Tortellini Pasta Salad

top view of the bowl of tortellini salad

Tortellini Pasta Salad is a cold pasta salad made even better with cheesy tortellini pasta and a bottle of Italian salad dressing. Loaded with all your favorite Italian fixings like pepperoni, salami, mozzarella pearls, and tomatoes - this is the perfect side dish for any bbq or gathering.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword tortellini pasta salad

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 5

Chill Time 4

Total Time 4 25

Servings

Calories 431kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Ingredients

1 bag (36 oz) tortellini
1 bottle (15 oz) Italian salad dressing
1 small red onion finely diced
1 cucumber diced
1 red bell pepper diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
8 ounces mozzarella pearls
4 ounces pepperoni diced
4 ounces salami diced
1/2 cup pepperoncini peppers leave whole or dice

Instructions

Cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Drain the pasta when it's done, rinse it under cold water, and then let it sit in the colander to cool down before adding it into the salad bowl.
^{*I like to dab the tortellini with a paper towel to ensure there is no excess moisture on it before adding it into the bowl.}
1 bag (36 oz) tortellini
In a large bowl, combine the cooked tortellini and Italian salad dressing.
^{*The tortellini does not need to be completely cooled before adding it, but it should be closer to room temperature. You don't want to add steaming hot tortellini in with the other ingredients.}
1 bottle (15 oz) Italian salad dressing
Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until everything is well combined.
1 small red onion, 1 cucumber, 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 pint cherry tomatoes, 8 ounces mozzarella pearls, 4 ounces pepperoni, 4 ounces salami, 1/2 cup pepperoncini peppers
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 3-4 hours to allow the pasta salad to chill before serving.

Notes

Italian Dressing : Use a dressing you love the flavor because it really shines in this tortellini pasta salad. I always use the Olive Garden Italian dressing because it tastes the best and it's creamier, which my family loves.

Chopping Tip : You can make this tortellini salad as chunky or smaller cuts as you want. I prefer to dice everything into smaller sizes (similar to the size of the mozzarella pearls). That way you get something of everything in each bite. But if you prefer a chunkier salad, keep the veggies and meat in larger chunks when dicing.

Pepperoni & Salami : 4 ounces is 1/4 pound. I like to go get freshly sliced salami and pepperoni and the deli meat counter. You can also buy it prepackaged by the lunch meat.

Pepperoncini Peppers : These can have a slightly spicy kick to them, or a stronger flavor profile, so if you're sensitive to that I would just omit them entirely from the salad. My kids don't love them so I don't always add them. They do provide lots of good flavor so sometime I just make my kids pick them out.

Nutrition