Greek Tortellini Salad is a made with four cheese tortellini, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, banana peppers, black olives, Feta cheese and an easy Greek dressing. It’s a wonderful and easy easy pasta salad that’s packed with Greek flavors. Bring it with you to picnics, potlucks, and barbecue parties. Make it ahead of time and let all the flavors from the Greek dressing infuse into tortellini.
Tortellini salad is a whole new level up from pasta salad and always a popular choice for a side dish. Try my Italian Tortellini Salad and Cheddar Bacon Ranch Tortellini Salad and you will have a hard time going back to regular pasta.
GREEK TORTELLINI SALAD
I love taking pasta salad to a new level of delicious just by using tortellini instead of classic pasta. These little cheese packed pasta pockets hold so much extra cheesy flavor and bring it all into the salad. You can never go wrong with the four cheese tortellini but some other flavors can compliment different types of ingredients too.
This tortellini salad is all about the bursting Greek flavors from veggies, to cheese, to the dressing. The beauty of this flavor is the combination of sour, savory, and tangy with comforting pasta and fresh vegetables. It truly is a perfect summer dish that will compliment grilled meats at barbecues as much as cold sandwiches at picnics.
You can make this salad the day before and let all those beautiful ingredients marinade together and infuse pasta with so much flavor, every bite pill pop. Make sure to stir it well before refrigerator and before serving to that the dressing is spread evenly throughout. Making it ahead will also save a lot of time when preparing to a party or a picnic.
WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN GREEK TORTELLINI SALAD
Tortellini – you can find tortellini in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. It’s fast and easy to cook but make sure to cool it down to room temperature before adding other ingredients. For this tortellini salad, choose four cheese tortellini when possible.
Onion – choose red onions and slice then very thinly to incorporate it better into the mixture.
Tomatoes – cherry tomatoes can be cut in half or left whole. I do recommend cutting it in half so tomato juice adds more flavor to the salad and mixes better with the dressing.
Cucumber – peel the cucumber or leave the skin on. If choosing to leave the skin on, make sure to wash it well.
Red Bell Pepper – take the seeds out and slice bell pepper thinly. You can also substitute yellow or orange bell peppers, those tend to be sweeter than green.
Banana Peppers – I love the tang that banana peppers add to this pasta salad so I highly recommend using it. Drain it well before adding to the salad.
Black Olives – make sure to choose pitted black olives and you can leave it whole or cut in half.
Feta Cheese – Feta is the best cheese for most Greek inspired dishes. It’s light, crumbly, and tangy, which goes perfectly with all other ingredients.
Greek Dressing – this homemade dressing will only take a couple of minutes to put together with simple ingredients like fresh lemon juice, garlic, herbs, oil, and white wine vinegar. It’s best to use fresh herbs but dried herbs can be substituted.
HOW TO MAKE GREEK TORTELLINI SALAD
Cooking tortellini will take about 3-5 minutes in boiling water. Strain off water and make sure to cool tortellini down to room temperature before adding all other ingredients.
Slice and cut vegetables into small pieces and add it to a large mixing bowl with the cooled tortellini.
To make the dressing, combine oil, lemon juice, vinegar, pressed garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper together in a jar with a lid. Close the lid tight and shake it very well.
Pour dressing all over the the salad and mix well. If some of the tortellini is stuck together, it should come apart once mixed with the dressing, You can gently pull it apart once it’s mixed as well.
CAN I MAKE TORTELLINI SALAD AHEAD OF TIME?
Absolutely, and highly encouraged. Making Greek Tortellini Salad ahead of time will actually give all ingredients time to marinade together and infuse pasta with delicious flavors.
Prepare tortellini salad according to the recipe and store it in a closed container, in the refrigerator. You can make it up to 1 day ahead.
Leftover tortellini salad can be stored in a closed container, in the refrigerator, for 3-4 days.
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Greek Tortellini Salad
Ingredients
Tortellini Salad:
- 20 oz four cheese tortellini
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1 large cucumber washed and peeled
- 1 small red onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 6 oz banana peppers drained
- 6 oz pitted black olives drained
- 5 oz crumbled Feta cheese
Greek Dressing:
- 1/2 cup canola or vegetables oil
- 2 lemons juice only
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp fresh minced dill weed
- 2 tbsp fresh minced parsley
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- salt
Instructions
- Cook tortellini according to the package instructions, drain, and set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Slice cucumber, onions, and bell pepper. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and olives can be cut in half too. Add all the cut vegetables, Feta cheese, and banana peppers to a large mixing bowl with the cooled tortellini. Gently mix it all together.
- To make the dressing, combine oil, lemon juice, vinegar, pressed garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper together in a jar with a lid. Close the lid tight and shake it very well.
- Pour dressing all over the the salad and mix well. If some of the tortellini is stuck together, it should come apart once mixed with the dressing, You can gently pull it apart once it’s mixed as well.
- Store in a closed container, in the refrigerator, until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Caroline says
If substituting dried herbs how much of each? Thanking you in advance. This looks delicious by the way!
Jay says
Thanks for sharing it was so good!
superfighters says
I am very happy to have found this information that I have been looking for.
Cissy Coleman says
The Greek Tortellini Salad, can you use olive oil instead of canola or vegetable salad ?
Cissy Coleman says
For the Greek Tortellini Salad, can you use olive oil instead of canola and vegetable oil ?
LyubaB says
Hi Cissy,
Yes, you can use olive oil instead. I hope you enjoy it!
Kent Chaney says
It’s a great recipe for a delicious Mediterranean salad. The only hard part is that the recipe is made for 8 and there are only two of us. The tortellini come in a 20 oz package which sort of forced the larger volume. That being said, I’m smiling. Thanks for the recipe.
LyubaB says
I am so pleased you liked it, Kent!
superfighters says
Look so yummy and tasty. I will try doing tomorrow. Thanks for your nice recipe…
TAMMY CIANCIULLI says
How much garlic to use in dressing? it’s mentioned pressed garlic in the directions but not in the ingredient list. Help?
Susan says
Other recipes call for two cloves of garlic.