Chopped Broccoli Salad with Cheese Tortellini

When I throw parties, I always like to have a wide variety of dishes for guests to choose from. While (luckily) there aren’t any major food allergies or special diets in my group of friends and family, I still like to offer a range of options, including plenty of fresh, healthy-ish things in addition to the typical party decadence of snack foods and desserts.

I’ve served some iteration of this Chopped Broccoli Salad with Cheese Tortellini as a vegetarian option at many parties, and it is always a hit. While the carnivores can have a scoop of this as a side dish to their entree, vegetarians can take a few extra spoonfuls and eat this more like a main dish.

This salad can easily be adapted to use ingredients you happen to have on hand. The base is about a 50/50 mixture of prepared cheese tortellini and broccoli. From there, I like to add some type of fresh fruit (apples and/or grapes), maybe a dried fruit as well (cherries or cranberries), one of two types of cheese (I used both cow’s milk feta and shaved Parmesan here), and a handful of nuts (almonds, walnuts and pecans all work well). The dressing is a creamy, tangy combination of Greek yogurt, red wine vinegar and poppyseeds.

I hope this Chopped Broccoli Salad with Cheese Tortellini is a hit at your next party, too!

Yield: 6 servings

Chopped Broccoli Salad with Cheese Tortellini

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Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 4 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon poppyseeds
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for pasta water
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 package (12 ounces) cheese tortellini
• 1 head (about 1 pound) broccoli, roughly chopped
• 1 apple, cored and chopped
• 1 cup halved red grapes
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup dried cherries
• 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Instructions

1. In large bowl, whisk together yogurt, mayonnaise, oil, vinegar, poppyseeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.
2. Heat large pot of salted water to boiling over high heat. Add tortellini; cook according to package directions. Use slotted spoon to transfer tortellini to colander; rinse with cold water to stop cooking process. Drain tortellini; transfer to bowl with yogurt mixture.
3. Place broccoli in boiling water; cook 1 minute. Drain broccoli and rinse well with cold water; drain. Transfer broccoli to bowl with tortellini.
4. Add apple, grapes, feta, cherries, Parmesan and almonds to bowl with tortellini; toss until well combined. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 2 hours before serving.

Notes

Home Chef Tip: While any apple will work in this recipe, Fuji and Gala varieties are particularly crisp, tart and refreshing in a chilled dish like this salad.

MORE GREAT HEARTY SALAD RECIPES:

• Great Green Salad with Miso Dressing – add chicken or shrimp for protein.
• Watermelon & Avocado Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing – the best combo of sweet and salty!
• Really Good Farro Salad – a hearty whole grain lunch.
• Lentil & Roasted Beet Salad – with an easy tahini dressing.
• Ground Turkey Salad – like a deluxe turkey burger, without the bun.
• Apple Cranberry Bacon Kale Salad from Eat Well 101
• Rosemary Chicken Salad with Avocado and Bacon from SkinnyTaste