This pasta salad is filled with tacky tortellini, salami, recent greens, and recent mozzarella. It’s all topped off with our scrumptious selfmade Italian dressing that’s really easy to place collectively, that you just’ll marvel why you’ve ever used store-bought!
For a special tackle the identical flavors, strive our Orzo Italian Pasta Salad.
Why Our Recipe
- Filling sufficient to be the primary dish, or served up as a facet dish.
- Home made Italian dressing that’s fast and straightforward to make, and oh-so scrumptious.
- Retains effectively which is nice for leftovers, make-ahead choices, and meal prep.

The dressing is what actually takes this chilly tortellini pasta salad up a notch. You may, in fact, use store-bought when you’d like, however our dressing recipe is oh-so-easy to drag collectively — and it’s filled with freshness! This pasta salad is so filling that it may be served as a meal by itself. It additionally makes an incredible barbecue or potluck dish.
Ingredient Notes

- Cheese Tortellini: You should utilize the recent, refrigerated form, the frozen selection, or the dried possibility in bins discovered with the opposite pasta. Comply with the instructions on the bundle to find out the cooking time.
- Recent Mini Mozzarella Balls: The merchandise you’re on the lookout for could also be referred to as mini mozzarella balls, bocconcini, or mozzarella pearls. Different nice cheeses are diced block mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and cheddar.
- Olives: the sliced black olives in a can are an incredible possibility, or you might go inexperienced.
- Salami: You can even combine and match your proteins in our chilly tortellini pasta salad recipe. Listed below are a couple of concepts to encourage you: Grilled hen, Steak, Chickpeas, Tuna.
- Greens: We favor our Italian-style selection, however you will get inventive with totally different greens. Attempt cucumber, pink or yellow bell pepper, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, or asparagus.
- Crimson Onion: Can use sliced inexperienced onions if pink continues to be too sturdy.
- Pepperoncinis: You might additionally substitute with banana peppers.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes additionally work and you should utilize pink or yellow.
- Salad Dressing: You can also make your dressing with recent herbs over dried. You’ll need to use one tablespoon of finely minced recent herbs for each teaspoon of dried herbs the recipe requires.
Tortellini Choices
In relation to making that buying checklist or grocery order, you would possibly discover that there are three choices to select from relating to tortellini. As well as, you begin to see some taste choices too.
Recent Tortellini: These are discovered within the refrigerated part of the grocery retailer in a plastic container somewhat than a bag. They’re usually bought in portions of 9 ounces and 20 ounces. This recipe requires 20 ounces, however 18 ounces can be ample These find yourself having the perfect texture of all of your choices, however they’re additionally the most costly. Comply with the bundle instructions for cooking instances, usually a couple of minutes in boiling water.
Frozen Tortellini: These are typically extra inexpensive than recent and are usually bought in luggage of 19 ounces, or as much as 3 kilos. Whereas this recipe requires 20 ounces, 19 ounces can be ample. These have a tendency to finish up mushier than recent or dried, so ensure to not overcook and observe the bundle instructions for al dente.
Dried Tortellini: These are discovered within the pasta aisle and are essentially the most inexpensive of the entire choices. It’s a bit extra shelf-stable and is usually a lifesaver for impromptu dinners. Cooking instances are normally a bit longer than recent or frozen, so observe the directions on the field to make sure your tortellini is completely al dente.
Flavors and Colours: Inside all of those choices you’ll additionally discover numerous flavors of tortellini—cheese, spinach and cheese, cheese and tomato, and many others—in addition to colours of pasta, notably inexperienced and tri-color. Any and all of those can be utilized.

Pasta Tip: Stopping Clumping
There are two issues that you are able to do to forestall your pasta from sticking collectively. First, keep in mind to rinse your tortellini with chilly water as quickly as you take away it from the boiling water. Subsequent, earlier than you begin including the opposite elements, pour half of the dressing right into a bowl with the pasta and blend. Solely then do you have to begin including within the cheese, salami, and veggies. The added moisture from the oil within the dressing will stop it from sticking!
Make-Forward Directions
You can also make this chilly tortellini pasta salad as much as sooner or later prematurely. Cowl tightly with plastic wrap or a lid and retailer within the fridge The salad will soak up extra taste out of your dressing when you let the pasta sit for no less than an hour earlier than serving.
Storage Directions
Refrigerate tortellini pasta salad in an hermetic container for as much as 3 days. After three days the greens is not going to have the identical crisp texture.
Extra scrumptious pasta salads…
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