Now that we’ve finally got some warm weather here in Upstate NY, I’m already feeling the itch to be outside. One of my favorite things about the warm weather, actually, are all of the picnics, parties, and barbecues that will inevitably wind up on my calendar.
Whenever I attend a party like that, I always like to bring something to contribute. Usually, it’s sweets, (are ya surprised?) but sometimes I like to switch it up a bit with some sort of salad.
Barilla is challenging Foodbuzz Featured Publishers to create a recipe with one of their tortellini for a chance to win a trip to Italy. It has always been a dream of mine to visit Italy, so when I saw this, I knew I had to take a shot. Besides, if nothing else, it’s still a good excuse to just eat tortellini.
So I started with a bag of Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini, and ended up with this:
Creamy Fruit & Tortellini Salad
I know…leave it to me to take a seemingly savory dish and sweeten it up a bit.
What can I say…I have a sweet tooth. And it’s ginormous.
But luckily, this is a recipe you don’t have to feel guilty about eating!
Creamy Fruit & Tortellini Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 (8oz.) package Barilla three cheese tortellini, cooked and cooled
- 1 (11oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 cup red grapes
- 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
- 8-10 strawberries, halved
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine cooked and cooled tortellini, mandarin oranges, grapes, kiwis, and strawberries. In a separate small bowl, mix Greek yogurt, honey, lemon juice, and poppy seeds. Add the yogurt dressing to tortellini and fruit and toss to combine. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. ENJOY!
The combination of sweet and salty is one that I’ve always enjoyed, and the addition of the sweet fruits with the salty, cheesy tortellini is so incredibly unique. The yogurt dressing is subtly sweet and tangy, and pairs so nicely with all of the other flavors, making the entire salad light and refreshing.
This would make for a perfect dish to bring to your next potluck gathering.
Or, if you’d prefer, just keep it in the house to snack on for yourself. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.
Question for the Afternoon:
What’s your favorite item to bring to a potluck/barbecue/picnic?
Welcome to Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life! I'm Courtney, a 28-year old personal trainer living in Upstate, NY. I enjoy all things related to food, fitness, and fashion, as well as feeding my huge sweet tooth. To find out a little bit more about the girl behind the blog, check out my 
{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
You HAVE to go to Italy sometime! ….and that looks delish.
elizabeth @ the good life recently posted..florida
Broccoli salad! It’s chopped broccoli, bacon bits, onion, mozzarella cheese and apple with a mayo-sugar dressing. It sounds strange, but I’ve never met someone who didn’t want to devour the whole thing!
Colleen @ The Lunchbox Diaries recently posted..To Assume
No no, that’s not strange! That’s one of my favorites!!!
I love bringing salads and dessert, of course.
Your dish looks delicious, and the perfect picnic food. I hope you win!!
Liv @ The Salty n’ Sweet recently posted..Spontaneous Dinner Out
That looks delish!! I love to make either pasta salad or fun summer dessert.
WOW- fruit and cheese tortellini!!?!? that is a wicked creative combo!!! love it!
I like that you used yogurt, instead of something with mayo!
Laurel recently posted..Snap Trim Pillows
My fruit salsa is always a hit at potlucks, but I love to bring my no-mayo potato salad to BBQs because I’m always bummed by having to skip the super-mayo-ey prepared salads most people bring!
faith @ lovelyascharged recently posted..I Survived!
That looks absolutely amazing and now I am craving a big BBQ party:) I always bring the dessert too ha! Hope you are having an amazing day!
Mmmm!! My favorite dish to bring is: pasta salad! Tasty… luckily I’ve got leftovers from Easter.
This is the perfect recipe and sooo YOU! I hope you win
When do you find out? If there is a voting option, I’m there!
I like to bring deserts – cupcakes, angel food cake, etc. I like to bring the suga to the picnic. Cupcakes are my number 1 because I love them…
Jamie aka “Sometimes Healthy” Girl recently posted..Word Up Wednesday- Couch Monster and the Great Greek Yogurt Debate
That is very creative and out of te box though! I’m having a babyshower soon and this would be a perfect addition to the menu! Good luck, I hope you win!
Grace recently posted..Easter Basket Blues
This salad looks soooo good! Such a great idea to add fruit to tortellini! yum
Charlie recently posted..Butterscotch Pudding Marshmallow Cookie Dough Balls
This sounds awesome. I love the idea of using tortellini for a pasta salad. It just seemse more fun that way.
My favorite thing to bring is always broccoli salad. I cant get enough of the stuff.
This looks delicious-thanks for sharing! I rarely see cooled pasta salads that look good but I’m definitely going to have to try this one sometime–I like the “sweet” part of it, too!!
Where in the grocery store do you find this pasta? (this is probably the most obvious question but I just don’t know…) Is it by the rest of the pasta or is it frozen?
It’s in with the rest of the dry pasta
thanks!
wow. i would never have thought to mix a fruit salad w/tortellinis! it looks good!
my favorite things to bring to bbqs/potlucks are salads…or cupcakes ;p or cocoa puffs from liliha bakery =)
That’s a great idea! I bet they are expecting a lot of hot italian type dishes, you’re throwing them for a loop with the cold fruit/veggie mix! Sounds amazing!
My favorite thing, currently (it changes often, lol), to bring to a potluck is called Texas Caviar:
1 can pinto beans (drained)
1 can black eyed peas (drained)
2 cans white shoepeg corn (not yellow) (drained)
1 cup green bell pepper (chopped)
1 cup celery (chopped)
1 small onion (chopped) (Vidalia is best)
1 small jar pimentos (drained and chopped) (this is optional, but adds color)
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup white sugar
Combine oil, vinegar and sugar over medium/low heat on stove. Bring to a bubble so the sugar dissolves. Let cool and mix it in with all chopped veggie/bean mixture. Refrigerate about 45min – 1 hour.
That sounds awesome! I’m writing that one down
so creative, I must try it!! I love pasta salads like that, it’s one of my favorite parts of bbq’s and the summer!!
courtney @ cupcakedynamite recently posted..kids meals in bryant park
That looks so good, I can not wait to try it!
My favorite thing to bring to a potluck is caramel brownies. I learned how to make sea-salt caramel a few years ago, and when I put it in rich brownies it is always a hit!
Oh my gosh, I bet it is. YUM!
That’s a really unique idea Courtney! I never would have thought to put fruit and yogurt in with tortellini, but it looks great!
Brittney recently posted..A Houston Adventure
Fruit and tortellini sounds like a perfect combo!
Kristi recently posted..Give Me a Cookie
I would never think to pair fruit with tortellini. This looks fantastic, though!!
Liz @ Tip Top Shape recently posted..Black Bean and Sweet Potato Stew
Yum, this sounds really good! I love bringing a batch of chocolate cupcakes or homemade sangria
Alexa @ Simple Eats recently posted..Guilt
Love your idea–so colorful and reminds me of summer–yay!
That salad looks so refreshing to eat, especially with a barbecued piece of chicken- love mixing sweet and savory!
Khushboo recently posted..Rock-bottom motivation
That salad looks REALLY GOOD, I need to go buy some tortellini and MAKE it happen!
Sarah recently posted..the smells of spring
I made this about a month ago and ‘changed up’ (according to the boyfriend messed up) the recipe as I normally do because I think I’m Rachel Ray. But then as my boyfriend spit it out I realized maybe I should have followed your recipe to a T and that I’m not Rachel Ray. So last night I made this and followed your recipe EXACTLY. Well I/he loved it!!! The only thing I changed was instead of greek yogurt I had mayo with olive oil because I don’t like greek yogurt too much. So delicious!!! I love your recipes keep them coming!!
Hahaha, no worries, Colleen. We all have our “I’m Rachel Ray” moments!
Glad the recipe turned out good the second time around.
Thanks for reading!
Just made this for lunch. Pretty darn tasty.
what a neat idea. I look forward to trying this.
{ 5 trackbacks }