Park Street Deli Tortellini Pasta Salad Kit

Some foods are classic summer favorites: burgers, hot dogs, fresh-sliced watermelon, ice cream. If you’re attending a cookout or barbecue during this season, you’re also likely to encounter some different types of pasta salad. Cold pasta with savory dressing — and maybe some cheese, meat, or veggies added in — is a delicious, refreshing summer side dish. I’ve even been known to make a complete meal of pasta salad sometimes.

Aldi sells a few varieties of seasonal pasta salad during the summer, including a classic macaroni salad and a caprese pasta salad that I enjoy.

I recently found a tortellini pasta salad with mozzarella pearls as a limited-time Aldi Find. Tortellini is a special favorite of mine, and several of my family members are big fans of mozzarella cheese, so this seemed like an ideal combination of some of our favorites. The package describes this as “savory tortellini pasta filled with aged cheeses, fresh, milky mozzarella pearls & a Mediterranean-style dressing.”

Park Street Deli Pasta Salad Kit with Tortellini Pasta with Mozzarella Pearls is an Aldi Find. That means it’s in stores for just a short time. Each store receives one shipment, and after that sells out, it’s gone unless Aldi decides to bring it back at some later time. You can’t order this online if it’s not in stock at your local store.

When this is in stock, you’ll find it in the store’s refrigerated Aldi Find aisle near other deli products. It should be kept refrigerated.

This cost $8.99 for a 28-ounce package at the time of writing. That comes out to about 32 cents per ounce.

Park Street Deli Pasta Salad Kit with Tortellini — Nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)

One package has about 5.5 servings, which comes out to about $1.63 per serving. One 1-cup serving has 420 calories, 27 grams of total fat (35% DV), 7 grams of saturated fat (35% DV), 510 mg of sodium (22% DV), 33 grams of total carbohydrates (12% DV), 3 grams of dietary fiber (11% DV), 1 gram of total sugars, no added sugars, and 13 grams of protein.

If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains wheat, milk, and eggs.

Park Street Deli Pasta Salad Kit with Tortellini Pasta — What comes inside the package: an instruction sheet for preparing the pasta salad, a package of mozzarella cheese balls, a package of tortellini pasta, and a package of sauce under it all. It’s all packaged inside a single-use serving tray.

To prepare this pasta salad, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and lightly salt the water to taste. Add the tortellini and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Drain the pasta. Chill under cold water and drain again. Transfer the pasta to a mixing bowl and pour the included dressing over the pasta. Stir, and then add the included mozzarella pearls and gently stir until everything is coated with dressing. Place the pasta salad in the provided tray and serve chilled.

I liked this pasta salad. Tortellini is always a hit, and it came out tender, chewy, and cheesy. The mozzarella pearls are delicious, and the dressing has an oil base with lots of minced peppers, artichokes, olives, basil, Parmesan cheese, and herbs. I don’t care much for olives, but the dressing didn’t have too strong of an olive flavor.

This is a good, fresh-tasting pasta salad that’s great for serving at home or taking to a cookout. If I would change anything about it, I might add some extra mozzarella, but you could easily purchase that at Aldi to add to this salad. If you’re a fan of pasta salad or need an easy side dish, this is worth trying.

The Verdict:

Park Street Deli Pasta Salad Kit with Tortellini Pasta with Mozzarella Pearls features cheese-filled tortellini, mozzarella balls, and a Mediterranean-style dressing made with oil and minced veggies, herbs, and cheese. To prepare, simply boil the tortellini, drain, add the cheese and dressing, and stir to mix. We liked this pasta salad, and the leftovers didn’t last long.