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Meat · Cured meats

Mortadella

Bologna's large, silky cooked pork sausage studded with cubes of fat, sliced thin or used in tortellini filling.

Also called: mortadella Bologna, Bologna sausage

Around the world: mortadella (it)

A kind of pork

1 recipe with it

What it is

Mortadella is a cooked sausage of finely ground pork with small cubes of pork fat, seasoned with black pepper and sometimes pistachios or myrtle. Mortadella Bologna has protected (IGP) status. It is milder and softer than salami because it is cooked rather than dry-cured, and it is the ancestor of American 'bologna'.

How it’s used

  • Thinly sliced in sandwiches and antipasti
  • Minced into the filling for tortellini
  • Diced into frittatas and pasta bakes
  • Blended into mousse for crostini

Characteristics

Taste
Mild, gently spiced, porky and savoury.
Texture
Smooth and silky with soft cubes of fat.
Sold as
cured, fresh
Cooking uses
Usually eaten raw, Commonly cooked
Common in
Italian

Storage

Refrigerated. Keep sliced mortadella wrapped in the fridge and eat within 3–4 days of slicing.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions. May contain Milk, Tree nuts — check the label.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free (check label)
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free (check label)
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free
  • Contains pork. Some versions contain pistachios (tree nuts) or milk proteins — check the label.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
336 kcal
Protein
21.85 g
Carbohydrate
2.4 g
Fat
25.9 g
Fibre
0 g
Sugars
0.96 g

USDA FoodData Central: Salami, cooked, beef and pork (a close stand-in).

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • Ham — Good cooked ham works in fillings; the flavour is less spiced.

Related ingredients

Recipes with mortadella

More cured meats