Sausage and Tortellini Pasta Salad Recipe

Sausage, Tortellini, and Italian spices come together perfectly in this Sausage and Tortellini Pasta Salad.  It’s the perfect pasta salad for your next summer cookout or get-together! #whatscookingwednesday

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Klement’s Sausage. All opinions are 100% mine.

Sausage and Tortellini Pasta Salad Recipe

I’m so excited!  We have just a few more days until the kids are out on summer break.  Even though I still have to work and don’t officially get off for summer, there’s just so much I love about this time of year.  Summertime in general, just means our schedule is much so more relaxed with afternoons at the pool, vacation time, weekend trips and lots of celebrations with family and friends.  (Plus, when the kids are out of school, I get to sleep later – that extra hour makes all the difference!)

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We kicked our summer celebrations off early last weekend with a trip to Galveston to camp and visit with family.  We stayed at a great little RV park near the beach and spent a few days having a fun on the beach and in the park’s pool and lazy river.  The weather worked out perfectly, (up until the last night when a crazy storm blew through) and we invited our family out to spend a day with us and have an evening cookout.

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For the cookout, we served up burgers, brats, sausage and everyone’s favorite pasta salad.  This pasta salad is served cold and is the perfect side dish for any potluck or family get-together. In fact, it’s one of those recipes that’s even better the longer it has to marinate; so you can definitely put this salad together the night before.

In my opinion, any occasion is more fun with shared food and it’s just not a cookout without sausage!  Klement’s makes an amazing handcrafted, authentic European sausage that has a taste that’s a cut above the rest.  Their Smoked Polish Sausage and Smoked Bratwurst is great on its own, in a Hoagie roll with mustard and sauerkraut or sliced up and used in a favorite family recipe.

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To learn more about Klement’s Sausage, be sure to check out their website for more delicious and authentic European handcrafted sausage products.  Follow along with Klement’s Sausage on social media for more new #WhatsCookingWednesday meal and recipe ideas!  (Can’t tell you how much I love their Summer Sausage and especially the Snack Sticks as an easy low carb snack option!)

Sausage and Tortellini Pasta Salad Recipe

Serves 8 to 10

Recipe Tips:

• To save time, you can use your favorite Zesty Italian dressing.
• This salad is even better when you assemble it the night before, allowing the flavors time to marinate and come together.
• If serving to children, you might consider leaving out the bell peppers. lol.

Ingredients:

Salad

• 8 oz cheese tortellini
• 4 oz dried bow tie pasta (about a cup)
• 2 cups chopped Klement’s Smoked Polish Sausage (or whichever Klement’s Sausage you prefer)
• 1 cup diced mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• ¹⁄₂ cup chopped bell pepper (your favorite color – I went with orange)
• 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced black olives

Dressing

• 3 tbsp light olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp each of garlic powder, basil and oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cool pasta and tortellini according to package directions. Drain and rinse. Place in refrigerator until cool
2. Add dressing ingredients to a mason jar and shake til combined.
3. Once pasta has cooled completely, add sausage, cheese, vegetables.  Toss together until combined.
4. Add half the dressing to the salad and combine.  Add additional dressing as needed. (If you make this the night before, the pasta will absorb most of the dressing, so reserve a bit to add just before serving.)
5. Refrigerate until time to serve.

Enjoy!

Now it’s your turn, do you have a favorite family recipe that everyone loves?  Let us know in the comments below!