Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad

Summer salads are one of my favorite things to make & eat during the summer months.
We grill/BBQ about 5 nights a week during the summer and I love making a variety of salads to serve with dinner.  One of my go-to salads is this:

Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad

Here is what you need:

- 1lb bag of frozen cheese tortellini, cooked & drained
-1 (12oz) box of Tri Color Rotini pasta, cooked & drained
- 1 cucumber, peeled & diced
- 2 cups of cherry tomatoes, diced (I used some from my garden)
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 cup of sliced Kalamata olives
-2 cups of deli style sliced pepperoncini
- 1 oz package of crumbled feta cheese

For the Dressing:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  1/8 cup red wine vinegar
2 T minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Dash or 2 of pepper to taste


Directions:
Cook & drain your Rotoni according to package directions
Cook & drain your frozen cheese tortellini pasta according to package directions.
Combine into a big bowl & I add a small drizzle of olive oil & stir it.
While the pasta and the tortellini are cooking, I prep the other ingredients....
Peel & dice the cucumber:

Cut the tomatoes in half:

I buy the pre-diced red onion because my eyes are super sensitive to oninon.

I also by the sliced & pitted Kalamata olives.

Add to your bowl of pasta & tortellini the rest of the ingredients:

Look how pretty all the colors are :)

Now, it's time to make the dressing. I make my dressing in a mason jar:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  1/8 cup red wine vinegar
2 T minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Dash or 2 of pepper to taste

Then I add the lid to the mason jar & give it a good shake. 

Pour on the salad & give it a good toss to coat.

I cove & chill this in the fridge 3-4 hours before I serve it.

You can even make it the night before...it tastes even better the next day!

This recipe makes a TON, so it is perfect to bring to a potluck, pool party or BBQ this summer. 

It would also make a great lunch if you have leftovers.

It is packed full of flavor & like most of my recipes...really easy to make!

Another one of my go-to salad recipes is my other Tortellini Pasta Salad which has more of an Italian flavor with sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, bell peppers & Parmesan cheese:

 {HERE}

What I love about Tortellini Pasta Salads is that if you add regular pasta to them, it makes them last longer & serve more people!

What is your favorite Summer Salad?

Hope you enjoy this salad as much as we do!