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A fresh and easy Greek Pasta Salad just in time for summer! This crowd-pleasing side dish is tasty for backyard barbecues. Curly pasta to trap the dressing is essential, then load it up with a variety of olives, fresh cucumber and more!
This easy Greek pasta salad recipe is all about one thing: the chunks of feta cheese. Yes, I love the chewy pasta, the crunch of the fresh veggies, and the tangy dressing. It’s basically summer in a bowl, colorful and fresh.
But honestly? It’s all about the feta for me. Every time I see someone on the Food Network making a salad with chunks of feta cheese, I vow to stop what I’m doing and immediately follow their lead. And now, you can too.
This is one Greek pasta salad your guests will rave about! It is simply the BEST with your favorite summery grilled meats (find my favorite grilled chicken recipe here) or at any potluck or picnic you are attending.
What’s Needed for Greek Pasta Salad?
The red wine vinaigrette is so simple and flavorful, you can throw it together right before you need it. And it comes together in minutes with just a few pantry ingredients. Save the recipe because you’ll want it on all your other salads, too!
For the Greek Dressing:
- Olive Oil
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Garlic
- Dried Oregano
- Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
I love the classic combination of cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and olives. Since grocery store tomatoes can be unpredictable, I go with my favorite brand of grape or cherry tomatoes and slice them lengthwise. I also use red onion and kalamata olives, but you are welcome to substitute your favorite onions and olives.
For the Pasta Salad:
- Rotini Pasta
- English Cucumber
- Diced Bell Pepper
- Sliced Red Onion
- Grape Tomatoes
- Feta Cheese
- Kalamata Olives
The measurements and details for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
Carrian’s Secret to the BEST Greek Pasta Salad
The red onion adds a crunch and flavor that cannot be skipped, and I’ll be honest, I don’t usually love raw onions. My method to get killer flavor without the harsh bite of a raw onion? Soak it!! Using slightly salted, cold water, give your onions a ten-minute soak to help the onions remain crisp yet mellow that overwhelming onion-y-ness.
How to Make Greek Pasta Salad
This feta and cucumber pasta salad couldn’t be easier to make! Here are the basic steps to making this simple pasta salad recipe:
- Cook the Pasta: Follow the package instructions and cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water. Drain the pasta and let it cool.
- Make the Dressing: Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and set aside.
- Assemble the Salad: Add all the prepared vegetables, feta, olives and cooled pasta to a large serving bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to combine.
The recipe card below contains all the instructions and the recipe can be saved or printed there.
What’s the Best Pasta for Pasta Salad?
You can use whatever pasta you want in this Greek Pasta Salad. I love rotini because it’s fun to eat and the kids love it. I also love the way the dressing gets caught in the nooks and crannies and infuses the pasta with flavor. Since all the other ingredients are chopped, I definitely suggest going with something thicker and bite-sized (as opposed to long, skinny spaghetti noodles).
How Long Will Pasta Salad Last?
To maximize the shelf life of pasta salad for safety and quality, the pasta salad should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Properly stored, pasta salad leftovers will last for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Tips for the Best Pasta Salad
Note that slightly overcooked pasta is best in this simple pasta salad so that it doesn’t absorb all of that dressing.
I use English cucumbers in this easy pasta salad recipe because they taste the best (as if I just picked them from my own garden). They also have soft skins (no peeling) and minimal seeds (no seeding). Hothouse or Japanese cucumbers are another good choice if you can’t find English.
Be sure to buy a CHUNK of feta cheese, not the crumbled kind. It’s just not the same. The goal is uniformly cubed salty bites of feta because they look great and taste even better. It really brings the salad together!
Feta cheese is sold in a lot of varieties lately, so if you’re up for it we totally recommend trying a flavored versus traditional feta cheese. There’s not going to be a huge change but it gives an extra little something. And if you’re not feeling the feta cheese thing you can easily use parmesan or skip the cheese all together.
This easy Greek pasta salad is the perfect summer side dish or light meal. With fresh vegetables, feta cheese, and a homemade salad dressing this pasta salad is both delicious and healthy.
Easy Greek Pasta Salad
More PASTA SALAD IDEAS:
- Easy Southern English Pea Pasta Salad
- Easy Italian Pasta Salad
- Southwest Pasta Salad
- Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Bacon Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad
- Elote Mexican Corn Pasta Salad
- Cuban Pasta Salad
- Teriyaki Chicken Pasta Salad
- ALL OF OUR PASTA SALAD RECIPES!
Easy Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Greek Dressing:
- 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
- 1/3 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 Lemon, zested
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
For the Pasta Salad:
- 1 Pound Rotini Pasta, (or other small pasta)
- 1 English Cucumber, diced
- 1/3 Cup Bell Pepper, diced
- 1/4 Cup Red Onion, sliced
- 1 Pint Grape Tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 8 Ounces Feta Cheese, cubed
- 1/2 Cup Kalamata Olives, or a mix of olives
Instructions
For the Dressing
- In a small bowl whisk oil, vinegar, garlic, lemon zest, a squeeze of the lemon, oregano, salt and pepper.1/2 Cup Olive Oil, 1/3 Cup Red Wine Vinegar, 2 Cloves Garlic, 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano, Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, 1 Lemon
For the Salad
- To cook the pasta, bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil.1 Pound Rotini Pasta
- Add pasta and cook according to package instructions, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Drain well and rinse with cold water.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta, cucumbers, bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, feta, and olives.1 English Cucumber, 1/4 Cup Red Onion, 1 Pint Grape Tomatoes, 8 Ounces Feta Cheese, 1/2 Cup Kalamata Olives, 1/3 Cup Bell Pepper
- Drizzle with dressing. Salt again to taste, this is super important to do!!
- Toss gently until uniformly combined and serve.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Loved this Greek Salad! So much flavour. The ingredients work so well together. Will definitely be making this again!
Yay!! Thank you so much Joanne!!
How much lemon zest am I supposed to use?
Hello! You want the zest of 1 lemon which ends up being about 1 Tablespoon of zest.
This was quite a tasty salad. We eat a lot of salads during the summer. It’s just too hot to cook! I planned to throw a couple chicken breasts on the grill but ran out of time to thaw – so it was Meatless Monday on Thursday. I cut the pasta amount in half because it was only my husband & myself. I included the full recipe amounts for the all the add-ins plus I added a chopped yellow pepper and a couple large handfuls of mixed baby greens that were in the refrigerator. I thought some quartered artichoke hearts would go well, but I didn’t have any in the pantry. I separated the salad into 2 bowls – one to dress and refrigerate for dinner and one un-dressed to have for the weekend. The pasta was still slightly warm when dressed so it soaked up all that great dressing and was delicious. My change going forward will be to cut the olives in half and add quartered artichoke hearts. It was a little bitter biting into the whole kalamata olive. I had the leftovers for lunch today and it was amazing. The red onions and cucumbers had “pickled” slightly and mellowed in flavor. I look forward to serving the remainder of the salad alongside grilled fish or chicken over the weekend. Thank you for a great recipe.
Thank you so much for the feedback! I love all your suggestions and I’m so glad you enjoyed the salad!
Made this Greek pasta salad for a family BBQ and it was a huge hit, everyone loved it! I will definitely make this again.
Yay! Thank you so much Audrey! It is such a great salad to take to a family get together!