This Greek pasta salad recipe is a go-to for cookouts, picnics, and easy lunches all summer long. It’s loaded with feta, olives, fresh herbs, and a zippy lemon-oregano dressing!
Here’s my go-to when it comes to pasta salad: Greek pasta salad! As a recipe developer over the past decade, I’ve made just about every pasta salad recipe imaginable. And this is my favorite!
This recipe stars Mediterranean-style flavors with chewy bowtie pasta: juicy cherry tomatoes, cool cucumber, salty olives, and savory feta, handfuls of fresh parsley and dill, plus a Greek-style vinaigrette dressing. I love making this for picnics, cookouts, pitch-ins, barbecues, or even for healthy lunches throughout the week.
5 Star Reader Review
“This is a wonderful pasta salad. It’s perfect for summer time and I love bow tie pasta. Thank you!” -Odile
Ingredients in Greek Pasta Salad
The concept of pasta salad is an American invention, as you might guess! One of the first mentions in print is a macaroni salad recipe published in 1914, though the concept came to full popularity in the 1980’s.
The most common style of American pasta salad is Italian: the kind with olives, mozzarella and an Italian-style dressing. Greek pasta salad is again thoroughly American, but features Greek-style flavors like tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta cheese and dill. Here are the ingredients you’ll need for a Greek pasta salad recipe:
- Bowtie pasta (farfalle): My favorite shape for this salad: the little ruffles catch the dressing and are fun to eat.
- Cherry tomatoes: Cut in half so every bite gets a juicy burst.
- English cucumber: Use an English cucumber and there’s no need to peel or seed: I also think they taste the best!
- Red bell pepper: Diced small for color and snap.
- Shallot: Thinly sliced for a milder, sweeter bite than red onion.
- Fresh parsley AND fresh dill: Both, not either-or. The dill is what makes the Greek-inspired flavor.
- Kalamata olives: I think they add just the right pop to the flavor, but you can omit if you’re not an olive fan.
- Feta cheese crumbles: This adds just the right salty, hearty vibe.
For The Greek Dressing
The dressing for this Greek salad is quick and simple to mix up, using lemon juice, red wine vinegar, dried herbs and olive oil. It’s a smaller quantity than for many pasta salads, but the flavor really pops! You can use a store-bought dressing if you’re running low on time, but we suggest the homemade version if possible.
- Use both dried oregano and dried dill. You might be tempted to omit dried dill since there is also fresh in the salad, but it’s essential to the flavor here!
- Substitute ½ cup purchased Greek vinaigrette dressing if you’re in a rush. Look for the best quality dressing you can find: the flavor varies greatly based on brand. Paying a few extra dollars is worth it for flavor.
The Best Pasta Shape
This Greek pasta salad is ideal with bowtie pasta or farfalle, but you can use other pasta shapes too! We like how farfalle combines with the ingredients and the way this shape soaks up the dressing. Keep in mind: the surface area of each pasta shape is different. In our testing, we found that 1 pound of bowties feels like less quantity of pasta than 1 pound of spirals. That said: here are a few pasta shapes that work well in a Greek pasta salad recipe:
- Bowties (farfalle): our favorite!
- Spirals (fusilli)
- Penne
- Shells (conchiglie)
- Orecchiette
- Gemelli
- Gigli
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
This Greek pasta salad is ideal for making ahead for a cookout or barbecue. In fact, we’ve made it up to 2 days in advance of a party and refrigerated until serving. Here’s what to know about this salad:
- Greek pasta salad lasts for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. It’s ideal for making ahead or healthy lunches throughout the week.
- After refrigeration, make sure to refresh the flavors. Bring the salad to room temperature. Then stir in a drizzle of olive oil and a bit more crumbled feta cheese. You may or may not need an extra pinch of salt.
Tip on Serving Size
This Greek pasta salad makes a big batch: 10 to 12 side dish servings or about 8 lunch-sized servings. It lasts for 5 days refrigerated. If you don’t think you’ll eat it all in 5 days, you may want to consider making a half batch. It’s easy to make half!
What to Serve with Greek Pasta Salad
This recipe goes with just about anything: especially in the summer! Here are a few ideas for what to serve with pasta salad:
- Summer dinner, alongside grilled salmon, burgers, grilled chicken, or veggie kabobs
- Summer salad dinner, with watermelon feta salad, corn salad and cucumber salad
- Healthy lunch idea
- Picnic food idea
- Cookout or pitch-in recipe
Dietary Notes
This Greek pasta salad recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based and dairy-free, omit the feta and add more salt to taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
While you can technically use any type of pasta, short pasta shapes like rotini, farfalle, or penne work best for Greek pasta salad as they hold the dressing well and are easy to eat.
A classic Greek vinaigrette is typically used for Greek pasta salad. It’s made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. You can adjust the amount of each ingredient to your taste.
Absolutely! While the classic ingredients are delicious, you can customize your Greek pasta salad with other additions like chickpeas, grilled chicken or shrimp, artichoke hearts, pepperoncini peppers, or fresh herbs like parsley or dill.
Greek Pasta Salad
Pin RecipeThis Greek pasta salad recipe is a go-to for cookouts, picnics, and easy lunches all summer long. It’s loaded with feta, olives, fresh herbs, and a zippy lemon-oregano dressing!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 to 12 side dish servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 pound bowtie pasta (farfalle)
- 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced into half moons (2 cups)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, plus zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, grated (or ½ teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon each dried oregano and dried dill
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¾ cup Kalamata olives, sliced in half (optional)
- 1 cup feta cheese crumbles
- Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Start a large pot of well-salted water to boil. Boil the pasta until al dente according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta and run cool water over it until it’s room temperature.
- Meanwhile, slice the cucumber and tomatoes, dice the bell pepper and thinly slice the shallot. Chop the fresh herbs.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, dill, and kosher salt. Then whisk in the olive oil.
- Once the pasta is done, add it to the large bowl of dressing and toss with the chopped vegetables. Add the olives, feta cheese and fresh ground black pepper and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt to taste if necessary. Serve immediately. Stores up to 5 days refrigerated (leftovers taste great; allow to come to room temperature and add a swirl more olive oil or a bit more cheese or salt as necessary).
More Summer Salad Recipes
Salads are king in the summer! Here are a few more great pasta salad recipes and summer salads to enjoy:
- Try classic Pasta Salad, Caprese Pasta Salad, Mediterranean Pasta Salad, Shrimp Pasta Salad, Pesto Pasta Salad, Bow Tie Pasta Salad, or Tortellini Salad.
- Go for creamy Classic Potato Salad.
- Make Classic Three Bean Salad or Green Bean Salad.
- Grab Watermelon Feta Salad or Watermelon Basil Salad.
from A Couple Cooks https://ift.tt/Mi8KuBn
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