This Greek pasta salad recipe is full of delicious flavor and uses simple ingredients you likely have on hand. It’s the perfect solution for an easy side or light dinner – tons of flavor with minimal work!
Greek pasta salad is a staple for us when it comes to easy meals. It is simple to throw together on a hot summer day (a good time to not use the oven!) and is perfect for meal prep. Tender pasta meets bright grape tomatoes, briny olives, and a delicious Dijon vinegar salad dressing.
This is our family’s favorite Greek salad recipe (my famous Greek pasta salad!). It’s one of those pasta salad recipes you will make again and again and will quickly become a favorite. Fresh vegetables, the perfect dressing, and tons of flavor mean everyone is satisfied.
Whether you’re making this easy pasta salad recipe for an outdoor summer BBQ side dish or using it as a main course, this dish is full of Mediterranean flavors that everyone will love. It’s also delicious with a side of easy sourdough pita bread.
While this dish can easily be your main course, it’s also lovely when paired with roasted meat like country style ribs or smothered pork steaks. For an easy Greek food dinner, serve with sourdough pita chips and homemade labneh or roasted red pepper hummus.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Simple ingredients – What makes this the most perfect pasta salad is that it is easy to throw together with pantry staples. Fresh tomatoes, fresh cucumber, olives, pasta, and staples for a simple dressing are all you need.
Tons of flavor – The magical combination of flavors in this recipe make it absolutely delicious. You get fresh, Mediterranean-inspired flavors with the bright, lemony dressing, crisp cucumbers, and tangy olives, and feta. In fact, this is a great dressing for other things as well, like marinating meat!
Versatile – Make this recipe as it or add a little bit of other favorite things. If you have fresh veggies on hand, you can add them in as well. Garbanzo beans are a delicious addition for plant-based protein.
Ingredients
Pasta – Any pasta will work for this recipe. Use bow ties, rotini pasta, or other pasta shapes. If desired, you can even use gluten free pasta. Just follow the cooking time on the pasta box for best results.
Mayo – Easily make your own mayo in a small bowl before making your pasta salad or use store-bought.
Bell pepper – Any color of bell peppers will work. We like red, but orange or green will work as well.
Cucumber – Any variety of cucumber is fine. We like to use English cucumber.
Olives – We prefer Kalamata olives in this easy Greek pasta salad, but you can use others like green olives, Castelvetrano olives, or even black olives.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Greek Pasta Salad
Step 1: Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions in a large pot of salted water. Once the pasta is done, drain and rinse with cold water to stop them from continuing to cook and cool down. Set aside.
Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mayo, vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon, honey, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper until combined. You can also add ingredient to a large jar and use an immersion blender to blend your Greek dressing.
Step 3: Add the cooled pasta to the bowl along with the dill, bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, olives, and feta.
Step 4: Toss until combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving and enjoy!
Tips
- Cook pasta in a large pot of heavily salted water. This helps the pasta cook more evenly and adds flavor while the pasta cooks.
- Fresh herbs make all the difference. Use fresh dill and fresh lemon juice for the most flavor.
- Chill the pasta salad before serving for the best flavor.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container or a bowl covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator.
Recipe FAQs
A Greek pasta salad typically contains pasta, tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, cucumber, olives, and feta cheese. Some recipes add fresh parsley or add some of the feta brine to the dressing.
There are a few common mistakes when it comes to making a pasta salad. You don’t want to overcook the pasta, add the dressing or feta to hot pasta, under-season the dish, not salt your cooking water, or use long, spaghetti-type pasta.
While the two are similar, and both are great for a summer cookout, a Greek salad sticks with the ingredients mentioned here. A Mediterranean salad may include grains like quinoa and plant proteins like chickpeas.
More Pasta Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Classic Pasta Carbonara
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
- One Pot Greek Chicken With Orzo
- Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Pasta
- Homemade Sourdough Pasta
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta of choice
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped dill
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 cucumber, finely diced
- ½ red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup sliced olives
- 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions in salted boiling water. Once the pasta is done, drain and rinse with cold water to stop them from continuing to cook and cool down. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mayo, vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon, honey, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper until combined.
- Add the cooked pasta to the bowl along with the dill, bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, olives, and feta. Toss until combined.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving and enjoy!
Notes
- This is an incredibly versatile recipe! You can use whatever pasta you have on hand and whatever veggies you have on hand as well.
- For more lemon flavor, you can garnish with a bit of lemon zest or extra lemon juice.
- Please double check amounts when using the multiplying feature in the recipe card.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
