Greek Tortellini Salad
Greek Tortellini Salad features cheese tortellini, a medley of fresh veggies, plenty of feta cheese and an easy homemade Greek dressing! It’s light and refreshing enough to serve all summer long as picnics, potlucks, backyard BBQ’s and more, but filling enough to really hit the spot.
Try more summer favorites like Green Goddess Macaroni Salad, Mediterranean Orzo Salad and Cheddar Bacon Ranch Tortellini Salad.
Table of Contents
I love taking pasta salad to a new level of delicious just by using tortellini instead of classic pasta! These little cheese packed pasta pockets hold so much extra cheesy flavor that adds such a tasty element to the salad as a whole. After all, you can never go wrong with four cheese tortellini, right?! With that being said, feel free to use other flavors of tortellini in this versatile recipe if you’d like!
This tortellini salad is all about showcasing bold Greek flavors from veggies, cheese, and the mouthwatering homemade dressing. The beauty of this flavor is the combination of sour, savory, and tangy notes paired with tender bites of pasta and fresh, crisp vegetables. It truly is a perfect summer dish that will compliment grilled meats at barbecues as much as cold sandwiches at picnics. It’s also a lovely light lunch on a warm day.
You can make this salad the day before and let all those beautiful ingredients marinate together to infuse pasta with so much flavor, every bite will pop! Scroll down to my FAQ section below to get more info on that easy process. I’ve found that making this pasta salad the day before I plan on serving it simplifies the already easy process even more. And during the heat of summertime, isn’t an easy pasta salad recipe exactly what we all need?
Ingredient Notes
Tortellini – You can find tortellini in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. It’s fast and easy to cook, but make sure to cool it down to room temperature before adding other ingredients. For this tortellini salad, choose four cheese tortellini when possible.
Onion – Choose red onions and slice then very thinly to incorporate them better into the salad.
Tomatoes – Cherry tomatoes can be cut in half or left whole. I recommend cutting them in half because the tomato juice adds more flavor to the salad and mixes better with the dressing.
Cucumber – Peel the cucumber or leave the skin on. If choosing to leave the skin on, make sure to wash it well.
Red Bell Pepper – Take the seeds out and slice bell pepper thinly. You can also substitute yellow or orange bell peppers, those tend to be sweeter than green.
Banana Peppers – I love the tang that banana peppers add to this pasta salad so I highly recommend using them! Drain them well before adding to the salad.
Black Olives – Choose pitted black olives and you can leave it whole or cut in half.
Feta Cheese – Feta is the best cheese for most Greek-inspired dishes. It’s light, crumbly, and tangy, which goes perfectly with all other ingredients.
Greek Dressing – This homemade dressing will only take a couple of minutes to put together with simple ingredients like fresh lemon juice, garlic, herbs, oil, and white wine vinegar. It’s best to use fresh herbs but dried herbs can be substituted.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Greek Tortellini Salad
Cook the tortellini – Cooking tortellini will take about 3-5 minutes in boiling water. Strain off water and make sure to cool tortellini down to room temperature before adding all other ingredients.
Prepare the veggies – Slice and cut the vegetables into small pieces and add it to a large mixing bowl with the cooled tortellini (1).
Make the dressing – Combine the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, pressed garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper together in a jar with a lid. Close the lid tight and shake it very well.
Toss the salad – Pour the dressing all over the the salad and mix well (2). If some of the tortellini is stuck together, it should come apart once mixed with the dressing (3). You can gently pull it apart once it’s mixed as well.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, but keep in mind that fresh is best – so if you’re able to make this quick and easy homemade recipe, I recommend doing so! It features simple, natural ingredients that create the very best flavor.
This salad is great cold or room temperature! Personally, I prefer it at room temperature because some ingredients in the dressing and tortellini filling do solidity. It is a personal preference though!
Steaks are great, whether it’s a grilled steak or pan fried steak.
You can also serve it with grilled chicken like Chicken Souvlaki or Jerk Chicken.
Try it with fish like simple grilled salmon or citrus butter grilled salmon.
Make Ahead Suggestions
I actually highly encourage making this salad ahead of time! Making Greek tortellini salad ahead of time will actually give all ingredients time to marinate together and infuse pasta with delicious flavors.
Prepare tortellini salad according to the recipe and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can make it up to 1 day ahead of time for the freshest results. Make sure to stir it well before refrigerator and before serving to that the dressing is spread evenly throughout.
Leftover tortellini salad can be stored in a closed container, in the refrigerator, for 3-4 days.
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Greek Tortellini Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Tortellini Salad:
- 20 oz four cheese tortellini
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1 large cucumber washed and peeled
- 1 small red onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 6 oz banana peppers drained
- 6 oz pitted black olives drained
- 5 oz crumbled Feta cheese
Greek Dressing:
- 1/2 cup canola or vegetables oil
- 2 lemons juice only
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp fresh minced dill weed
- 2 tbsp fresh minced parsley
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- salt
Instructions
- Cook tortellini according to the package instructions, drain, and set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Slice cucumber, onions, and bell pepper. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and olives can be cut in half too. Add all the cut vegetables, Feta cheese, and banana peppers to a large mixing bowl with the cooled tortellini. Gently mix it all together.
- To make the dressing, combine oil, lemon juice, vinegar, pressed garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper together in a jar with a lid. Close the lid tight and shake it very well.
- Pour dressing all over the the salad and mix well. If some of the tortellini is stuck together, it should come apart once mixed with the dressing, You can gently pull it apart once it’s mixed as well.
- Store in a closed container, in the refrigerator, until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- Make Ahead Suggestions: I actually highly encourage making this salad ahead of time! Making Greek tortellini salad ahead of time will actually give all ingredients time to marinate together and infuse pasta with delicious flavors. Prepare tortellini salad according to the recipe and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can make it up to 1 day ahead of time for the freshest results. Make sure to stir it well before refrigerator and before serving to that the dressing is spread evenly throughout.
- Storing: Leftover tortellini salad can be stored in a closed container, in the refrigerator, for 3-4 days.
- Serving Suggestions: Steaks are great, whether it’s a grilled steak or pan fried steak.
You can also serve it with grilled chicken like Chicken Souvlaki or Jerk Chicken.
Try it with fish like simple grilled salmon or citrus butter grilled salmon.
Nutrition
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I don’t like feta cheese. What else can I use.. it sounds delicious and I’d love to make it.
Hi RoseMary, I would use a mild cheese maybe cheddar of the block cut into pieces or a fresh mozzarella would be good.
This was delicious! I used Kalamata olives, because I had a jar of them. This was a perfect meal for a warm summer day. Thank you for another tasty dish!
So glad you liked the recipe, Amy!
How much garlic to use in dressing? it’s mentioned pressed garlic in the directions but not in the ingredient list. Help?
Other recipes call for two cloves of garlic.
Look so yummy and tasty. I will try doing tomorrow. Thanks for your nice recipe…
It’s a great recipe for a delicious Mediterranean salad. The only hard part is that the recipe is made for 8 and there are only two of us. The tortellini come in a 20 oz package which sort of forced the larger volume. That being said, I’m smiling. Thanks for the recipe.
I am so pleased you liked it, Kent!
For the Greek Tortellini Salad, can you use olive oil instead of canola and vegetable oil ?
Hi Cissy,
Yes, you can use olive oil instead. I hope you enjoy it!
The Greek Tortellini Salad, can you use olive oil instead of canola or vegetable salad ?
I am very happy to have found this information that I have been looking for.
Thanks for sharing it was so good!
If substituting dried herbs how much of each? Thanking you in advance. This looks delicious by the way!