Italian Tortellini salad works as an appetizer, side dish, or even as a lunch! It’s an easy to make pasta salad, made flavorful with ingredients like pepperoni, fresh veggies, both parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, and of course cheese tortellini. This is a salad that’ll definitely hit the spot!
Italian Tortellini Salad
Summer is HERE! I know, I can’t believe it either. While I don’t know if I’m ready for the heat of the summer quite yet, I do know that I’m definitely ready for all of my favorite summer festivities to start - block parties, backyard barbecues, picnics, the works! While Italian Tortellini Salad is delicious year round, it really shines during the summer at all of those gatherings. With that being said, though, I also love to enjoy this pasta salad as a lunch! It keeps me full until dinner and satisfies all of my cravings. If you love this recipe, try out our very best Macaroni Salad this summer too, it's a classic!
Can I make Italian Tortellini Salad ahead of time?
You sure can! In fact, this salad needs about an hour or 2 to chill prior to serving anyways. When I plan on serving this pasta salad at a party, I usually make it in the morning and let it sit in the fridge while I prepare myself and/or my house. I love serving dishes at parties that don’t need to be fresh from the oven when served, because it really relieves some of that last minute stress!
How to Make Italian Pasta Salad
- Cook the tortellini. Cook the cheese tortellini according to package directions. Drain and rinse gently with cold water.
- Toss the salad. 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.
- Chill. Refrigerate salad for 1-2 hours before serving.
Storing Italian Pasta Salad
In an airtight container in the fridge, this Italian Pasta Salad will stay fresh for about 3 days. Just keep in mind that after the first day, the ingredients may start to soften from the dressing. It’ll still taste just fine, but the consistency won’t be quite the same.
Ingredients Notes for Italian Pasta Salad
- Onion - I only ever use red onion in this pasta salad! Red onions have the most potent onion-y flavor, which helps it stand out more in this bold combination of ingredients. If red onion is too bold for you, use green onions instead.
- Cheeses - It may seem unnecessary, but preparing fresh cheeses from the deli as opposed to buying pre-shredded baggies of cheese always yields the best results with both consistency and flavor. If you only have bagged cheese, that is totally fine, use what works for you!
- Tomatoes - Cherry tomatoes are always what I tend to use, but grape tomatoes work just as well.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Italian Tortellini Salad
Ingredients
- 20 Ounces Cheese Tortellini
- 4 Ounces Pepperoni, Sliced
- 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, Sliced
- 1 Can Artichoke Hearts, Chopped
- ½ Large Red Onion, Diced
- 8 Ounces Mozzarella Cheese, Cubed
- 1 (3.8 ounce) Can Sliced Black Olives, Drained
- ½ Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Cup Italian Salad Dressing
- ¼ 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.
Video
Nutrition
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!
How was this with that dressing? It is my favorite!
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.
I made this with Olive Garden dressing because I forgot to pick up Italian, It was so good! I'll have to make it with the Kraft to see the difference!
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' 😉 🙂