This tortellini pasta salad is my preferred pasta salad recipe. I made it last week for our FRG potluck, and it was one of three sides (for like 150 people). The recipe is really easy to double or triple. It’s basically 2 parts pasta to 1 part everything else. It also comes together in a cinch, has tons of flavor, and will please a crowd. And another bonus: you can make it ahead and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
This recipe is pretty easy to adapt to your personal preferences and tastes. I would recommend using cheese or spinach and cheese tortellini. You can buy fresh or dried. If you go the fresh tortellini route, you will need two to three packages (depending on how much you want to make). Be sure to rinse the cooked tortellini in cold water if you are assembling the salad right away. You’ll keep the cheese you add from melting.
I prefer to use bocconcini (the small fresh mozzarella balls that come in brine). They are perfect for the salad because they’re about the same size as the cooked tortellini, cherry tomatoes, and black olives. I like to dice the pepperoni log and artichokes hearts into pretty similarly sized pieces. Then I slice the roasted red peppers in larger pieces to make sure that you can taste them. You could also add in pepperoncini (the mini yellow peppers), other Italian meats, or even more olives. If you can find it on the olive bar at the grocery store, you can probably get away with adding it to this tortellini pasta salad.
Looking for more pasta recipes? Baked spaghetti | Stuffed shells | Lasagna
If you want to use store-bought dressing, I would recommend looking for an Italian dressing that has some balsamic vinegar added to it. I love the depth of flavor that balsamic adds. If you’re feeling fancy and make dressing from scratch, use your go-to Italian dressing recipe. I like to add dressing when I make the salad and then chill it for a few hours. Once I’m ready to serve it, I stir the tortellini pasta salad and see if it needs a bit more dressing.
Tortellini pasta salad
- Total Time: 20
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
- 1 12-ounce bag of cheese tortellini
- 1 bottle of Italian salad dressing (any flavor)
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
- 1 can of artichoke hearts
- 1 package of mozzarella cheese balls (1 pound of fresh mozzarella is fine if you can’t find the balls)
- 1 can of small black olives
- 1 pepperoni log
- 1 jar of roasted red peppers
Instructions
- Bring a large stock pot full of water to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Dice pepperoni, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and mozzarella (if using non-balls) into about 1 inch cubes. The dice should be similar in size to the tortellini, whole tomatoes, and olives.
- Mix everything except the dressing. Add half of the bottle of dressing and toss well.
- Chill until needed. Add more dressing if necessary. Serve cold.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
Enjoy!
This sounds so delicious, and I love how easy it is for a big party! Thanks for sharing!
This looks amazing and so easy!! I’ve got to give this a try ASAP 🙂
Oh yum, this sounds amazing!! I love the addition of mozzarella and pepperoni, and pasta salads with dressing instead of mayo are always my favorite!
This looks so good! I really want to make it 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE tortellini and pasta salad! Never thought to pair them! I’m definitely trying this!