Name: Italian Antipasto Tortellini Pasta Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2 Portions
Ingredients: 500 grams Dried Tortellini pasta; 2 cups Salami (sliced); 2 cups Cherry Tomatoes (cut in half); 2 cups Cucumber (diced); 1 cup Bell Peppers (diced (optional)); 1 cup Black Olives (sliced); 2 cups Fresh Mozzarella (cut into bite sized pieces); 3/4 cup Olive Oil; 3 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar; 1 teaspoon Dry Oregano; 1 teaspoon Dry Basil; 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar; 1 tablespoon Salt; 1/2 cup Parmesan (grated)

Italian Antipasto Tortellini Pasta Salad

Italian Antipasto Tortellini Pasta Salad is an easy, cold, make ahead salad which takes under 20 minutes to make and is perfect for picnics, barbecues and family dinners!

Serves 2 Portions

Prep 20 minutes

Cook 10 minutes

Total 20 minutes

Jump to the recipe

Before we get into this italian antipasto tortellini pasta salad (which is absolutely delicious), I have news to share. My sisters getting married next week! Yes, my little sister who is all grown up now. And I’m back home prepping for her wedding which is in less than six days now. So while I’m sitting here at 9 in the morning writing this post, I have to tell you that life is a little crazy right now.

There is a two day wedding, everyone in the house is running around trying to finish all the last minute stuff, and these mornings before the craziness start are precious. Usually, the four of us – my parents, my sister and I, take a moment to sit together and enjoy a cup of tea, in the mornings, but today I knew I needed to share this pasta salad with you guys!

All the recipes that you see in the next week are things that I’m not eating (currently), but have been eating and loving in the last one month. And so I made a repository of recipes that I knew I wanted you guys to try.

And this italian antipasto tortellini pasta salad is definitely one of them!

I’m cheating a little bit with this salad. Because really, it was mostly a way to do something with leftovers an antipasto platter I put together for a few friends one evening. We had some salami, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, olives, cheeses and loads of other delicious tidbits in the platter.

Obviously I served gigantic proportions, and obviously we couldn’t finish everything. Why do I end up making so much food when we have guests over?

But this time instead of bagging it up for friends, we ended up using the leftovers to put together this amazing Italian antipasto tortellini pasta salad for next days dinner.

This is the quickest pasta salad you are going to put together, and literally the easiest! But you have to be patient, because we found out that this Italian pasta salad needs to marinate. It does well with a little lovin’ and waiting in the refrigerator.

So once you put everything together and toss it up with the dressing – yes, unlike other salads where you add the dressing just before eating – this pasta salad can be made ahead and should be made ahead. So you toss it all up and refrigerate. It just gets better and better after a few hours. And you can’t skip this step. Because without the waiting, the salad doesn’t get time to soak up that yummy dressing.

BTW, don’t take the easy route and use store bought dressing because that dressing takes only a minute to make, and will give your pasta salad a major flavor and freshness boost.

Take this to your next barbecue, picnic or make this for a kiddie lunch box – it’s always going to be a hit!

More Yummy Salads:

The recipe

Italian Antipasto Tortellini Pasta Salad

Italian Antipasto Tortellini Pasta Salad is an easy, cold, make ahead salad which takes under 20 minutes to make and is perfect for picnics, barbecues and family dinners!

Serves 2 Portions
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 10 minutes
Total 20 minutes

Ingredients

500 grams Dried Tortellini pasta
2 cups Salami (sliced)
2 cups Cherry Tomatoes (cut in half)
2 cups Cucumber (diced)
1 cup Bell Peppers (diced (optional))
1 cup Black Olives (sliced)
2 cups Fresh Mozzarella (cut into bite sized pieces)

Italian Salad Dressing

3/4 cup Olive Oil
3 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 teaspoon Dry Oregano
1 teaspoon Dry Basil
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Salt
1/2 cup Parmesan (grated)

Method

1
Cook the pasta in salted water according to package instructions till al dente. Drain, wash with cold water (to prevent sticking) and set aside.
2
Add all the ingredients for the dressing to a jar or blender and blend for a minute or two.
3
Toss all the ingredients for the salad with the dressing and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours. The pasta stays well in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Notes

Always add the pasta to boiling water. Never add pasta to warm or room temperature water. Time it and cook it till al dente. You can also use a store bought Italian salad dressing for this recipe. Let your pasta cool completely before tossing it with the other ingredients.If it’s still warm, the heat will start to cook and wilt the veggies.