Cheesy Tortellini Salad
Marissa Mullen
Photo by MJ Kroeger
- Serves
- 3-4
- Prep Time
- 10 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 5 Minutes
Pasta salad is a summer staple in my home. With so much space to customize, you can have fun playing with different kinds of pasta, dressings, vegetables, and, of course, cheeses. Frozen tortellini is an easy swap for standard penne or farfalle. Full of rich cheese, tortellini add a decadent, creamy base to contrast the fresh, crunchy vegetables. Think of this recipe as a clean-out-the-fridge pasta salad: cucumbers, peppers, onion, tomatoes, herbs galore, anything goes. To bump it up, I like to add some fresh mozzarella and savory salami for a little antipasto moment. You can serve this at room temperature, right after mixing, or if you’d like to make it in advance, just pop it in the fridge.
Ingredients
Cheesy Tortellini
- 1 (14-ounce) bag of frozen cheese tortellini
- 1 cup cup bocconcini (mini mozzarella balls), halved
- 3/4 cup diced Italian hard salami
- 1 Persian cucumber, diced
- 1/2 small green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1/4 cup pitted black olives, sliced
- 1/4 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped dill fronds
- 1 finely chopped basil leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
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Directions
Instructions
- Step 1
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
- Step 2
Add the tortellini and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, according to the package instructions, until tender. Drain and let cool.
- Step 3
In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and honey into the olive oil to emulsify. Add garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper and mix until combined.
- Step 4
In a large bowl, combine the tortellini, mozzarella, salami, cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, olives, artichokes, basil, dill, salt, and pepper to a bowl. Top with dressing, season with additional salt and pepper, and mix to combine.
- Step 5
Serve at room temperature or refrigerate for 20 minutes to 2 days.