Cheese Tortellini Italian Pasta Salad is an easy side dish that your whole family is sure to fall in love with, super easy to make and so delicious.
This cheese tortellini Italian pasta salad is one of our family favorites, we make a few different versions of it, but no matter what version is made it is always a hit.
The whole family went up north the past week. When I say up north I mean Northern Minnesota, we were only about 50 miles from Canada. And when I say the whole family I mean all of our kids, in-law kids, and grandkids. There was 12 of us in all.
We were able to book a suite so everyone could stay together. We had a full kitchen in the suite and there was a gas grill at the hotel, so we were able to make all of our meals there.
This pasta dish was served for one of the side dishes while we were there.
And the view from our suite was beautiful! Fun times! Can’t wait until we can do it again!
Ways to change up this pasta salad:
- Change out the pasta. Use penne, rigatoni, farfalle…
- Use red, orange or purple bell peppers
- Add slices of cucumbers
- Add slices of pickled banana peppers or pepperoncini
- If you are in a hurry you can use a bottled dressing, I have and it still makes a tasty pasta dish
These are just a few suggestions.
Looking for more pasta dishes? Check these out:
Stay in touch with me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Cheese Tortellini Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 19 ounces Cheese Tortellini
- 8 ounces cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese cubed
- 6 ounces pepperoni cut into quarters
Dressing
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook the cheese tortellini using the directions on the package. Once the pasta is cooked rinse and cool.
- While the tortellini is cooking/cooling prepare the rest of the ingredients. Once the tortellini is cooled combine with all of the ingredients except for the ingredients for the dressing. Mix well.
- Prepare the dressing. Add the minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the vinegar and yellow mustard and whisk together with the dry ingredients. Whisk in the olive oil. Add the Parmesan cheese and whisk in.
- Pour about 1/2 of the dressing over the pasta salad and mix until the everything is coated. Save the other half and add just before serving. The pasta will absorb the dressing, so adding the other half of the dressing just before serving will help so that the salad is not too dry when serving.
Notes
Looks absolutely delicious and comforting!
It’s pretty country where you were! And this is a pretty pasta salad — looks incredibly tasty, too. Thanks!
That sounds like a wonderful vacation, Dawn! Did you swim out to that island in the photo? And as far as the pasta salad, two thumbs up! I am a huge fan of tortellini, and I love the other ingredients in this one, too!
It was a fun vacation. No swimming, the water was freezing cold. Thanks David.
This looks delicious, Dawn! Love how easy it is to put together! I would just swap out the tortellini for a GF version and we’re good to go…though you do have me thinking about adding those banana peppers you mentioned…love this summer side! 🙂
That sounds so fun and your pasta salad looks delicious! I’m a big fan of all those Italian flavors! My favorites.