Greek Pasta Salad (Printable)
Mediterranean pasta toss with feta, olives, and crisp veggies in a zesty Greek vinaigrette.
# What You Need:
→ Pasta
01 - 8 oz short pasta (penne, fusilli, or rotini)
→ Vegetables
02 - 1 small cucumber, diced
03 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
04 - 1 small red bell pepper, diced
05 - 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
→ Cheese & Olives
06 - 3.5 oz feta cheese, crumbled
07 - 1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
→ Greek Vinaigrette
08 - 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
09 - 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
10 - 1 tsp dried oregano
11 - 1 garlic clove, minced
12 - 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
13 - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
# Directions:
01 - Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold running water until completely cooled. Set aside.
02 - While the pasta cools, dice the cucumber and red bell pepper, halve the cherry tomatoes, and thinly slice the red onion. Transfer all vegetables to a large salad bowl.
03 - Add the cooled pasta to the bowl with the prepared vegetables. Toss gently to distribute evenly.
04 - Scatter the crumbled feta cheese and sliced Kalamata olives over the pasta and vegetable mixture.
05 - In a small bowl, whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, minced garlic, sea salt, and black pepper until well emulsified.
06 - Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss gently until all ingredients are evenly coated. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt or pepper as needed.
07 - Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together. Serve chilled as a side dish or light main course.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- It comes together in under 30 minutes, which means you can decide to make it right before guests arrive and still look perfectly composed.
- The dressing seeps into every fold of pasta overnight, so leftovers actually taste better than the first serving.
02 -
- Rinsing the pasta under cold water is not optional here because residual heat will wilt the vegetables and melt the feta into a soggy mess.
- The salad tastes dramatically better after resting in the fridge, so resist the urge to serve it immediately if you can help it.
03 -
- Salting the pasta water generously is the one step people skip, and it is the single thing that makes the biggest difference in the final flavor.
- Chopping all the vegetables to roughly the same size as the pasta ensures you get a little bit of everything in each bite rather than a mouthful of onion.