Bow Tie Tortellini Pasta Salad

Bow Tie Tortellini Pasta Salad. Creamy bow tie pasta and cheese-filled tortellini combined with cubes of spicy cheese, crisp veggies and a creamy tangy sauce makes a dreamy summer salad.

Bow Tie Tortellini Pasta Salad

I love salads any time of the year, but especially in the spring and summer. Pasta salad is perfect to make as a side dish but it’s also hearty enough to serve as a main dish. This salad is has all of my favorite things — tender pasta, creamy and tangy dressing, buttery cheese and crisp veggies.You can customize it to your taste by choosing your favorite cheese and veggies.

Bow Tie Salad: Key Ingredients

You only need a few ingredients to make this delicious salad — bow tie pasta, tortellini (optional), red peppers, green onions, pepper jack cheese, frozen peas and parmesan cheese. And skip the store-bought Italian dressing, my dressing is so easy to make!

Bow Tie Salad: Homemade Creamy Dressing

This homemade Italian dressing is so creamy and gives this bow tie salad a fresh tangy freshness. The ingredients to make this dressing are: mayonnaise, sugar, yellow mustard, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper and fresh lemon juice!

How to Make Bow Tie Tortellini Pasta Salad

1. Boil water in a large pan. Cook your bow tie pasta until al dente. Once cooked, scoop pasta out of the water, put it in a strainer and run the stainer under cold water to cool the pasta.
2. Take the remaining water and add about 1/2 cup of cheese tortellini. Cook the tortellini until al dente and rinse them in cold water.
3. Cut up veggies (except for peas) and add them to a large salad bowl.
4. Cube cheese and mix it into the veggies.
5. Add cooled pasta and tortellini to the bowl and mix them with the veggies.

How to Make Homemade Creamy Italian Dressing

1. Make dressing — in a small bowl, combine mayo, sugar, mustard, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Beat ingredients with a fork and pour dressing over pasta/veggie mix.
2. Pour thawed peas on top of the salad.
3. Add grated Parmesan cheese over the top.
4. Refrigerate the pasta salad at least one hour.

Make Bow Tie Pasta Salad Ahead of Time

This pasta salad is perfect to make the night before your picnic or party! Make the pasta salad the night before and leave the peas and Parmesan cheese off. Then cover it with plastic wrap, tuck it into the fridge. Then right before the party or event, uncover the pasta salad, give it a quick mix and then add the peas and Parmesan cheese to the top and it’s ready to serve!

Bow Tie Pasta Salad Variations

There are so many different ways to mix this salad up!

• Roast the veggies for a softer and more intense veggie flavor.
• Swap out a different cheese — instead of pepper jack cheese, use swiss cheese for a creamier flavor, cheddar cheese for a sharper flavor, burrata cheese balls for creamy goodness or for more intense flavor use goat cheese or blue cheese.
• Add protein – to make this dish even better as a main dish, add chicken strips, steak or shrimp!
• Add fresh herbs from your garden for more flavor.
• Spice it up by adding some red pepper flakes.
• Add different veggies — try swapping out the red peppers for broccoli, or swap out the green peppers for diced red onion.

Tips to Make Bow Tie Pasta Perfectly

Here are a few things to remember when making this pasta salad.

• Remember to salt your water. Salting our water after boiling seasons each noodle from the inside out.
• Cook pasta and tortellini al dente. This keeps your pasta from being overcooked and mushy.
• Remember to let your pasta salad sit in the fridge for at least an hour. I recommend overnight. This gives the sauce a chance to soak into the pasta for a more flavorful salad.

Storage Instructions:

Store this pasta salad inside an air-tight tupperware container for up to 5 days. Do not freeze.

Printable Bow Tie Tortellini Pasta Salad Recipe

Print out this recipe and give it a try! Let me know if you love it as much as we do!

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The Best Bow Tie Tortellini Pasta Salad

Bow Tie Tortellini Pasta Salad. Creamy bow tie pasta and cheese-filled tortellini combined with cubes of spicy cheese, crisp veggies and a creamy tangy sauce makes a dreamy summer salad.

Course Salad

Cuisine Italian

Keyword bow tie salad, italian salad, main course salad, side salad, summer salad, tortellini salad, veggie salad

Prep Time 40 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 pound Bow Tie Pasta
• 1 cup Tortellini Pasta (optional)
• 1 cup Pepper Jack Cheese, cubed
• 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half
• 4 stalks Green Onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup Frozen Peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Creamy Italian Dressing

• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Yellow Mustard
• 2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice

Instructions

Make Bow Tie Pasta Salad

1. Boil water in a large pan.

2. Cook your bow tie pasta until al dente.

3. Once cooked, scoop pasta out of the water, put it in a strainer and run the stainer under cold water to cool the pasta.

4. Take the remaining water and add about 1/2 cup of cheese tortellini.

5. Cook the tortellini until al dente and rinse them in cold water.

6. Cut up veggies (except for peas) and add them to a large salad bowl.

7. Cube cheese and mix it into the veggies.

8. Add cooled pasta and tortellini to the bowl and mix them with the veggies.

Make Creamy Italian Dressing

1. in a small bowl, combine mayo, sugar, mustard, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper and lemon juice.

2. Pour thawed peas on top of the salad.

3. Add grated Parmesan cheese over the top.

4. Refrigerate the pasta salad at least one hour.

Recipe Notes

• Variations:
• Roast the veggies for a softer and more intense veggie flavor.
• Swap out a different cheese — instead of pepper jack cheese, use swiss cheese for a creamier flavor, cheddar cheese for a sharper flavor, burrata cheese balls for creamy goodness or for more intense flavor use goat cheese or blue cheese.
• Add protein – to make this dish even better as a main dish, add chicken strips, steak or shrimp!
• Add fresh herbs from your garden for more flavor.
• Spice it up by adding some red pepper flakes.
• Add different veggies — try swapping out the red peppers for broccoli, or swap out the green peppers for diced red onion.

More Yummy Summer Salads

Here are some other summer salads that are perfect to make now!

Greek Keto Salad

Crisp veggies, tart kalamata olives, creamy feta and a zesty vinaigrette dressing make a refreshing low-carb salad!

Roasted Herb Ranch Potato Salad

Flavorful herbs and potatoes are roasted, combined with crunchy veggies and a mouth-watering herb ranch sauce for a potato salad that is out of this world!

Summer Grilled Corn Salad with Lime Vinaigrette Dressing

Looking for the perfect salad to make this summer? This one takes fresh corn and peppers and grills them to bring out the most flavor, mixes in more fresh veggies and tops it with a refreshing citrus lime vinaigrette dressing.

What is YOUR favorite salad right now??

xoxo