If you're looking for a tasty and healthy pasta salad, look no further than Greek Pasta Salad.
Why I love this recipe
One of my favorite summer salads is my Greek salad full of colorful vegetables and a tasty dressing. That recipe inspired this pasta salad!
Here's why this particular pasta salad recipe works so well and why you should give it a try:
Fresh and Colorful Vegetables
This recipe includes a variety of fresh vegetables like cherry tomatoes, English cucumbers, red onion, and red bell pepper. Not only do these vegetables add a ton of flavor to the salad, but they also add a pop of color, making it a beautiful dish to serve at summer cookouts, Memorial Day celebrations, or any other occasion.
Flavorful Dressing
The dressing for this particular pasta salad is what really sets it apart from other kinds of pasta salads. It's made with red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, a bit of sugar, and fresh oregano. The homemade dressing is tangy, slightly sweet, and packed with flavor. Plus, making your own dressing means you can control the ingredients and use good quality, healthy ingredients.
Salty Feta Cheese and Briny Olives
Greek Pasta Salad includes salty feta cheese and briny kalamata olives, which add a unique flavor and texture to the salad. The creamy feta cheese complements the juicy tomatoes and crisp cucumbers, while the tangy olives add a touch of brininess that balances out the sweetness of the vegetables.
Versatile Pasta Options
This recipe works with a variety of pasta types, from bowtie pasta to rotini pasta to brown rice pasta. Just cook the pasta according to the package directions and toss it with the flavorful dressing and fresh veggies. Be sure to reserve a cup of pasta water to add to the dressing for the best results.
Perfect Side Dish or Complete Meal
Greek Pasta Salad is a great side dish to serve alongside grilled chicken or fish, but it can also be a full meal on its own. Just add some chickpeas, kidney beans, cooked chicken, or artichoke hearts for extra protein and flavor.
Easy to Make
This is a particularly easy pasta salad recipe that anyone can make. Simply cook the pasta, chop the vegetables, and mix everything together in a large bowl.
Ingredients needed
Dressing ingredients
The simple dressing consists of lemon juice, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, fresh oregano, and extra virgin olive oil.
Greek pasta salad ingredients
See below for substitution ideas, but for this recipe you will need pasta, salt, red onion, kalamata olives, red bell pepper, cherry or grape tomatoes, cucumber, and feta cheese.
How to make Greek pasta salad
Make the dressing: Whisk together all of the ingredients except the olive oil.
Pour the olive oil in a slow, steady stream while whisking constantly. Continue to whisk once all the olive oil has been added until the dressing has emulsified.
Cook the pasta: Heat a large pot of water with kosher salt over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook al dente. You want it to be tender but still have a bit of a bite to it.
Prior to draining the pasta, reserve a cup of the salted pasta water. This can be added to the mixed salad just before serving if it seems too dry.
Drain the pasta and immediately return it to the pot.
While it is still hot, add about half of the prepared dressing and toss to coat. This will allow the flavor of the dressing to absorb into the pasta, will leaving the remaining dressing for the finished pasta salad.
Combine salad ingredients: Once the pasta has completely cooled, add the remaining salad ingredients and toss to combine. Chill at least 2 hours, if possible.
Add remaining dressing: Just prior to serving, add the remaining salad dressing and toss to combine. The dressing is added at the end to prevent it from absorbing into the pasta. If the pasta salad seems dry, add small amounts of the reserved pasta water until it looks and tastes how you want it.
Ingredient substitution ideas
While this Greek Pasta Salad recipe is already pretty flexible, there are a few ingredient substitutions or additions that can be made to cater to dietary restrictions or individual taste preferences. Here are a few ideas:
- Pasta: This recipe calls for fusilli pasta, but you could easily swap it out for another type of pasta like rotini, penne, or even brown rice pasta to make it gluten-free.
- Red onion: If you're not a fan of raw onion, you can omit it or swap it for sliced shallots or scallions.
- Kalamata olives: If you don't like this variety of olives, you can leave them out or swap them for traditional black olives, capers, or sun-dried tomatoes.
- Red bell pepper: You can swap this out for yellow, orange, or green bell peppers, or even roasted red peppers for a smoky flavor.
- Cherry or grape tomatoes: If you can't find these types of tomatoes, you can use diced roma tomatoes instead.
- Cucumber: English cucumbers work well in this recipe, but you can also use regular cucumbers, zucchini, or even jicama for some added crunch.
- Feta cheese: If you're vegan or lactose intolerant, you can swap feta cheese for a vegan feta alternative, or omit it altogether and add some toasted pine nuts or sunflower seeds for some added texture.
- Lemon juice: If you don't have a fresh lemon on hand, you can use bottled lemon juice.
- Red wine vinegar: If you don't have red wine vinegar, you can substitute it with white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Sugar: If you prefer not to use sugar, you can substitute it with honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar.
- Oregano: If you don't have fresh oregano, you can use dried oregano instead, but use only half the amount.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: Good quality olive oil is key in this recipe, but if you don't have it on hand, you can substitute it with any other neutral-tasting oil like avocado oil or grapeseed oil.
These ingredient substitutions or additions should give you plenty of options to customize this Greek Pasta Salad recipe to your liking, or to accommodate any dietary restrictions you may have.
Storage
You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days, making it a great make-ahead option for busy weeknights or meal prep.
FAQs
Fusilli is recommended for this recipe, but you can use any kind of pasta you like.
Yes, you can make the dressing up to a week in advance and store it in the refrigerator.
Yes, you can add chunks of salami, grilled chicken, or shrimp to make it a full meal.
The pasta salad will keep for up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator if stored in an airtight container.
Yes, you can make the salad up to a day in advance, but keep the ingredients separate and wait to add the dressing until just before serving to prevent the pasta from becoming soggy.
Yes, you can use any crumbled or grated cheese you like, but I recommend sticking to varieties from the Mediterranean region like Graviera or Mizithra.
Yes, you can omit the feta cheese or replace it with crumbled tofu. All remaining ingredients are already vegan.
Greek Pasta Salad is one of my favorite pasta salads and for good reason! It's a delicious, healthy, and versatile dish that can be customized to your taste preferences.
I hope you give this particular pasta salad recipe a try and let me know what you think with a star rating on the recipe card. Enjoy!
Full Recipe Instructions
Greek Pasta Salad with the BEST Vinaigrette Dressing
Kitchen Tools
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano (minced (if using dried, cut amount in half))
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
Pasta Salad:
- 16 ounces pasta (fusilli recommended)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt (for cooking the pasta)
- 1 medium red onion (thinly sliced)
- 6 ounce can kalamata olives (drained, olives cut in half or quartered)
- 1 red bell pepper (thinly sliced into matchstick sized pieces, seeds and stem removed)
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes (halved)
- 1 cucumber (English cucumber recommended, quartered lengthwise, seeds removed, sliced)
- 1 cup feta cheese (crumbled)
Instructions
- Make the dressing: Whisk together all of the ingredients except the olive oil. Pour the olive oil in a slow, steady stream while whisking constantly. Continue to whisk once all the olive oil has been added until the dressing has emulsified.
- Cook the pasta: Heat a large pot of water with kosher salt over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook al dente. You want it to be tender but still have a bit of a bite to it. Prior to draining the pasta, reserve a cup of the salted pasta water. This can be added to the mixed salad just before serving if it seems too dry. Drain the pasta and immediately return it to the pot. While it is still hot, add about half of the prepared dressing and toss to coat. This will allow the flavor of the dressing to absorb into the pasta, will leaving the remaining dressing for the finished pasta salad.
- Combine salad ingredients: Once the pasta has completely cooled, add the remaining salad ingredients and toss to combine. Chill at least 2 hours, if possible.
- Add remaining dressing: Just prior to serving, add the remaining salad dressing and toss to combine. The dressing is added at the end to prevent it from absorbing into the pasta. If the pasta salad seems dry, add small amounts of the reserved pasta water until it looks and tastes how you want it.
Roz K.
This is a great refreshing pasta salad and so easy to put together. Will keep on using the exactly the same. Everyone loved it. Thanks for posting such a good combination. Roz K.
Linda
Thank you for the delicious recipe. Made for dinner this evening and my husband raved about how good it was. I followed your recipe as written and would not change a thing. Cannot wait to try more of your recipes. Linda