Tortellini pasta salad

Quick & easy lemon, feta & spinach pasta

At a birthday potluck earlier this July, my dear friend Kaitlyn showed up with a scrumptious tortellini pasta salad. We stood around the bowl, picking out the cheese-filled nuggets one at a time and wolfing them down — it was too addictive to wait for forks. 

Kait said the salad was so easy to make and such a crowd pleaser, she always doubles or triples the recipe. And she was right! Her doubled recipe was gone by the end of the birthday night. I wasted no time getting the recipe from her, and doubled the recipe myself for a party last weekend. Rave reviews? You better believe it. 

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TORTELLINI PASTA SALAD
*This is a single recipe, sufficient for a family of 4–6. But for a bigger party, double it!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED
1 package tortellini, cooked and rinsed (I used refrigerated) 
1 and 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach (or more, to taste)
1/2 to 1 red onion, finely chopped 
1 and 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1 package Good Seasons Italian Dressing (recipe on package)

WHAT YOU'LL DO
1. Cook the pasta and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Chop the spinach and onion and toss with feta in a large mixing bowl. 

2. Follow the instructions on the Good Seasons package to make Italian dressing — the "less oil" version. You'll need: 1/4 cup vinegar (I used red wine vinegar), 1/4 cup olive oil, and water.

3. Toss everything together, but reserve 1/3 of the Italian dressing and lemon juice to mix in just before serving. Allow pasta to rest in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight.

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This is one of those recipes that it's okay to eyeball. I find that too much red onion can be overpowering, so I used only half of one. After letting the pasta sit in the fridge overnight, I added more feta and spinach, along with the 1/3 cup reserved dressing and lemon juice, just before serving to bring some freshness and moisture to the salad (which gets a bit congealed with time). This really is a foolproof recipe, and with how quickly and easily it comes together, it's easily going to be my new go-to pasta salad for parties.