Italian tortellini antipasto salad - a mix of your favourite antipasto items and delicious, cheese filled pasta. Tossed in a light, olive oil and vinegar dressing, this antipasto salad takes no time to make, and is perfect for a quick lunch, or a light summer dinner when it's too hot to turn the oven on. If you like more summer pasta salads, try our Southern Macaroni Salad, or Dill Pickle Potato Salad!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
It is full of flavour! Antipasto refers to an assortment of Italian appetizers, such as olives, assorted meats, and cheeses. This tortellini pasta salad combines all the classic favourite flavours of an antipasto spread, into one perfect side or main dish! It is packed with flavour.
The dressing is easy to make! The dressing for this antipasto salad is easy to make. All you need is a jar, and after giving the ingredients a good shake, you have a perfectly tangy vinaigrette.
It is mayonnaise-free! I love mayonnaise, but sometimes you're looking for a lighter alternative. This pasta salad does not have mayonnaise in the dressing, making it a perfect alternative. More room for meat and cheese, right!?
Recipe Overview
Flavour: This pasta salad has the perfect balance of tanginess from the oil and vinegar dressing, combined with the brine of olives, and and some freshness from the grape tomatoes. Smoked and cured meats add the perfect balance of flavour. Bocconcini pearls absorb all the flavours in the salad, making them little bursts of flavour.
Ease: The only cooking required is to boil the tortellini. Tortellini is generally sold as a fresh pasta in the grocery store, so it takes no time to boil. Fresh tortellini generally takes 3-5 minutes to cook. That's the hardest part of this recipe!
Time: You can enjoy this tortellini salad in under 20 minutes. The longer it sits, the better it gets!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Fresh Tortellini: This recipe uses cheese-filled tortellini. Fresh tortellini is easily available in the grocery store, where you would find fresh pasta. If you prefer, you can use pastas such as penne, rotini, or farfalle instead.
Salami: My favourite cured meat to use for this pasta salad is Genoa salami. You can alternatively use pepperoni, Calabrese salami (which is spicy), or an assortment of cold cuts. If you prefer to keep this pasta salad vegetarian, you can leave the salami out completely.
Bocconcini cheese: You can either use mini bocconcini pearls, or cut larger bocconcini balls in half. If you do not have fresh bocconcini on hand, you can use cubes of mozzarella cheese, or even string cheese that has been cut up into bite-sized pieces.
Grape tomatoes: Grape tomatoes are the perfect size tomato to add to this salad. You can alternatively use cherry tomatoes, which are also a good size. I would avoid using a full-sized tomato, and cutting it, as it will release a lot of liquid into the salad.
Artichoke hearts: Marinated artichoke hearts are a great addition to this salad. If you do not have any on hand, or do not like them, you can leave them out. A great substitute is jarred roasted red peppers.
Black olives: I used canned, sliced black olives. You can substitute with Kalamata olives, or green olives if you prefer them. It is best to pit your olives before adding them, to make it easier to eat. You can also omit the olives if you are not a fan.
Instructions
- Boil the pasta: In a pot of boiling, liberally salted water, boil the tortellini. The easiest way to know that your pasta is done, is when they float to the top of the pot. Do not be alarmed, as this will take little to no time to happen, as with many fresh pastas. Drain the pasta once done.
- Prepare the dressing: In a jar with a lid (or a bowl with a whisk), add the dressing ingredients together, and shake vigorously, or whisk until all the ingredients are combined.
- Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, add the pasta, and top with the salad add-ins. top with the dressing, and toss.
Expert Tip
Rinse the pasta once you drain it, when making pasta salad! For any other preparation of pasta, you always want to keep the starch on the outside. For a pasta salad, though, it is better to rinse the pasta to prevent clumping, and stop the cooking process!
Recipe FAQs
This pasta salad can be made up to one day in advance. This is the perfect amount of time for the dressing to mix with the pasta, while still keeping the flavours fresh and bright.
You can add other add-ins, such as red onions, chickpeas or cannelini beans, or even different meats such as prosciutto and mortadella. The options are endless!
Ravioli and tortellini are both stuffed pastas. The main difference is in the shape. If you like, you can substitute smaller-sized raviolis in this recipe, for a similar flavour.
This pasta salad keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Be sure to store it in an airtight container.
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Tortellini Antipasto Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb Cheese tortellini
- 1 cup Genoa salami - chopped in bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup Bocconcini cheese pearls
- 1 cup Grape tomatoes - halved
- ½ cup Artichoke hearts - roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup Black olives - sliced
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup Red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Chilli flakes
- Salt and pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Boil the pasta: In a pot of boiling, liberally salted water, boil the tortellini. Drain the pasta once done.
- Prepare the dressing: In a jar with a lid (or a bowl with a whisk), add the dressing ingredients together, and shake vigorously, or whisk until all the ingredients are combined.
- Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, add the pasta, and top with the salad add-ins. top with the dressing, and toss.
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