you could use almost anything you’d like – just swap out equal amounts. No problem.

And last but not least, garlic, champagne vinegar, spices and fresh cilantro make a tasty cilantro lime dressing that brings all the flavors together.

This Mexican pasta salad is kind of like a fusion, like the cheesy tortellini with the Mexican flavors I crave from restaurants – cilantro, freshly squeezed lime, juicy vegetables and sweet corn.

Love easy make-ahead salads?

See this make-ahead Mexican salad with ranch and my best Caprese salad. They were featured on KGW Portland.

How to make Mexican tortellini pasta salad

Step 1. Cook cheese tortellini pasta as directed, to al dente.

Usually, tortellini is done cooking when it floats in the pasta water and is easy to cut with the back of a fork.

Drain and toss with olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking. Set aside.

Step 2. Make the cilantro-lime dressing.

Add olive oil and minced garlic to a small pan on the stove on medium heat. Cook, stirring regularly for 1-2 minutes.

When garlic is translucent, and before it browns, take the garlic off the heat and set it aside to cool.

Step 3. In a bowl, add the garlic olive oil, lime juice, champagne vinegar, chili powder, chipotle powder, salt, and pepper.

Whisk together to blend completely, add fresh chopped cilantro, then whisk together one last time. Set aside.

Step 4. Mix together the cooked tortellini, the rest of the salad ingredients, and the dressing in a large bowl. Serve immediately or chill until serving.

Timesaver tip: use a food processor or mandolin

A fast way to make pasta salad is to save time on cutting vegetables. Use a food processor or mandoline to quickly chop the main ingredients.

But if I have the time, usually I’ll chop the veggies. It’s kind of relaxing to chop veggies sometimes. You’ll usually see me using something like an 8″ Shun chef’s knife.

Here’s another tasty main dish for a potluck: blackened chicken salad sandwiches. They’re a whole foods copy cat recipe topped with red cabbage and carrot slaw.

Tips for using Trader Joe’s tortellini for pasta salad

You can use any cheese tortellini you’d like – just follow the directions on the package to cook to al dente. Here I used a 10-ounce package of pasta from Trader Joe’s. They have some really great pastas in a refrigerated section that you can freeze and use to make this quick pasta salad.

If you’re a regular here on Sip Bite Go, you know I love to buy and freeze for a month at a time. This Trader Joe’s tortellini pasta tastes great in many dishes, including baked rigatoni (just sub cooked tortellini) and obviously in my make-ahead pasta salads.

Love Mexican food and always end up with leftovers? Check out this article which answers the question “can you freeze refried beans“?

Reminder: rinse black beans for a pretty pasta salad

Keep your tortellini pasta salad bright and gorgeous by rinsing the black beans before adding them to the salad. You’ll know they are clean when the water used to clean them runs clear.

Why roast garlic for pasta salad?

To make the cilantro lime dressing, my preference is to use roasted garlic. I’m not a huge fan of raw garlic. When garlic is roasted, it has a more mellow and sweeter taste.

Roasting the garlic only takes like one or two minutes on the stove.

Check out these other crowd pleasing party foods.

Equipment for make-ahead pasta salad

• Save time by using a mandoline or food processor to chop pasta salad vegetables.
• Work on your home chef skills with something like my 8″ Shun chef’s knife and one of these bamboo cutting boards
• Pyrex glass mixing bowls with lids are the best large bowls for making pasta salad because you make, serve, and store them in the same bowl. Having a matching lid for mixing bowls is helpful so they can be stacked in the fridge.
• Beautiful wood serving spoons are always waiting for me in my utensil drawer. I don’t just save them for special occasions. Using them to mix and serve this Mexican tortellini salad makes it feel all the more special.

Tasty tips for making Mexican tortellini pasta salad

• Corn – Use frozen corn in this recipe without defrosting it if your Mexican tortellini pasta salad will be left in the fridge for 5+ hours before serving. Otherwise, thaw corn so it is ready to eat in the salad immediately.
• Garlic – I prefer to roast garlic in olive oil for pasta salad because it has a deeper flavor and is not bitter this way. But you can use fresh garlic or sprinkle ¼-1/2 tsp garlic powder in the dressing instead.
• Cheese – This time I didn’t use cheese since it is already in the tortellini. Top with cheddar cheese or a Mexican cheese blend, if desired.
• Pasta salad tastes best if consumed within 1-2 days.
• New to making dressings? See more details on the cilantro lime dressing

Pasta salads are one of my favorite meal prep tricks because they are great for dinner and the next day my husband and I have them as WFH lunches. For more inspiration, see this tomato pesto pasta salad recipe.

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