Tortellini Pasta Salad

Name: Tortellini Pasta Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 20 ounce box three cheese tortellini; 1-1/2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed; 1-1/2 cups canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed; 1-1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half; 1-1/2 cups Persian cucumber, rinsed and sliced; 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated; 1/2 red onion, peeled, halved through the core and sliced thin; 1/2 cup red pepper, sliced thin; 1/2 cup black olives, sliced; 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped; 1/4 cup red wine vinegar; 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons water; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/2 teaspoon dried basil; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1/4 teaspoon celery salt; 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 3/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

by Deborah Duncan on June 11, 2026 0 comments

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This Tortellini Pasta Salad recipe is a delicious mix of three cheese tortellini, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, cucumbers, onion, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, black olives, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil all tossed with our favorite homemade Italian salad dressing.

Tossed Tortellini Salad in a bowl.

This crowd-pleasing cheese tortellini pasta salad is a great salad to serve at your next cookout or backyard barbecue. We pretty much love everything about it, and we make it often during the warm summer months.

Why You Will Love This Salad

Quick and Easy. The tortellini cooks in just a few minutes, and then all that’s left to do is make the dressing and chop a few veggies.
Great For Sharing. This salad is always popular at potlucks, cookouts, game day and family get-togethers.
Great Flavor. There’s a lot going on in this salad, and it’s all good! The salad dressing we use really pulls this salad together.

Italian Tortellini Pasta Salad Recipe Ingredients

Tortellini Pasta. We use fresh three cheese tortellini pasta found in the refrigerated section at the grocery store.
Tomatoes. We like to use cherry tomatoes for this salad.
Onion. We use sliced red onions. When adding red onion to salads, you can soak the slices in water first for about 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Soaking onions in water helps to mellow the flavor quite a bit. Be sure to dry them off well before tossing them in the salad.
Red Pepper. We add a little red pepper to the mix.
Cucumber. We used Persian cucumbers for this salad. You could also use English cucumbers. If you use garden cucumbers, you’ll want to peel them and scrape out the seeds out with a spoon because they both can be bitter tasting. English and Persian cucumbers have light peels and few seeds, so we like to use them best for salads. If you use English cucumbers, you may want to slice them into half moons.
Beans. We use canned garbanzo beans and red kidney beans. We like to use low-sodium or no sodium beans the best. You can also make our home cooked chickpeas. They are SO good!
Black Olives. We like to use canned black olives (already sliced), but you can use kalamata olives if you like.
Cheese. We use grated mozzarella cheese. You can use mozzarella balls if you like, or swap out the mozza and use Parmesan cheese instead.
Fresh Basil. We add fresh basil to this salad which adds a nice flavor.
Vinaigrette. We use our favorite Italian Salad Dressing for this salad.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

Add-Ins. Try adding sliced Baby Bella mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, canned artichoke hearts.
Chicken. Add grilled chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken to make it a more substantially filling salad.
Dressing. Swap out the Italian Salad Dressing that we use for this recipe and try one of our other salad dressings, like our Everyday Creamy Vinaigrette, Parmesan Vinaigrette, Zesty Italian Dressing or our Creamy Italian Dressing.

How To Make Cheese Tortellini Salad

Make Dressing. Measure the ingredients into a wide-mouth mason jar, seal the lid and shake well. Or add the ingredients to a NutriBullet or blender to blend the ingredients. When you emulsify a dressing, it keeps it from separating so quickly. We like to blend the ingredients for this dressing best.
Cook Cheese Tortellini. Cook the cheese tortellini for a quick 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and place in the refrigerator to stop the cooking process. Toss the noodles with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil to keep them from sticking together.
Prep Ingredients. While the tortellini is cooking, slice the tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and red peppers. Chop the basil and grate the cheese.
Toss Salad. Put all of the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the ingredients and gently toss. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Tips For Making The Best Chopped Salad

Large Bowl. Use a large bowl that has room for tossing. You can use the same bowl to mix and serve with. A pair of serving spoons is always a nice touch and will help you to gently toss the salad without smashing the ingredients.
Dressing Salad. Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss lightly.
Seasoning. Season sparingly with salt (like sea salt or Himalayan) and freshly ground black pepper.
Serving. Don’t dress the salad until you’re ready to serve it. Be sure to store the tossed salad ingredients and dressing separately in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.

Storing Leftovers

Store leftover tortellini salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, it should last up to 5 days. Add more dressing and toss before serving if it becomes a little dried out.

More Pasta Salad Recipes

Yield: 8 Servings