Italian Tortellini Salad – This easy to make pasta salad is full of cheese tortellini, pepperoni, cheese, veggies, and Italian dressing. The perfect addition to summer potlucks, or an easy weeknight dinner!
This recipe was originally posted on June 14, 2017, and has been revamped but the recipe stays the same!
How to Make Tortellini Salad:
Tortellini salad is so easy to make! You can start with your favorite packaged cheese tortellini, refrigerated or frozen is just fine.
Cook your tortellini according to package directions and drain well. While the tortellini is still in the colander rinse it under cold water, just make sure to rinse under a gentle stream of water so that your tortellini doesn’t fall apart.
I like to get my tomatoes, onions, artichokes, olives, pepperoni, and mozzarella out of the refrigerator so that I can prep them while the tortellini cooks.
While the tortellini is cooking you can simply slice your tomatoes and pepperoni in half, rough chop your artichokes, and dice your red onion.
Once the tortellini is cooled, simply combine all of your ingredients in a large bowl and give a good but gentle stir to combine flavors. You can serve this immediately if you prefer, but it is best if it’s chilled for an hour or two first.
I have to say, I never get sick of this salad.
Which is a good thing because I pack it up and take it with me everywhere in the summer.
Now I’m hoping nobody else is sick of it! “Is Nichole going to bring THAT salad to the BBQ again?!”
Totally kidding, never had a complaint.
We also have this for dinner quite often when it’s too hot out to really cook.
It’s worth heating up a pot of boiling water, especially since those little tortellini cook up so fast!
So, not only is this salad quick and easy – it’s also really simple to customize to your own taste!
What Goes in Tortellini Salad?
I LOVE the combo of pepperoni, mozzarella, artichokes, onions, tomatoes, olives. But, you can absolutely leave any of those out of the salad to suit your own tastes.
This tortellini salad is great with ham or chicken if you aren’t into pepperoni, or skip the meat all together for a great veggie tortellini salad!
Pretty much amazing with whatever veggies you have on hand!
If you’re looking for other summer salads make sure and try my Grandma’s Macaroni Salad Jalapeno Popper Pasta Salad and my Raspberry Peach Cheesecake Salad.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Italian Tortellini Salad
Ingredients
- 20 Ounces Cheese Tortellini
- 4 Ounces Pepperoni, Sliced
- 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, Sliced
- 1 Can Artichoke Hearts, Chopped
- 1/2 Large Red Onion, Diced
- 8 Ounces Mozzarella Cheese, Cubed
- 1 (3.8 ounce) Can Sliced Black Olives, Drained
- 1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Cup Italian Salad Dressing
- 1/4 Cup Pepperoncini Peppers
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
Instructions
- Cook the cheese tortellini according to package directions. Drain and rinse gently with cold water.
- Add cooled tortellini to a large bowl. Top with the pepperoni, tomatoes, artichokes, onion, mozzarella, and olives. Mix gently. Add the parmesan and Italian dressing, mix well to combine. Sprinkle on the Italian seasoning and pepperoncini peppers.
- Refrigerate salad for 1-2 hours before serving.
This recipe has been shared at The Weekend Potluck!
I just made this and doubled the recipe for my fathers birthday tomorrow. It is delicious, of course I already had some. Thanks I will be making it again.
I am going to make this salad & use my go to salad dressing from Aldi’s it is the Specialty 3 cheese italian dressing, it adds such good flavor to all my pasta salads. Can’t wait to try this recipe & more importantly Eat it!! Mangia!
I’m sure the brand or type of Italian dressing can make a big difference. Any recommendations?
Hi! I believe I typically use Kraft Italian dressing for this.
Great, thank you.
Stevies is reAlly good
What a great idea for this pasta salad! Going to try this at our next potluck! thanks!
I need to try this immediately, it looks so good!
Looks so good! So fresh and flavorful!
This is a must make! Love the colors and flavors!
My husband and I just got done making this for our mother’s day barbecue we’re attending tomorrow… We can barely keep our hand off of it! I don’t know how it’s going to last until tomorrow afternoon! We used wishbone garlic and basil dressing and nixed the red onion. It’s amazing!!
I made this salad last night and my husband and I had it for lunch today. It’s wonderful!! A great versatile recipe that’s perfect during the hot months. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe with us!!
Thank you, Jennifer! I totally get excited to have leftovers of this for lunch the next day. Glad to hear you and your husband enjoyed it! 🙂
I’m looking forward to making this great salad.
Thanks, Mary Ann! Let me know how you like it! 🙂
This looks SO good- definitely not something I could be left alone in a room with before the party, if you know what I’m sayin’. Looks amaze!
I totally know what you’re sayin’ 😉 🙂