Tortellini Pasta Salad

Classic Italian Loaded Cheesy Tortellini Pasta Salad.

This tortellini pasta salad is the perfect side dish for any occasion. This salad features all of the classic Italian ingredients, including a mix of olives and giardiniera, fresh mozzarella pearls, artichokes and tomatoes. Mix them altogether with our made-from-scratch dressing and you got yourself a meal!

Equipment You Will Need

There’s not a lot to making this easy tortellini pasta salad with mozzarella pearls. You’ll need a large pot to flash cook your tortellini. When I say “flash cook,” I literally mean barely cook it. It only takes about 4-5 minutes. Then, I emptied the tortellini into a large bowl, added my ingredients and tossed. So easy.

I’ve also linked my favorite knifes. These get so sharp and are honestly a good price point for a high-quality knife. These are the knives my mom and Granny always used when I was growing up.

Ingredients You’ll Need

This is a sweep the kitchen kind of salad. This tortellini balsamic pasta salad I made up just as I went. I love all these fixings when making a traditional Italian salad, so why not put them all in a pasta salad? I’m glad I did. Also, I want to point out the simplicity of the dressing. Just a drizzle of olive oil and a smaller drizzle of balsamic glaze. That’s all this super flavorful salad needs.

Cheese Tortellini:

I bought a bag of cheese tortellini. You can use whatever flavor filling of tortellini you would like. However, I felt like the 5 cheese tortellini was the best option for this recipe.

Mozzarella Pearls:

I used one 8oz package of mozzarella pearls. You could also substitute this for feta cheese. However, I would wait until right before serving before tossing it in.

Olives:

I used a mix of Kalamata olives and regular sliced black olives.

Giardiniera:

You’re probably wondering what exactly is giardiniera? Giardiniera is basically pickled cauliflower mixed with sliced carrots and onions. Very good! It’ll be by the pickles in your local grocery store. You can totally omit this from the recipe if you wish.

Other Veggies:

Everything else included in this other recipe was cherry tomatoes, quartered artichoke hearts, sliced pickled banana peppers. You’ll want to make sure that you very thinly slice your red onion. You won’t want to bite into a big hunk of raw onion.

Balsamic Glaze and Olive Oil:

I just put a drizzle of both onto of the salad. There is already so much flavor in this salad. Plus, it’ll have a nice vinegar flavor from all of the called and pickled vegetables. You definitely don’t need to over-do it with the dressing.

Seasonings:

For this tortellini pasta salad, I only used salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings.

How to Make This Tortellini Pasta Salad

Step 1

In a large pot, boil your tortellini according to the instructions. Drain off the water and pour the cooked pasta into a large serving bowl. Let it cool.

Step 2

Add all the remainder of your ingredients then drizzle your olive oil and balsamic glaze on top. Add in your seasonings. Toss the salad. Enjoy!

Before you go!

Please let me know if you tried this recipe! If so, what did you think about it? Please let me know here or in the comments below! I’d love to know what you thought!