Pasta salad is one of my quintessential summer staples. It’s filling, full of textural variety, and extremely make-ahead-friendly — all vital parts of a delicious, lazy meal when the temperature starts to climb. And while there are certainly wrong pasta shapes to use, we aren’t talking enough about the best possible shape: tortellini.

When you make tortellini pasta salad, you are guaranteed one extremely important thing: cheese in every bite. Between the fresh mozzarella and the cheese-filled pasta, you’re not getting a single forkful without cheese, and that’s a really beautiful thing. You can dress pasta salad in plenty of ways, but this might just be my favorite. Mix store-bought pesto with pepperoncini pepper brine for a dressing that is well-rounded, tangy, and full of flavor without any of the fuss.

Why You’ll Love It

• Every bite is cheesy! Between the tortellini filling, the pesto dressing, and fresh mozzarella, this salad is a cheese-lover’s paradise.
• 2-ingredient dressing for the win. All you have to do is stir together your favorite store-bought pesto with pepperoncini pepper brine for a balanced, tangy sauce full of flavor.

Key Ingredients in Tortellini Pasta Salad

• Cheese tortellini: Cook fresh or frozen tortellini pasta until al dente before adding to the sauce.
• Basil pesto: You can make your own pesto from scratch, but I like to keep things simple with my favorite jar from the store.
• Pepperoncini peppers: Add chopped jarred peppers to the salad and use the brine to thin out the pesto sauce and add bright, tangy flavor.
• Fresh mozzarella cheese: Use pearl-sized mozzarella for ease, or cut larger varieties into bite-size pieces.
• Salami: Grab any variety or size sliced salami you like, and cut it into bite-size strips.

The Kitchn