Greek Pasta Salad
This Greek pasta salad is incredible! From the multitude of fresh ingredients to the flavorful dressing and feta cheese, it’s simple to make and so delicious!
Please meet your new favorite salad.
Not only is it pretty to look at (all the colors!), but this Greek pasta salad is one of the most delicious salads I’ve ever had.
Greek-Inspired Ingredients
Here’s a glimpse of what we’re facing when diving head first into this salad:
- pasta (spirals, tubes, choose whatever shape you like!)
- olives (black or kalamata)
- cherry tomatoes
- cucumbers
- red onion (soak those pungent pieces in ice water for 10 minutes to lessen the overpowering notes but still give great, mild flavor)
- roasted red peppers
- corn kernels (fresh or frozen – thaw if frozen, and if using fresh, sweet corn, no need to even cook, just slice the kernels right off the cob)
- feta cheese (and lots of it)
The Dressing
All of those colorful, fabulous ingredients are fine but they wouldn’t amount to much unless they were drizzled with the tangy, fresh, flavorful dressing.
Wow. The simple dressing is good. Incredible, really.
This salad is pretty lightly dressed (perfectly so, in my humble opinion), but if you like things a bit heavier on the dressing, just increase the dressing ingredients as needed.
Toss and Serve
Give the salad a good toss and garnish with a bit more feta and fresh herbs.
It is an absolute explosion of texture, color and flavor!
I have always loved a good pasta salad, but this Greek version is what my pasta salad dreams are made of. There’s a lot going on, and I love it!
I really hesitate to pick a favorite ingredient here, but if I had to, I’d say it’s the corn. (Ok, and the feta…and roasted red peppers…and…) Those crunchy sweet kernels are everything good in the world and they round out the salad perfectly.
While this Greek pasta salad is a very worthy side dish and a fabulous offering at a potluck or get-together, it is also fantastic served as a meatless main dish. Or, add lemon and garlic grilled chicken – yum!
Pair the salad with this easy, crusty peasant bread (and a righteous amount of soft, creamy butter for spreading on the bread, of course), and you have a meal that aligns with my taste buds so perfectly, I could easily eat it every day and never get bored.
This pasta salad comes together fast and is an absolute keeper of a recipe! (Typed while sneakily eating the leftovers from their hiding spot in the back of the fridge.)
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Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Dressing:
- ½ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt (use more if using coarse, kosher salt)
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill
Salad:
- 12 to 16 ounces tube- or spiral-shaped pasta (like penne, cascatelli, rotini, etc.)
- 1 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 cup diced cucumbers (about 1 small English cucumber)
- 1 cup chopped, roasted red peppers (a 12-ounce jar, drained)
- 1 cup black or kalamata olives, sliced or halved (6-ounce can, drained)
- 1 cup sweet corn kernels (fresh or frozen – thaw and pat dry if frozen)
- ½ to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (see note)
- ¼ to ½ cup finely diced red onion (see note)
- Chopped fresh parsley or basil (optional)
Instructions
- For the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients (or shake in a jar) until well-combined. Set aside.
- For the pasta, cook in a pot of boiling, lightly salted water until al dente, according to package directions. Drain. Let it cool to room temperature, tossing now and again to prevent sticking.
- While the pasta cooks, start chopping ingredients for the salad.
- Combine the pasta with all the other salad ingredients (can save feta to add last, if you want). Whisk the dressing to recombine and drizzle over the salad. Toss well.
- Garnish with a bit more crumbled feta and fresh parsley, if desired. Serve. (If the salad has sat for a while, give it a good stir, getting the dressing up from the bottom to recombine with the salad ingredients.)
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Just sent a copy of this recipe home with a missionary who wanted to send it to his mom. No higher praise, I think! Perfect summer recipe for using the abundance of cucumbers and tomatoes.
I just made this for company this afternoon. It’s wonderful — I’m excited to serve it. Thanks.
Made this for dinner – it was a huge hit and everyone loved the dressing. Perfect dish for summertime.
Mel, this salad is the best. I make it with cheese tortellini and it’s amazing! Once again, thanks for all the best recipes.
Can’t wait to try this,Mel as I have loved all your recipes. Can you please tell me..if I’m using fresh corn cut off the cob,do I cook it first?
If the corn is very fresh and sweet, you don’t need to cook it – it’s really a matter of preference. Some people may want to cook the corn first, some may not!
I have made this around twice a month since the recipe was published and I love it every time! I only make it when I am bringing someone a meal or going to a potluck because my family cannot finish the whole thing. Everyone I’ve given to has RAVED about it. I’ve had to sub canola oil for the olive oil once when I ran out of olive oil and I liked the results.
Love this recipe! I’ve brought it to potlucks many times and it’s always a hit!
Such a great salad. Not only is it beautiful, it’s a perfect balance of flavors and textures. The dressing is light and flavorful and not oily at all.
I have been looking for several years for a back-pocket pasta salad recipe so I have made quite a few pasts salads, and with this one, I think I’ve finally found it! It made a ton, filling up a 13-cup plastic container. It has it all: salty, crunchy, acidic, umami, carby, and a tiny bit sweet from the tomatoes and corn. As written and as warned, it is very lightly dressed, and this was the only fault I found; I doubled the vinaigrette and became wholly satisfied.
This looks delicious. How far ahead can it be made?
It’ll dry out a bit if made more than 8-ish hours in advance, but if you give it a good stir to get any dressing off the bottom and/or make a bit more dressing to drizzle over, it should be fine.
Delicious.
Obsessed. Amazing. Perfect summer food. The sweet corn just adds so much! I didn’t have roasted red peppers so I added canned sun dried tomatoes and it’s really really good.
Fantastic add with the sun-dried tomatoes, I bet! Yum!
Wow! We loved this!!! The dressing is incredibly flavorful. We paired this with grilled salmon for a great summer meal. We added spinach, along with the fresh basil and my husband also tried stirring in a little bit of Greek yogurt into his serving and said that was a creamy, yummy adaptation on this as well. This recipe is a keeper and I know I will be bringing this to luncheons in the future.
What great adaptations and serving suggestions! Thank you!
Delicious and it came together without a bunch of fuss. The dressing was perfect and I just scooped the salad over mixed lettuce and spinach for a really refreshing dinner. Perfect for a hot summer evening.
Hi Mel – I’m really excited to make this, I just went to the store and got everything I need! Question – how do you think this would do with orzo? I’ve made a couple of your orzo pasta salads this summer and loved them, and I think I’ve decided orzo is my favorite in pasta salads. Do you think it would kind of disappear in this one, or would you recommend trying? Thanks for all you do!
This sounds great! I haven’t tried it yet but I have a potluck coming up and I’m wondering how this recipe works if made a day ahead.
Loved this, it’s a step up from the old school pasta salad my mom used to make with Italian dressing. Very fresh and delicious, it’ll be my go-to from now on!
Thanks, Suzana! Glad you enjoyed it!
My husband and I loved this recipe! We aren’t raw tomato fans so I did leave those out, but I added in some chickpeas for another texture and it was great. Thank you for sharing! Definitely our go-to pasta salad now.
Love the chickpea addition!
It was totally good.
Thanks, Priscilla!
Noodles
Pasta House Dressing
Artichokes
Tomatoes
Black Olives
Feta
This is SO good!!! One kids said she wished it had triple the corn (it was one of the best parts!) but we all chowed it and were so happy it made a lot for leftovers. Yum!
I agree on the corn! Glad your family liked this, Ashley! Thanks for letting me know!
Sounds like a winner up until the corn, seems like a strange add to a Greek sala, but plan to omit. Can’t wait to try!
Honestly the corn (we used fresh) was one of the best parts. It might not be the most authentic but it was definitely good!
The flavors of the dressing make it “Greek-inspired” but I’m not claiming it to be an authentic Greek dish. 🙂 I have heard that corn is a very popular street food in Greece, so maybe corn isn’t terribly off the mark to throw in a salad? Either way, you can definitely leave it out if you’d like.
Disgusting and nothing Greek about it.
Hi Stavros! In addition to your comment here, I also received your email detailing all the missteps in this recipe. I’m sorry it’s not appealing to you (although in real life, it’s not disgusting at all – it’s very tasty!). I’m sure you are right and this would not be eaten in Greece, so it’s a huge relief I never told my audience they could get something like this if they traveled there. I simply wanted to incorporate a few Mediterranean flavors (lemon, oregano, red peppers, feta, etc) into a fun pasta salad. So, I suppose this is more of a “Greek flavor-inspired” recipe, and I meant no offense to you or anyone else. Thanks for chiming in with your thoughts.
Yummy yum. We loved it. My family prefers a little bit more of a creamy dressing so I took down the olive oil and added some Mayo. Nice and fresh for summertime, and it came together quickly.
Great idea on the mayo in the dressing, Lana (love that you could easily pivot and adapt for your family’s taste buds). Glad you guys liked it!
Made this today and we all loved it! I also made the peasant bread to go along with it, and that was also a huge hit!
I added some grilled chicken breast on the side, and it was the perfect summer meal.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, it’s a keeper!
Yum, Laura! Wish I had been eating at your house!
Just made this……..I am very pleased. I didn’t have the dill so I just used italian seasoning. I will definitely make again.
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know what you thought, Andi! Glad you liked it!
Can the dressing be made and stored? How long? Fridge?
Yes. It can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator in a covered container for a week or two. Just shake or whisk to recombine before using.
The only thing stopping me from making this tonight is the absence of feta cheese in my fridge! On the menu for later in the week though! And can I just say how much I love looking at all the “ X years ago” recipes? Unbelievable how long ago you shared some of them! That chocolate cake is still a favorite.
Okay, I spoke WAY too soon! Shrimp tacos were on the menu for tonight but my shrimp was still frozen, so I grabbed feta on the way home from swim lessons and made this instead! So good! I agree with you about the corn—just the right bit of sweet crunch. I forgot to look for jarred roasted peppers, but I happened to have some fresh ones so I charred them on my gas stove. I also subbed fresh oregano in the dressing and it was so good!
Fresh oregano!! I’m growing some in my new aero garden (in my office, haha) and can’t wait to use it in this salad. Glad you made it and loved it, Vicky! (Also excited for the shrimp tacos yet to come – those are a favorite around here)
This looks like it is going to be my new favorite food! Cannot wait to try it.