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.

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Greek Pasta Salad

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 45 minutes mins

Cook Time: 12 minutes mins

Total Time: 42 minutes mins

4.96 stars (21 ratings)

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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)

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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

Red Onion: if you want mild onion flavor without the pungent overpowering flavor, soak the onions in ice water for 10 minutes before using. Drain and pat dry before using in the recipe.

Feta Cheese: look for feta cheese sold in a block vs pre-crumbled if you want creamier texture and flavor to the feta. It’s pretty easy to find in most specialty cheese sections. 

Adaptable: all of the salad ingredients can be varied based on preferences. Add more of any (or all the ingredients) or sub in different veggies if you’d like.

Dressing: this is a lightly dressed salad. Feel free to 1 1/2 or double the dressing if you’d like more on the salad.

Author: Mel

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Method: Stovetop

Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 371kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 659mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g

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Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

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