Greek Pasta Salad
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Published Jul 05, 2023, Updated Apr 16, 2025
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This easy greek pasta salad is loaded with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives and feta cheese all tossed in a homemade greek dressing. It’s the perfect make ahead side for all your summer potlucks!
If you’re a greek salad fan, you’re going to love this greek pasta salad recipe! It has all the classic ingredients you’d want like tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, green bell pepper and feta cheese, but with the addition of pasta.
It’s the perfect salad to keep stocked in your fridge all summer long! It’s great for meal prep and can be served for lunch or dinner throughout the week, but also makes for an amazing make-ahead side dish to bring to all your summer cookouts.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This pasta salad is fresh, flavorful, and so easy to toss together. Here’s why it’s a go-to in my kitchen:
- Classic flavors, heartier twist – All the Mediterranean-inspired goodness of a Greek salad, but with pasta to make it more satisfying.
- Perfect for meal prep – It stores well in the fridge for a few days, so it’s great to prep ahead for lunches or busy nights.
- Crowd-pleasing – Always a hit at summer BBQs, picnics, or potlucks.
- Versatile – Serve it as a side dish or bulk it up with protein to make it a full meal.
Greek Pasta Salad Ingredients
- rotini pasta – I love using rotini pasta for this recipe because the spirals hold onto the dressing and other ingredients really well.
- cherry tomatoes – these juicy tomatoes add a burst of sweetness and color.
- red onion – gives the salad a punch of flavor and a bit of crunch.
- cucumber – adds a refreshing crunch.
- green bell pepper – provides a bit of bitterness that complements the other flavors. You can also use red or yellow bell peppers for a sweeter flavor if you prefer.
- kalamata olives – olives add that classic Mediterranean flavor. Kalamata olives are especially flavorful and add a touch of authenticity.
- fresh parsley – I love adding fresh herbs to my dishes whenever possible and fresh parsley pairs perfectly with the rest of the ingredients in this salad.
- crumbled feta – can’t have a Greek salad without feta cheese! This cheese adds a salty, tangy flavor that is irresistible. Feel free to use fresh feta cubes or crumbled feta.
- dressing – we’re making a homemade Greek salad dressing for this salad, which is made by blending (or whisking) together red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, oregano, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil.
Substitutions & Notes
- Olives: Not a fan of kalamata olives? Use black or green olives instead! You could also skip the olives altogether and add roasted red peppers or artichoke hearts instead.
- Gluten-free: Need to make this pasta salad gluten-free? Use brown rice pasta or legume pasta for a boost of protein! My favorite gluten-free pasta options are this Banza rotini chickpea pasta and Barilla chickpea rotini pasta.
- Dairy-free: Skip the feta cheese or use vegan feta cheese like this Follow Your Heart dairy-free vegan crumbles or VIOLIFE Just Like Feta Block.
- Add protein: To make this salad more hearty and filling, consider adding shredded chicken, grilled chicken or chickpeas.
- Dressing: For a shortcut use a store-bought Greek dressing, just be mindful of the ingredients as many store-bought dressings are loaded with unnecessary sugars and ingredients. This Primal Kitchen Greek Vinaigrette seems like a good store-bought option.
How to Make
This simple Greek pasta salad recipe is fresh, easy to make, and comes together in no time. It’s the kind of dish that feels fancy enough for a cookout but is simple enough for a weekday lunch—just follow the steps below to bring it all together!
Step 1: Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. While the pasta cooks, make the dressing by blending all the dressing ingredients until smooth (or shake them in a jar if you don’t have a blender).
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta with cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, green bell pepper, olives, parsley, and feta. Pour the dressing on top and toss gently to coat everything.
Brittany’s Tip
- Cook your pasta just until al dente and rinse it after draining. This keeps the pasta from getting mushy, stops the cooking process, and helps it hold up better when tossed with the dressing and veggies; especially if you’re making it ahead of time. It’s a small step that makes a big difference in texture.
What to Serve With This Greek Pasta Salad
Like I mentioned earlier, this salad would pair perfectly with just about any protein and would be a great addition to your summer BBQ’s or potlucks. Here are some serving ideas:
Other sides: If you’re looking to serve this greek pasta salad at a summer potluck here are some additional sides you could serve it alongside: grilled sweet potatoes, fruit salad with mint, black bean and corn salad, mexican street corn salad and blueberry crumble.
How to Store
This salad stores really well in the fridge making it great for meal prep!
To make it in advance: You can prep the salad the night before and let it chill in the fridge until serving. Just like most pasta salads, it gets better as it sits!
To store leftovers: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
This salad is traditionally served cold or at room temperature, but you can enjoy it slightly warm if you prefer—just wait to add the feta so it doesn’t melt.
Short pasta shapes like rotini, fusilli, penne, or bowtie are ideal because they hold the dressing well and mix easily with the chopped veggies and feta.
More Healthy Summer Salads
- Lemon Orzo Salad
- Ranch Pasta Salad
- Healthy Potato Salad
- Classic Broccoli Salad
- Poppy Seed Chicken Pasta Salad
- Roasted Tomato Salad
- Kale and Cabbage Pad Thai Salad
- Pesto Pasta Salad
Be sure to check out all of the pasta salad recipes as well as the full collection of salad recipes on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 16 oz rotini pasta
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (about 2 cups)
- ½ red onion, chopped
- 1 cucumber, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives or black olives , drained and halved
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ⅔ cup crumbled feta
Greek Dressing
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions.
- While pasta is cooking, make dressing by adding red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic cloves, dijon mustard, oregano, salt, pepper and oil to a blender. Blend until combined and smooth.
- Add drained and cooled pasta to a large bowl with tomatoes, onion, cucumber, bell pepper, olives, parsley and feta cheese.
- Add dressing on top and gently toss to coat. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve right away or place in the fridge to chill before serving. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- Dressing: For a shortcut use a store-bought Greek dressing, just be mindful of the ingredients as many store-bought dressings are loaded with unnecessary sugars and ingredients. This Primal Kitchen Greek Vinaigrette seems like a good store-bought option.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published on July 5, 2023. Updated April 16, 2025 with the latest version of the recipe.
This is so yummy and fresh tasting! I used chickpea pasta (to up my protein) and my husband and I really enjoyed it.
YUM! Sounds so delicious. Glad you’re loving this salad, Kathie. Thank you for your review & star rating, I so appreciate it!