Trader Joe's Organic Pesto Tortellini

The pros:  Trader Joe's Organic Pesto Tortellini has been on the shelves for quite some time. It makes for a quick and easy meal.

The cons:  Bland tasting pesto with almost no texture to it.

The verdict:  If there is one aisle I can proudly say that I've reviewed just about everything it's the pasta aisle. Specifically, the fresh pasta. There is something completely magical to my palate about fresh pasta. You can't even compared it to the boxed stuff either. Or homemade, but who has time for that. With any stuffed pasta it is nearly an all day commitment. So if the fresh pasta aisle was a hit, I had high hopes for this Trader Joe's Organic Pesto Tortellini.

Well, it wasn't inedible, but wasn't great either. Now, I had a funny feeling that the pasta would be good but the pesto would be a bummer. Both fell a bit flat with me. Now, as a meal this wasn't bad at under 400 calories for the whole package. But it needed some work. First off, I stopped the cooking process 30 seconds before the last two minutes were up. Pesto should be a delicate product and tastes best when it isn't cooked.

In the microwave pasta was a bit soft, not al dente. To me, that teeters on being overcooked. Al dente pasta makes me feel fuller, longer. But it was as good as microwaved tortellini can be. The downfall of this dish is the pesto. The pesto was the bummer; it was flat, under salted, and in need of an acid like lemon. To me, it could barely count as a pesto. There was a complete lack of nuts in the pesto.

In a cooking class involving herbs and spices, they took the time to remind us that basil should be a finishing item added at the very end of cooking or as a garnish. So overall, I was unimpressed with this. For $3.49 you are far better off purchasing some of Trader Joe's fresh pasta and reaching for Trader Joe's Vegan Pesto. If you meal prep in advance, then make your pasta, but keep a separate container of that really delicious pesto on the side. Add it in at the end and your tastebuds will be rewarded with a far better tasting meal.

Here is the visual run down of what you get if you buy this product:

The package of Trader Joe's Organic Pesto Tortelloni:

The nutritional information:

the ingredients:

How to prepare:

After being cooked you get:

After a good stir you get:

Would I buy this again?  No, I would not buy Trader Joe's Organic Pesto Tortellini again.

Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe's for a searchable list.

Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!