This Greek tortellini salad is a mix of cheese tortellini, cucumbers, olives, tomatoes and feta cheese, all tossed in a garlic and herb dressing. The perfect summer side dish or meatless main course!
I love hearty salad recipes, especially in the warmer weather months. Some of my favorite salads for entertaining include orzo salad, pesto pasta salad and this fresh and colorful tortellini salad.
Pasta salad is a versatile side dish or main course that’s perfect for picnics, gatherings and potlucks. This Greek tortellini salad is a twist on the classic pasta salad and it’s totally delicious! Every time I bring it to an event it’s the first thing eaten. Serve your salad along with cilantro lime chicken, bacon wrapped pork loin or slow cooker ribs for a memorable meal.
Table of Contents
Tortellini Salad Ingredients
To make this salad, you will need cheese tortellini, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives, feta cheese, fresh parsley and fresh dill. The dressing is made with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, dried oregano, salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make Tortellini Salad?
Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling water. Drain the pasta, then rinse it under cold water. Place the tortellini in a large bowl with the vegetables, olives, feta cheese and herbs. In a small bowl, whisk together the salad dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad, and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately, or store in the fridge to enjoy later.
Tips For Tortellini Salad
- I prefer to use fresh cheese tortellini for this recipe, but frozen tortellini will also work just fine.
- I like to use English cucumbers because they’re seedless. You can use standard cucumbers as well, just make sure you remove the seeds and peel first.
- This salad can be made up to 8 hours before you plan to serve it.
- I like to mince the red onion very fine so that you don’t get large pieces of onion in each bite.
- No cherry tomatoes on hand? Grape tomatoes or diced Roma tomatoes will also work.
Quick Tip
I typically use a combination of fresh dill and parsley in this salad. Other great herbs to use include chives and basil.
Tortellini Salad Variations
You can add a variety of ingredients to your salad to make it more of a hearty meal, or just to change up the flavors a bit.
- Protein: Try adding cubed chicken, sliced salami or cooked shrimp to your salad.
- Cheese: Swap out the feta for shaved parmesan or fresh mozzarella balls.
- Veggies: You can add more veggies to the mix such as bell peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, shaved fennel or spinach leaves.
- Nuts: Pine nuts or sliced almonds add great crunch to this salad.
Recipe FAQs
You can absolutely eat tortellini cold, so long as it’s been cooked first before it’s cooled. A cold pasta salad such as this one is a great way to enjoy tortellini.
Tortellini and ravioli are very similar in terms of the ingredients in the pasta and filling. The difference lies in the shape. Ravioli are typically square and consist of two sheets of pasta dough with filling in between. Tortellini is a single piece of dough folded around the filling. Both of them will work equally well in this salad.
I typically serve tortellini salad as a side dish during the warmer weather months to accompany grilled meats and seafood such as grilled pork chops, grilled tilapia, shish kabobs or grilled flank steak.
FOLLOW ME
You can never have too many pasta salad recipes, and this one is a total winner. The tortellini add so much extra flavor over a traditional pasta salad. Serve this one up and watch the rave reviews come in!
More Salad Recipes
BLT Pasta Salad
20 mins
Greek Pasta Salad
30 mins
Cucumber Feta Salad
11 mins
Chickpea Salad with Avocado
11 mins
Spaghetti Salad
35 mins
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Tortellini Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 20 ounce package cheese tortellini
- 1 1/2 cups cucumber quartered and sliced
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup red onion finely diced
- 3/4 cup kalamata olives halved
- 3/4 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1/4 cup parsley leaves chopped
- 1/4 cup dill chopped
For the dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the tortellini according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cool water.
- Remove any excess water from the tortellini, then place in a large bowl with the cucumber, tomato, red onion, olives, feta cheese, parsley and dill.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the tortellini mixture then toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately, or cover and chill for up to 8 hours.
Notes
- I prefer to use fresh cheese tortellini for this recipe, but frozen tortellini will also work just fine.
- I like to use English cucumbers because they’re seedless. You can use standard cucumbers as well, just make sure you remove the seeds and peel first.
- This salad can be made up to 8 hours before you plan to serve it.
Colorful and flavorful salad recipe. Thanks a lot for sharing.
I love this summery Greek Tortellini salad; I made it last weekend and it was a hit! Thanks so much for sharing!
I like this Greek Tortellini Salad recipe, love the flavors and looks delicious. Will make it soon. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Another winner – you always save my day with the best salads. I made this yesterday and my whole crew gobbled it up!
Wow! The flavors were delicious and all of the textures! Winner recipe, thanks
After making this salad and if there is leftovers can We freeze the leftovers?
This is not a good candidate for the freezer!
I make this yummy pasta salad and serve it as a main course! Great for lunch the next day!
I made this meal last night as part of a new effort to have “Meatless Mondays”. It was A-MAZ-ING! My pretty picky teenager ate two servings. I took the last serving for lunch. I made a few alterations just to add more veggies, I added a handful of baby spinach and omitted the parsley and dill. The dressing was absolutely delicious! This will definitely stay in our “Meatless Mondays” rotation.
Such a good salad! It’s a full meal and quick to make. I serve it with a crusty bread and it’s dinner! Leftovers are so good!
What a great pasta salad for spring and summer! Perfect for parties or a picnic! Yum!
This Greek tortellini salad looks amazing!!!
This recipe is SO delicious and packed with flavor! Perfect for al fresco summer dining.
This is one of my favorite summer salads to bring to parties! LOVE IT!
I love the idea of using tortellinis instead of plain pasta! Can’t wait to give this a try at our next BBQ
I call this Delicious!! I know it’s a salad but I could eat this as a meal!
Oh, this looks fabulous!! I love the colors and the flavors of this salad! I could eat this salad all summer long -YUM!
I have always been a fan of some great Mediterranean food and this is no exception! Love the balance of the feta cheese with the olives; yum!
Oh WOW, this is right up my alley!!! I adore Greek salads and tortellini… but it never occurred to me to put them together! Genius! I’m trying this next week for sure! 🙂
I love all these flavors, it reminds me of a salad my mom used to make. yum!!!!
What a great idea to use tortellini in a Greek salad I bet it is delicious. I need to make it soon at home. This would become a favorite I am sure.