Greek Pasta Salad

This simple Greek Pasta Salad is just the thing for potlucks and summer cookouts! The textures of crunchy veggies, al dente pasta, and flavors of a savory Greek dressing and feta cheese make this one of the best summer salads around!

An easy pasta salad sometimes sounds like just the thing for a light lunch or to take along to a gathering. This Greek pasta salad with feta cheese is one that you can throw together in just a few minutes!

It tastes light and refreshing, with the classic tastes of feta, olive, cucumber, and tomato that are the signatures of Greek cooking. You can always bulk it up by adding some grilled chicken or shrimp to make for a satisfying, cool dinner all on its own on hot nights.

Ingredients in Greek Pasta Salad

These ingredients, and their measurements, are pretty flexible.

• Bowtie pasta
• Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes sliced in half make an easy addition to this salad, but any chopped tomato will work. Garden-fresh ones are always best!
• Cucumbers: We like English or Persian cucumbers best because they don’t need to be peeled first. These add a nice crispy, fresh crunch to the salad!
• Green bell pepper
• Kalamata olives: Really any kind of olive would work, but the purple jarred Kalamata olives are our favorites.
• Red onion: If your red onions have a really strong flavor, soak them in ice water for 10 minutes first.
• Feta cheese: Go for crumbled feta cheese if you prefer the flavor of feta to be in every bite. Or do larger chunks for a slightly different taste and texture.
• Fresh parsley: Nothing lightens and brightens a salad like some freshly chopped herbs!
• Greek dressing

How to Make Greek Pasta Salad

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil on the stove. Cook the pasta until it is al dente perfection. You don’t want to overcook the pasta in this dish or it won’t hold up to the dressing and other ingredients.

While the pasta cooks, prep the rest of the salad ingredients by chopping the veggies. Adding all of the dressing ingredients to a jar and shaking well until combined.

When the pasta is done, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process so it doesn’t just soak up all the dressing as soon as it is added.

Combine the drained pasta in a large bowl with the tomatoes, green bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and parsley.

Pour the dressing over everything and toss to coat well. If you are making this Greek pasta salad recipe in advance, I recommend adding only half of the dressing. Then wait to add the rest of the dressing until right before serving since

the pasta will tend to soak up some of the dressing the longer it sits.

Homemade Greek Vinaigrette

We especially love that this salad feels lighter than other pasta salads because it’s made with a homemade vinaigrette instead of mayo. Nothing against mayo, but it’s such a nice way to change things up to bring this type of salad to a cookout!

If you want to make things easy, you can always pick up a bottle of Greek dressing from the store. But when it’s so easy to make at home, I figure I might as well just make it myself.

Storage and Variations

This Greek pasta salad will really keep in the fridge for 3-5 days. However, the pasta soaks up more of the dressing the longer it sits. It’s really best eaten the day it is made.

We enjoy bowtie pasta (also known as farfalle) for this salad because it’s size and shape.

It’s perfectly matched with the sliced cucumber, tomatoes and olives, but rotini or fusilli are also great choices. Even shells, macaroni noodles, or other similarly sized pasta will work.

More Summer Salads:

• Gouda and Corn Pasta Salad
• Shrimp Pasta Salad
• Frog Eye Salad
• Best Chicken Salad Recipe
• Antipasto Salad
• Lemon Orzo Salad
• Mediterranean Pasta Salad

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This simple Greek Pasta Salad is just the thing for potlucks and summer cookouts! The textures of crunchy veggies, al dente pasta, and flavors of a savory Greek dressing and feta cheese make this one of the best summer salads around!

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 8 minutes mins

Total Time: 18 minutes mins

Servings: 8

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Equipment

• Mixing Bowls
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Garlic press

Ingredients

Salad

• 8 ounces bowtie pasta
• 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes , sliced in half
• 1 seedless cucumber , sliced into half-circles or quarters
• 1 bell pepper , diced
• 1/2 small red onion , diced
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives , drained
• 2/3 cup feta cheese , crumbed or cubed
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Dressing

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente pasta. Drain well and rinse with cold water.
• While the pasta cooks, chop the vegetables and add them to a large bowl.
• Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake well.
• Add the rinsed and drained pasta to the bowl with the vegetables, olives, feta cheese, and parsley. Pour the dressing over the salad, tossing to coat everything evenly.
• If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 304 kcal, Carbohydrates: 30 g, Protein: 6 g, Fat: 18 g, Saturated Fat: 4 g, Cholesterol: 11 mg, Sodium: 429 mg, Potassium: 218 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 7 g, Vitamin A: 420 IU, Vitamin C: 19 mg, Calcium: 90 mg, Iron: 1 mg

Author: Amy Nash

Calories: 304

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: cold pasta salad, greek pasta salad

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