We recently simplified our kitchen with my new favorite machine – the Vitamix A3500! This machine has replaced three of our larger kitchen gadgets that we no longer need. I’ve shared several dairy-free soups that have come together really quickly and tasted so velvety smooth using the Vitamix. Today, I want to share this summer tortellini salad mixed with chunky bell peppers, tomatoes and cucumber.
Thank you to Vitamix for sponsoring this post! Some links may be affiliate links. Read the affiliate disclosure.
Summer Tortellini Salad with Vitamix
I love simple recipes. But, simple can be deceiving sometimes. An issue I have is that although a recipe can be considered easy-to-make, the prep can be quite time consuming. If a recipe calls for a lot of chopping, I grab my favorite chef’s knife and my cutting board and get to work… until now.
Adjusting The Blend Settings with your Vitamix
This summer tortellini salad full of chunky bell peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes mixed with a delicious Italian dressing. The recipe calls for chopping the bell peppers, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. This amount of chopping would normally take up quite a bit of time, but the Vitamix made this process so quick!
Finer Blend
I used variable speed 3-4 for the tomatoes to get a finer chop and blended them on their own first. Mike typically avoids chunks of tomatoes, so I figured the finer the tomatoes were chopped, the less he’d notice and pick them out.
Chunky Blend
After I finely chopped the tomatoes and removed them, I added the bell peppers and cucumbers in strips using variable speed 1-2 for a more chunky, diced chop. This approach allowed me to get a couple of different chops in the same blend super easily! The only thing that took more than a couple of minutes was waiting for the water to boil to cook the tortellini. I recommend relaxing and sipping your favorite summer drink during this time.
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READ MORE ABOUT: NATURAL LIGHT FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
Blending the Italian Dressing
The final touch for the pasta salad is an easy homemade Italian dressing. At first I thought it wouldn’t be necessary to use the Vitamix since whisking a few ingredients in a bowl isn’t that hard to do. But, since I was already using the Vitamix, I figured why not. Everything blended together quickly and in the end, it was less whisking for me. Work smarter, not harder, right?
TIP: The blending container is quite large on the A3500. For blending smaller batches, I recommend getting the blending cups starter kit. These blending cups attach easily to the base of the A3500.
Summer Tortellini Salad
Ingredients
For the Pasta Salad
- 1 package of cheese tortellini
- 1 package of tomato mozzarella tortellini
- 1 large green bell pepper, roughly cut into long strips
- 1 large red bell pepper, roughly cut into long strips
- 1/2 medium cucumber, roughly cut into long strips
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- Salt & peper, to taste
For Garnish
- Parsley, roughly chopped
- Green onions, roughly chopped
For the Italian Dressing
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the Pasta Salad
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook tortellini according to instructions.
- Drain tortellini and briefly run under cold water.
- Place tortellini in a bowl and set aside.
- Using your Vitamix, be sure the lid is on securely with the lid plug removed.
- Start your machine on variable speed 1 or 2.
- Drop the bell pepper strips, cucumber strips and tomatoes in through the lid plug one or two at a time. For a chunkier chop, use a slower variable speed and blend for a short period of time. For a finer chop, use a faster variable speed and blend for a little longer.
- Strain the peppers, cucumber and tomatoes to remove the excess juice.
- Gently mix the chopped peppers, cucumber and tomatoes with the tortellini.
- Season lightly with salt & pepper.
- Drizzle Homemade Italian Dressing over the pasta salad, to taste.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and chopped green onions.
- Serve chilled.
For the Italian Dressing
- Combine all the ingredients in a Vitamix.
- Blend on Variable speed 2 or 3 until well combined.
- Pour dressing into a mason jar and store in fridge.
- Dressing can be stored for up to one week.
- Shake before pouring.
All images ©Regan Baroni 2017.
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Disclosure: Thank you to Vitamix for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you to my readers for supporting the brands that keep me cooking, styling and shooting. This post also contains affiliate links which means if you click or make a purchase through my site, I might make a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only promote products that I actually use and support.
It’s an amazing summer pasta salad that’s also satisfying and relatively healthy… so tasty. Thanks Regs!
Thanks Mike! You even ate the ‘hidden’ tomatoes!
Hidden tomatoes 🙂 I hate chopping….sounds like such a wonderful way to save some time AND make a tasty pasta salad! Mmmmmmmm…..pasta!!!
Yes, Robs!! Less time in the kitchen = more time eating and relaxing with friends outside!
Yum, this looks AMAZING! All those colourful tomatoes are definitely calling my name. I need to try this out when the next London heatwave strikes 🙂
Laura // Middle of Adventure
I bet this recipe works on warm or cold days… I hope you try it out! Thanks for commenting, Laura! By the way, I LOVE London!!
When if come to prep work for cooking, I always defer to my husband. Now I want a Vitamix in our kitchen! I can’t believe it replaced 3 major appliances! Also, I definitely need to try this lovely summer recipe.
I like you’re style, Lindsey! Put the guys to work! I hope you enjoy the recipe! Cheers!
Yummmm! My mouth is watering. This looks like a PERFECT summer recipe!
Yes, Alyssa! It’s soooooo delicious and is a great crowd pleaser for those summer hangouts. I hope you try it out! Thanks so much for commenting!
Yum! This looks so good!
Oh, Nicole, it’s sooooo perfect for summer! I hope you try it! Thanks so much for commenting! xo
Excellent pasta salad. We’ll try it out adding a liiiiiittle feta as well (can’t help it, being Greeks ourselves lol) :):) Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Greetings from Athens,
Mirella and Panos
Hi Mirella and Panos! Thank you so much for your comment – your addition of Feta sounds so delicious. I’m definitely going to add that next time I make it. Cheers!
This is absolutely delicious! I have a feeling it’s going to become a staple in my house! Thanks for the recipe, Regan!
Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Eva! It has become a staple in ours too! Cheers!
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