Name: Italian Tortellini Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian American
Ingredients: 10 oz. small or medium cheese tortellini pasta (tri-color or regular); 1 (5 oz.) pkg, mini pepperoni's; 1 c. cherry tomatoes (red and/or yellow), quartered; 1 (3.8 oz.) can, black olives, drained; 1/2 c. red onion, diced; 1/2 c. jarred mild yellow banana peppers, chopped; 1 c. Italian salad dressing; 1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese; pepper to taste

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Italian Tortellini Salad – the BEST Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

This EASY tortellini salad recipe is perfect for any pot-luck, picnic, cookout or backyard barbecue! This delicious tortellini pasta salad is loaded with all of your Italian favorites, like salami, tomatoes, olives, banana peppers and more! Topped with Italian dressing and shredded Parmesan cheese, this Italian pasta salad is amazing!

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If you love cold tortellini salad, this Italian Tortellini Salad is a winner! It’s absolutely perfect as a side dish for your next cookout or barbecue, and fantastic with your grilled chicken or burgers as a weeknight meal.

Growing up in the mid-west, pot luck dinners were always a community-wide event! Every home cook brought their best dishes, including salads, fried chicken, sandwiches and decadent desserts to share with everyone!

The perfect pasta salad or side dish for any pot-luck, picnic, cookout or backyard barbecue! This delicious tortellini salad is loaded with all of your Italian favorites, like salami, tomatoes, olives, banana peppers, red onion, and topped with Italian dressing and shredded Parmesan cheese!

What does this easy tortellini salad recipe include?

Loaded with fresh, delicious tomatoes, onions, peppers, olives, and mini-pepperoni, this salad could easily be a meal in itself.

The tri-color tortellini pasta comes together wonderfully with the rest of the ingredients making an amazingly colorful dish. The shredded Parmesan cheese really brings the salad together and is complimentary to the cheese tortellini.

If you absolutely love veggies in your pasta salad you should check out this gorgeous Spring Orzo Salad Recipe by Yummy Healthy Easy. That asparagus looks amazing!

What type of tortellini should I buy for this tortellini pasta salad recipe?

I tend to use frozen pasta for this tortellini salad. You can also buy tortellini from the refrigerator section of the grocery store. This is very easy to make, but a bit more expensive than the frozen.

Occasionally, you can find (dry/boxed) tortellini in the pasta section of the grocery store, however, this can sometimes be hard to come by.

What makes this Italian pasta salad recipe so easy to make?

This tortellini salad is very simple to make, and comes together quickly and easily. Feel free to use a store-bought Italian dressing, as is coats the pasta and veggies well and adds a nice, complimentary flavor.

It also brings all of the ingredients together, including the fresh vegetables, cheeses and pepperoni.

Here’s a shopping list of ingredients you’ll need for this fantastic tortellini salad:

Frozen or Dry Tortellini
Mini Pepperoni
Sliced Black Olives
Red Onion
Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
Yellow Banana Peppers (can be found in a jar, near the olives and pickles at the supermarket)
Shredded Parmesan cheese
Ground Pepper

Tortellini Pasta Salad Q&A:

Can you make tortellini pasta salad the day before?

Yes, definitely! It’s a great side dish to make the day before a party or pot-luck. Because the tortellini soaks up the dressing, I would recommend reserving the dressing or making an extra batch of dressing and keeping it in a separate container. Just before serving, add the addition dressing and toss together.

Check out my Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing recipe! It tastes amazing and much better than store-bought!

How long with tortellini salad keep in the refrigerator?

I wouldn’t keep any leftovers for more than 5 days. Because of the Parmesan cheese and the cheese inside the tortellini, the freshness of the pasta salad isn’t as good as when it’s first made.

Can you freeze Italian pasta salad?

No, I wouldn’t recommend it.

What goes with Italian Pasta Salad?

Here are a few of my grilling recipes that go wonderfully with this Italian Pasta Salad:

If you loved this delicious tortellini pasta salad, be sure to check out these other salad recipes:

Here’s the easy, delicious recipe for my Italian Tortellini Salad: