by HollyGreek Pasta Salad is an easy side, perfect to prep ahead and a hit at every party or potluck! Tender pasta, ripe juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, feta cheese and olives are tossed in a Greek dressing for the perfect make ahead side dish.
We often add grilled chicken to make it a complete meal marinated in our favorite Greek Dresssing for a full meal!
I’m a huge fan of Greek Salad, it’s easy and fresh and it’s one of those recipes where I always seem to have the ingredients on hand.
The very first time I had a Greek Salad, it was made by my friend Lisa way back in 1997 when she brought it to a barbecue at my house.
Once I’d had it that first time, we started having Greek salad every week or more! As much as I love a good Greek salad, I’m also kind of crazy for pasta salad (Dill Pickle Pasta Salad or Hawaiian Pasta Salad anyone?).
I started playing around with the my original Greek Salad recipe and made it into a pasta salad. The combination of ripe juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, red onions, feta cheese, olives and pasta tossed with a delicious greek dressing is crazy good and makes the perfect meal or side dish!
How to Make Greek Pasta Salad
- Cook your pasta al dente and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.
- While the pasta is cooking, wash and chop your fresh veggies
- Combine everything in a large bowl and toss with dressing, chill before serving! So easy right?
What Veggies go into a Greek Pasta Salad?
- cucumbers
- tomatoes
- red onions
- bell peppers
- olives
Of course you can prepare a homemade dressing for this recipe but using a store bought Greek dressing makes it really quick to make and tastes delicious! This recipe is loaded with veggies and we often use a whole wheat pasta and a light Greek dressing to make a this a healthy Greek pasta salad.
More Pasta Salad Recipes You’ll Love
- Italian Pasta Salad (easy!)
- Caesar Pasta Salad – Full meal in one dish
- Avocado Pasta Salad
- Dill Pickle Pasta Salad – Popular for potlucks!
- Summer Pasta Salad – Garden fresh
More Greek Inspired Recipes
- Greek Tortellini Salad
- Greek Tzatziki (Yogurt Cucumber Dip)
- Greek Spaghetti Squash
- Baklava Cheesecake
If your family finds the red onion has a little bit too much bite you can soak it in ice water with a pinch of salt as you’re preparing the rest of the ingredients. Shake for 10 seconds, drain and repeat if needed.
This salad will hold up in the fridge for about 5 days so it’s the perfect school or work lunch and is a great make ahead dish for a barbecue or potluc!
Easy Greek Pasta Salad
Prep Time 8 minutes
Servings 12 servings
Ingredients
- 16 ounces short pasta rotini, bow ties, penne
- ¾ long english cucumber diced
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
- 1 bell pepper red or orange, diced
- ½ cup sliced pitted olives
- ½ cup feta cheese cubed
- ⅓ cup red onion diced
Dressing
- 1 cup bottled greek vinaigrette dressing
OR
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- salt & pepper to taste
Follow Spend with Pennies on Pinterest
Instructions
- Whisk together dressing ingredients.
- Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Rinse under cold water.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
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I love this salad. It is quick to make and delicious. My family and friends love it too.
I made too much dressing and I was wondering if you can store it in the fridge and how long can it be stored?
The dressing can be kept in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
Delicious. Was going to buy this for $6.99 lb at the deli. This was so affordable and most of all delicious, fresh and healthy.
Perfect Celia!
This greek pasta salad is a perfect salad recipe i have ever tried so far. I love this greek pasta salad. Thanks for sharing this recipe with all of us.
Made this as a side with dinner tonight and was super happy with the result! I was pressed for time and used a bottled Greek Salad Dressing and it was delicious! My family likes feta so personally I would recommend adding more feta if your family does too! Will be making this again in the future as it is so simple and easy yet so delicious!
I love finding new recipes, thanks
This was exactly the pasta salad I was looking for! It reminded me of the pasta salad La Madeleine makes. Since I had younger kids to feed I used my handy chopper to mince the olives, onions, and bell pepper so they wouldn’t be so visible to the eye. They ate it up as everyone else did! Thanks for the recipe. I used a bottle of Kraft Greek Vinaigrette on it as the dressing. Perfect!
Mmmmm, that sounds perfect Llana! Glad they enjoyed it.
Just made the Easy Kale Salad. It was a hit with my house and neighbors alike!
Delicious!! I made a cup pasta and it made 2 servings. I am going to try the dressing you suggested but I also tried Renee’s Greek Feta dressing and I added light feta on top with some Turkish pepper and through in a few sliced pepperocinni’s for heat. Who is the person who said this pasta salad is lazy? I added chicken to.mine also. If its lazy dont make pasta salad.then spend more time and make a roasted sweet.potato salad.
Glad you enjoyed it, Jamie! Your version sounds super delicious!
Fantastic recipe. This has become one of our household favorites. Very easy to make. Thanks for sharing!!!
I loved this recipe but the main reason I use your site is the way your recipes print out. One page usually with everything including nutritional info.
Thank you for the feedback Neal! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Hello! I was just wondering what portion size you used for the nutrition information! I’m looking forward to making this! Thanks!
Hi Sarah, a serving would be approximately 1 to 1 ½ cups of pasta salad.
How is a serving 1 cup if it serves 12 and only 16 oz. Of pasta??
There are many other additions that add to the bulk of this recipe.
Thank you so much, I loved this recipe. Will be making it again FOR SURE. I did tweak it slightly to my taste, but a solid recipe overall. I’ve been searching for a Greek Pasta Salad recipe for a long time so I’m so happy I found one I love! Things I did a little different were:
1. Cut the pasta quantity in half.
2. Used Ken’s Greek dressing and added 1/4 cup Balsalmic Vinegarette and 2 tablespoons Lemon juice.
3. Added 1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
4. Added 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning.
5. Used 14 oz. Feta (2 packages). Thinking about going back to the store for 1 more :-)
6. Used the whole English cucumber.
7. Sadly had to leave the olives, onions, and peppers on the side (kids).
Thanks again YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!!
That sounds delicious Stephanie! So glad everyone enjoyed it (even with some of the veggies on the side)!
honestly this is the worst recipe i’ve ever came across for any kind of salad – seems lazy
I’m not sure how a pasta salad with fresh veggies and an option for a homemade dressing seems lazy to you but it seems easy and delicious to me!
I made this greek salad many times for family picnic and it was always the first thing to go, so I don’t understand how you rate this salad worse and lazy. I wonder if you even made it?
I agree with you on it being a hit. Also far from being lazy.
Great recipe. Wondering if I should leave out the feta and grape tomatoes until tomorrow area hours before I will be serving if?
I’ve made this before. Loved it. I add artichokes and a little more ‘ dressing’ .
This salad will hold up in the fridge for about 5 days so it’s perfect to make ahead of time! Love the idea of artichokes too!
Easy and delish !
great recipe; also use green bell peppers (a must), & fresh parsley chopped, or dried. can u tell us what brand greek dressing u use ? thanks
Sounds great Phyllis! I just buy whichever brand of dressing is on sale that day! Enjoy this salad!
I don’t know how to cook but I did creamy cucumber salad from the menu it was so easy to make and my family did enjoy the salad thanks
Yay!! Thats great to hear Sebongile! We are glad you and your family enjoyed it!
Looks great
Thanks Lyn!
I make this all year round for my grandchildren. Not exactly Greek but a mix of Greek Italian and English. I omit the red onion and use finely chopped celery instead. I omit the olives (the kids don’t like them). I use chopped red,yellow and orange bell peppers, gives a nice flavour and looks pretty. I also add either cooked chick peas,or pine nuts(rather expensive though). Interesting texture. Feta and parmasen cheeses .
My dressing is Lemon juice(fresh), italian and orageno (dried or fresh if available). Olive oil, lots of freshly squeezed garlic cloves. Freshly finely chopped parsley, time consuming to make but my grandchildren love helping to prepare.
I use the (small) spiral pasta (sorry I don’t know the name.
Lasts about 5 days in the fridge. I have to ration it because my three grandchildren would eat all of it, all of the time and I’m sure it’s high in calories.
Your version sounds delicious Betty and I bet it’s beautiful with all of the colors of veggies!
I don’t know what I did wrong. Followed the recipe exactly. Mine turned out very bland. Kept adding salt & pepper. Made up some Good Season’s Herb & Garlic dressing & added that. Cut up some Basil from the garden & added. I seemed to have more pasta than other ingredients. Don’t think I’ll make again.
Yes, this is a pasta salad so it is intended to have more pasta than other ingredients. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the flavor of this recipe.
Easy and good but mine seemed kind of bland also. I even let it sit in the fridge overnight to let the dressing marinate the pasta and veggies. Any suggestions to kick it up a notch?
You can add more seasonings, fresh herbs, olives, extra feta, sundried tomatoes for extra punch if you’d like.
Has anyone tried substituting the cucumber with zucchini? How was it? I have a ton of zooks from my garden and don’t know what to do with them, so was wondering if this recipe works with zucchini too.
I think that would work perfectly, let us know how it goes!