Tortellini Pasta Salad is made with cheesy tortellini pasta, crispy prosciutto, roasted red peppers, juicy tomatoes, Italian dressing, and Parmesan cheese. It’s a deliciously comforting but healthy pasta salad side dish that is also great for lunches or a busy weeknight dinner with some sides!
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Tortellini Pasta Salad is perfect for spring and summer meals, made with fresh ingredients and delicious bright flavors!
This Italian Tortellini Salad is made with classic Italian flavors, but you can mix it up to suit your own flavor preference.
Ready in less than 30 minutes, it’s a perfect hearty side dish for a full BBQ spread, but it’s also great as a filling lunch any time of year!
It’s also great for meal prepping at the beginning of the week, as it lasts for up to 4 days in the fridge.
We love to serve it with BBQ Chicken, Grilled Potatoes in Foil and Easy Broccoli Salad for an easy but delicious summer meal!
Some of my other favorite pasta salad recipes are BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad, and Creamy Ranch Bowtie Pasta Salad, or check out my complete list of 30+ Pasta Salad Recipes for even more inspiration!
Ingredients Needed:
- Pasta: obviously I love to use fresh or frozen tortellini pasta in this salad, but any pasta will work. Simply cook to al dente and then cool.
- Prosciutto: crispy prosciutto takes this salad to a whole new level, but it can be a bit pricy. You can swap for some crisp bacon if you prefer.
- Spinach: spinach adds a pop of green and nutritional value. Feel free to swap for romaine or other greens if you like (this is basically a fancy BLT pasta salad, after all)
- Roasted red peppers: I use jarred, store-bought roasted red bell peppers. They are an easy and inexpensive way to add lots of flavor to lots of dishes. You can roast your own if need be, or swap for sun-dried tomatoes.
- Tomato: I used one Roma tomato but you could also use ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes.
- Italian dressing: if you can, don’t go for the cheapest salad dressing here. I love to use a sun-dried tomato, parmesan pesto, or tuscan italian dressing, or you can make your own homemade Italian dressing!
- Mayonnaise: I’ve used plain mayonnaise in this recipe, but you could use a flavored mayo or even Spicy Mayo for a bit of extra flavor!
- Cheese: use a fresh block of Parmesan cheese that you grate yourself for the best flavor.
How to Make Tortellini Pasta Salad
This recipe is quick and easy to make. Full instructions are included in the recipe card below.
- Bake prosciutto: Bake the prosciutto until dried and crisp.
- Make sauce: Whisk together the salad dressing, mayonnaise, and Parmesan cheese in a bowl.
- Assemble pasta salad: Place cooked and cooled tortellini, crumbled prosciutto, spinach, onion, roasted red peppers, and tomato in a bowl.
- Add sauce: Pour the sauce over the salad and toss to coat.
Tortellini Pasta Salad FAQs
Just like any other pasta, after being cooked and stored correctly, tortellini pasta can be eaten cold or reheated to be eaten hot. It’s delicious in pasta salad!
This salad will keep up to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container, making it great for meal prep! Make sure the dish has completely cooled to room temperature before storing it in the refrigerator.
Really, the options are endless! Here I’ve paired it with spinach, tomatoes, peppers, prosciutto and other Italian flavors.
But you could swap it for the pasta in this Creamy Ranch Bowtie Pasta Salad Recipe and that would be delicious too!
Tips and Notes
- Other Pasta: You can use your favorite kind of pasta for this dish. Simply cook to al dente, drain, and cool before adding to the salad.
- Leftovers: Use leftover pasta in this recipe to give it new life! Your pasta just needs to be cooked and cooled.
Tortellini Pasta Salad Variations
- Tortellini: Use your favorite variety of tortellini pasta for this recipe. Meat-stuffed tortellini works as well!
- Jazz it up: Add some diced cucumber, kalamata olives, or green onions!
- Greek Tortellini Salad. Use Greek feta cheese instead of Parmesan, and substitute the prosciutto and red peppers for black olives and cucumber, then serve with a drizzle of Olive Oil and some oregano to make this into a Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad.
- Fresh herbs: Fresh basil, parsley or oregano would work well as a garnish.
- Cheese: Mozzarella cheese will go with the Italian flavors in this recipe, but you can use your favorite kind of cheese to match the flavors you decide for this dish.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this classic pasta salad on its own, or with some sides to bulk it out a bit. Try some extra veggies on the side like Corn on the Cob, or Air Fryer Broccoli.
This dish would work well with some bread on the side too, try my classic Garlic Bread, these Homemade Garlic Herb Dinner Rolls, or this No Knead Artisan Bread.
More Summer Salad Recipes
Tortellini Pasta Salad
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 350 grams cheese tortellini ¾ lb or about 3 cups
- 3 slices prosciutto
- ½ cup fresh chopped spinach
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- ¼ cup roasted red peppers jarred, chopped
- 1 Roma tomato juices squeezed out and chopped
- ½ cup good Italian salad dressing
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water until cooled.
- Meanwhile, bake prosciutto on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 400 degrees F for 6-8 minutes, until dried and crisp (will continue to crisp slightly as it cools so don’t overcook). Allow to cool slightly and crumble.
- Place cooled tortellini, crumbled prosciutto, spinach, onion, roasted red peppers, and tomato in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the salad dressing, mayonnaise, and Parmesan cheese, and pour over the salad. Toss to coat and serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- tortellini: tortellini is basically a must in this tortellini pasta salad, but you can really use any pasta, cooked to al dente and cooled.
- prosciutto: no prosciutto? Try crispy bacon.
- spinach: no spinach? Try chopped romaine or another leafy green.
- roasted red peppers: no roasted red peppers? Try sun dried tomatoes, or roasting your own peppers!
Nutrition Information
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Dan Retherford says
A Big Hit with the family,Delish!!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Dan! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!