Italian Grinder Tortellini Salad
Easy Italian Grinder Tortellini Salad with cheese tortellini tossed in a creamy tangy grinder dressing with genoa salami, pepperoni, provolone cubes, banana peppers, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, red onion, and fresh basil. Make-ahead crowd pasta salad ready in 30 minutes. Serves 8 to 10.
Equipment
- Large pot (for boiling tortellini)
- Ice bath bowl
- Large wide mixing bowl (for tossing)
- Whisk (for dressing)
- Wide shallow serving bowl
Ingredients
Tortellini Salad
- 20 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini cooked al dente — dress while still warm
- 4 oz genoa salami, quartered
- 3 oz pepperoni, quartered
- 4 oz provolone, cubed into ½-inch pieces
- 0.5 cup banana peppers, sliced from a jar, drained
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved and patted dry
- 0.5 red onion, thinly sliced soaked in cold water 5 minutes then drained
- 0.5 cup kalamata olives, pitted
- 0.25 cup fresh basil leaves, torn added in the final 30 minutes before serving
Grinder Dressing
- 0.5 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar plus more to taste
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 0.5 tsp garlic powder
- 0.5 tsp onion powder
- 0.25 tsp red pepper flakes adjust to taste
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Make the grinder dressing: whisk together all dressing ingredients until smooth. Taste and adjust. Set aside — reserve ¼ of the dressing for finishing.
- Cook tortellini in heavily salted boiling water for 8 minutes until al dente. Transfer to an ice bath for 1 minute. Drain thoroughly.
- While tortellini is still slightly warm, pour ¾ of the grinder dressing over it and toss gently to coat.
- Soak sliced red onion in cold water 5 minutes then drain. Quarter salami and pepperoni. Cube provolone. Halve and pat dry cherry tomatoes.
- Add salami, pepperoni, provolone, banana peppers, drained red onion, cherry tomatoes, and kalamata olives to the dressed tortellini. Toss gently to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours — overnight is ideal.
- Before serving, add reserved dressing and toss. Add fresh torn basil and extra banana peppers. Taste and adjust salt, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Notes
Dress the tortellini while still warm — this is the most important step for dressing that actually absorbs. Always reserve extra dressing for serving — tortellini absorbs aggressively overnight. Make extra dressing — it keeps 2 weeks refrigerated. Add basil and tomatoes fresh in the last 30 minutes before serving. Season aggressively — bold Italian ingredients need a bold dressing. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving for the most vibrant flavor.