My Easy Greek Pasta Salad is loaded with fresh veggies, tangy feta, and yummy pasta, all doused with a wonderful Greek vinaigrette. The perfect summer side salad!
Easy Greek Pasta Salad
Summer is made for pasta salads. They are great for backyard BBQ, picnics, potlucks, concerts in the park, you name it! I love a good pasta salad, but I really enjoy that they are soooo easy to make. Today I'm feeling Greek flavors. Greek salad is a favorite so it is just natural to add those flavors to some pasta.
This dish comes together in about 30 minutes and is easy to throw together. Twirls of pasta is mixed with cool cucumbers, ripe tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, and tangy feta. Top this with a quick Greek vinaigrette and you have one heck of a tasty dish! The result is a fresh, light, pasta salad that is full of flavor. This will easily feed six and this basic recipe can be enhanced as you wish. I'll leave some suggestions below.
Enjoy!
What Ingredients do I need?
- rotini pasta
- English cucumber
- Roma tomatoes
- feta cheese
- medium red onion
- red bell pepper
- parsley
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- lemon
- dried oregano
Substitutions and Variations
- Olives: Add green or black olives
- Beans: Add garbanzo beans or gigante beans
- Tomatoes: ripe and fresh are best. Use what is in season. Cherry or grape tomatoes are always a good choice.
- Pasta: Use your favorite shape, even spaghetti will work
Kitchen Tips and Notes
- Cook your pasta first: you will want the pasta to cool down before adding it to the other ingredients and this will take a little time.
- Rinse your pasta after cooking? There are 2 schools of thought on this. One side says to rinse to stop the cooking process which helps keep the pasta al dente. Also it reduces the temperature of the pasta quickly, plus it removes some of the starch. The other side says that pasta that is not rinsed will hold the sauce better. I've done it both ways. I will say rinsing is faster and since you are using an oil based dressing the ingredients get coated just as well.
- Tools: I use this handy veggie chopper when I have to chop a gang of veggies. It is so helpful and I love that the container catches and holds all the product. Great for salads!
- I also have a set of melamine mixing bowls that I use ALL THE TIME! The best part is you can mix in it then pop of the lid to store it in the frig, AND serve from it. They are beautiful and practical. Check them out.
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The BEST Broccoli Pasta Salad
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Springtime Pasta Salad
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Easy Greek Pasta Salad
serves 6
1/2 pound rotini pasta
1 English cucumber, small dice
3 Roma tomatoes, small dice
1/3 - 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 medium red onion, small dice
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
Vinaigrette
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch of kosher salt
pinch of black pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil on the stove. Add the pasta and cook according to the package direction until al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander and allow to cool.
In a large mixing bowl add all the vegetables, the cooled pasta, and the crumbled feta cheese.
In a small bowl or jar whisk together the oil, vinegar, lemon juice oregano and salt and pepper. Pour dressing over the salad and toss to coat all the ingredients. Salad may be served immediately but I suggest chilling the salad for 30 minutes to allow all the flavors to blend together.
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