Italian Tortellini Salad

Name: Italian Tortellini Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 16 min
Ingredients: 16 oz cheese tortellini; 1 cup grape tomatoes (cut in half); 1/2 cup Colby cheese (cut into cubes); 1 cup fresh spinach (chopped); 3/4 cup yellow bell pepper (chopped); 1/2-3/4 cup Italian Dressing

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Italian Tortellini Salad is a simple and delicious summer salad. Loaded with veggies and cheese tortellini, this salad will be a favorite at picnics and BBQ's.

Bowl of tortellini salad with tomatoes and spinach. — Delicious and easy tortellini salad that is full of flavor.

Ok a little fun fact about my family: they aren't big salad eaters. Now, they have improved greatly over the years, especially my meatatarian husband. We love fresh spinach at our house and green leaf lettuce usually gets a smile or two.

However, I love a good salad and the different blend of flavors it brings. I enjoy the chance to create fun salads and bring them to different picnics or BBQ's. This Italian Tortellini Salad is a great addition to any picnic, celebration or gathering.

Bowl of tortellini salad with a towel, orange pepper and spinach laying besides. — Great summer salad for BBQ's and picnics.

Ingredients

Cheese tortellini
Yellow peppers
Cherry tomatoes
Spinach
Cheese cubes
Cute bowl for travel (this one even has a lid!)

The Process

The making of the salad is quite easy. The longest part is boiling the cheese tortellini, but while that is boiling, you can be chopping up the vegetables.

Boiling cheese tortellini in a pot of water. — The boing of the cheese tortellini only takes about 5 minutes.

When you are done boiling the pasta on the stove, you will need to drain the water and rinse it with cold water. That will help stop the cooking process and it will help cool the pasta down for when you put it in the fridge.

Bowl of cooked tortellini and chopped peppers, spinach, tomatoes and cheese. — Cheese tortellini with the fresh veggies makes this salad pop with flavor and color!

Be sure to buy the Mona's cheese tortellini if you have it in your stores. It is a local favorite around here.

Like salads? Try: Grape Jello Salad, Strawberry Lettuce Salad and Poppy Seed Fruit Salad.

The Italian Dressing

I have used different types of Italian dressing on this salad and I have to say, they all taste great. If you have a favorite, go ahead and use that one.

I would recommend using a dressing that is for salads or marinades, not the creamy Italian. You could also use your own homemade dressing.

Substitutions

You can substitute a few ingredients in this recipe. Any type of peppers, red, orange or green for the yellow pepper would work

Also, any type of cheese would work as well. I would stay away from blue cheese but that may be because it is not my favorite.

Don't substitute the cheese tortellini for sausage. The cheese needs to be in recipe, as I feel the sausage would be a bit strong.

FAQ

How do I store for later?

Keep the salad wrapped with Saran Wrap and keep in the fridge when not eating.

Can it sit out for a picnic?

Yes it can! However, I would limit the time to 30 minutes. It doesn't have any milk products in it or mayonnaise so that makes it a little safer to leave out.

My package of tortellini says to boil longer than 5 minutes. Should I?

Yes. Follow the package direction on your package of tortellini.

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