A side dish that you will definitely want to have on your table at your next barbecue or picnic. Tortellini salad loaded with salami, capicola ham, pepperoni, fresh mozzarella cheese, homemade basic Italian dressing and much more. You can easy make it ahead of time or right before the party. It really is a perfect pasta salad to take with your on a picnic.
TORTELLINI SALAD
What a great holiday weekend, I actually took the holiday off and completely unplugged. I love doing that and my family loves it when I don’t work but the mount of work that I comes the next morning is not very pleasant.
We actually had a very nice holiday weekend. I made this Italian tortellini salad to take with us to the beach, for a picnic. The plan was great: go to the farmer’s market near the beach and then go to the beach side park for picnic and beach day. Well there was one little thing we didn’t take in consideration…it was a Saturday of a Memorial Day weekend.
Yeah, even setting the traffic aside, when we drove up to the park, a big sign read “park is full, wait time 45 minutes.” That means just to get into the park, you had to wait in the car for 45 minutes.
Luckily, we live on the Florida coast, so there is many miles of beach and many parks along the way. We did manage to find a park that was not overflowing with people but the picnic areas were all taken. There was no grilling for us so the tortellini salad saved our lunch. It was fantastic and we ate it right on the beach.
CLICK HERE TO PIN THE RECIPE!
HOW TO MAKE TORTELLINI SALAD
Tortellini salad is very simple to make and can easily be made ahead of time too. The most effort will go into cooking tortellini and cutting meats and vegetables. Although, I should mention that not eating it all before it gets to the table won’t be easy either.
First step is, of course, to cook tortellini and let it cool to room temperature. (This step can actually be done ahead of time.)
While tortellini is cooking, cut the meats, cheese, tomatoes, banana peppers, and dice fresh herbs.
Combine ingredients for the dressing in a jar and close the lid well. Shake the jar vigorously for a few seconds to combine the ingredients well.
Use a large mixing bowl to combine cooled tortellini, meats, cheese, tomatoes, banana peppers, herbs, and the dressing. Mix thoroughly and carefully until everything is evenly combined.
HOW TO MAKE TORTELLINI SALAD AHEAD OF TIME
There are two ways to make this Italian tortellini salad ahead of time. You can cook tortellini the day before and then make the rest or the salad when ready. Or, take it a step further and prepare everything except for the dressing ahead of time.
If making tortellini ahead of time, cook and cool tortellini. Mix cooled tortellini with a little but of Italian dressing or olive oil so it doesn’t stick together too much. Store cooked tortellini in a food storage container with a lid, in the refrigerator, until ready to use.
You can also prepare the salad completely without the dressing and tomatoes. I find it’s best when tomatoes are cut and added to the salad right before serving. If dressing is added the night before to any pasta salad, pasta tends to soak in all the liquid and the salad will be dry.
So prepare pasta, meats, cheese, banana peppers, and herbs and mix it all together. Transfer everything into a food storage container with a lid. Store the salad mixture in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Add dressing and cut tomatoes when ready to serve.
HOW LONG DOES TORTELLINI SALAD LAST
To store leftover tortellini salad, transfer it into a food storage container with a lid and keep it refrigerated. Tortellini salad will last for 3-5 days refrigerated. You may need to add a little more dressing after it’s been in the fridge for a while because pasta tends to soak up all the dressing liquids.
MORE PASTA SALAD RECIPES:
Antipasto Pasta Salad – Antipasto Pasta Salad is loaded with salami, mozzarella, veggies and tossed in delicious dressing.
Cheddar Bacon Ranch Tortellini Salad – This tortellini salad is loaded with crispy bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, and tossed in a creamy ranch sauce.
Tuscan Tortellini Salad – This tortellini salad is made in a Tuscan style, with cannellini beans, kale, tomatoes, carrots, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and herbs.
Greek Tortellini Pasta from Slow Roasted Italian
Tortellini Pasta Salad from Spoonful of Flavor
BLT Tortellini Salad from Lemons for Lulu
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Italian Tortellini Salad
Ingredients
Tortellini Salad:
- 20 oz three cheese tortellini
- 10 oz cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 2/3 cup banana peppers chopped
- 1/4 lb capicola ham chopped
- 1/4 lb pepperoni chopped
- 1/3 lb hard salami chipped
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese chopped
- 2 Tbsp minced Italian parsley
- 6-8 basil leaves minced
- Salt
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar white wine vinegar can be substituted
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves pressed
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes Use more or less according to personal taste
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- Salt
Instructions
- Cook tortellini according to the package, drain well and transfer into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil so it won't stick together and let it cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
- Chop meats, tomatoes, banana peppers and cheese. Add it to the cooled tortellini in the bowl.
- Mince herbs and add it to the mixing bowl as well. Add some salt and mix well.
- In a jar with a lid, combine ingredients for the dressing. Close the jar and shake well.
- Pour dressing into the bowl with tortellini mixture and mix until fully incorporated.
- Cover and refrigerate salad before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on May 27th, 2015. Updated May 18, 2019.
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
I always love your pasta salad recipes and this Italian tortellini salad combines the best flavors! Thanks for including a link to my tortellini salad too!
Maureen says
Wow! This salad is so mouthwatering! I’m loving all the flavors it has in it. It’s very yummy and very Italian. I love the salami. The salad looks healthy and very delicious!
Mary says
Hi,
Can you do some recipes for salads without meat in them?
Thank you
lyuba says
Hi Mary!
I actually have a few salads without meat:
https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/2015/06/creamy-roasted-tomato-pasta-salad.html
https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/2015/05/chipotle-ranch-potato-salad.html
https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/2015/03/sesame-cucumber-salad.html
https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/2014/07/roasted-bell-pepper-garlic-pasta-salad-food-fight.html
https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/2014/06/parmesan-dill-potato-salad.html
https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/2014/05/strawberry-broccoli-salad.html
https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/2013/07/cool-cucumber-broccoli-salad.html
I hope this helps!
kay witt says
How about trying to connect with a broader audience by not rubbing in the fact that you don’t work? Just a suggestion to appeal to more moms who might like this site. Maybe just connect through the food and general famiky stories…
Kim says
Kay – Bitter much. #1 She works from home and #2 Being a stay at home mom is work. Stay at home mom’s are the ones who pick up the slack for those of us that are not able or willing to make that choice. I for one appreciate the extra effort that the stay at home moms in my community put in.
sharon says
Ditto! I’m proud of her ,being a stay at home Mom is the best thing for the whole family as far as I’m concerned {if you are able} and trust me a lot of stay at home Moms do sacrifice ,they don’t have the social interactions that a working Mom has.
lyuba says
Thank you, Sharon!
I like to joke with my husband that he gets to go out to work and interact with adults every day unlike me đŸ˜€
lyuba says
Hi Kay,
I’m sorry you thought I was “rubbing in” the fact that I work from home. This is actually work. It takes a whole lot of marketing to have this site going, it takes a lot of time to create/photograph/write these recipe posts, as well as, writing and having a cookbook published. I started working from home while going through grad school, which I recently finished. I will also be continuing PHD work within the next couple of years, once my special needs child can have an easier time at school…where I volunteer.
I’m sorry you felt the need to assume I just sit at home all day while others work. I was a working girl (two jobs at many times) until I started grad school, so I’m very familiar with having kids and working full time.
I hope you have a nice week and still enjoy my site.
Thank you!
Alicia says
You don’t need to explain anything to her! Keep being amazing!
LyubaB says
Thank you, Alicia! You can’t please everyone.
Debbie Ricottone says
I made the tortellini salad for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious! All the different flavors combined made it one of the tastiest salads I’ve made. Thank you so much!!
lyuba says
I love hearing that! Thank you so much, Debbie!
Victoria says
This looks so amazing, and I intend on making it for a work picnic Friday. I thought it might be fun to incorporate a local restaurant’s Italian dressing (I live in a heavily Italian populated area). Everyone here loves that dressing, so I thought it would be fun to incorporate it. Do you think that would work? I hope that doesn’t come across as an insult to your recipe, as I’m sure the dressing is absolutely wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I know everyone is going to love it.
Lyuba says
I’m sorry for the late response, Victoria. I hope it went well! You can use whatever Italian dressing you wish (homemade, store bought, restaurant made etc.) and it will work just fine.
Shanna says
Hi! How many does this recipe serve?
lyuba says
Hi Shanna!
I would estimate 6-8 servings. I hope you like it!
Nikki says
Great Recipe! How many does this recipe serve? Wanting to make for a Baby Shower
lyuba says
Oh, I would say 6-8 but it always depends on how much someone can eat đŸ™‚
I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you, Nikki!
Chrisitne Kenney says
The recipe says “chipped” hard salami. What doesn’t that mean?
lyuba says
Haha, it means that I edit my own writing too fast and look right over typos đŸ™‚
I will fix it to say “chopped.”
Thank you, Christine!
Tanya Schroeder says
I love all the deli meat in this pasta salad, so good!
LyubaB says
I am so happy you liked it, Tanya!
Nicki says
Wasn’t this salad made with herbs de provence and not Italian seasoning? If so, why did you change it?
lyuba says
Hi Nicki!
To be honest, I don’t remember changing it at all. If could be the recipe card software when I updated to include the conversion and nutritional facts. I’ll have to see if I can find an older version. But you can totally use herbs de Provence if you want!
Elisia Schindler says
Every time I bring this salad to gatherings, it gets raves reviews & there are some annual gatherings that say I can come ONLY if I bring this dish!
LyubaB says
What a great compliment! Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and tell me! đŸ™‚
Becky says
Took this to a cook out last night and it was devoured! Delicious!!
LyubaB says
I am so glad everyone liked it, Becky!
Ashley Severance says
Found this recipe on Pinterest and made it for a pool party/bbq — everyone loved it. Thank you for the fantastic recipe!
LyubaB says
I am so glad you liked it, Ashley!