Easy Greek Pasta Salad
This Greek Pasta Salad is easy and perfect any time! It combines tender rotini pasta with arugula, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onion, crumbled feta cheese, and a homemade salad dressing. Serve it at your next potluck, cookout, or party or as a side dish to complement your next lunch weeknight meal.
Looking for more salad ideas? Try my Easy Southern Potato Salad, Mexican Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing, or Warm Quinoa Roasted Veggie Salad with Vinaigrette.
When I’m looking for a light meal idea, pasta salad is one of my favorite dishes to make. This pasta salad is filled with fresh, crunchy veggies and bright herbs blended with just enough pasta to soak up the homemade salad dressing.
Greek salads traditionally consist of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, green bell peppers, red onion, olives, and feta cheese. This classic combination is excellent, so I didn’t make too many changes—except I removed the bell peppers and added “flavored” feta cheese.
Positioned on the healthier side, unlike many pasta salads, this version does not use mayonnaise but a homemade vinaigrette, which is light and full of flavor on its own.
Ingredients you’ll need to make Greek Pasta Salad:
Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below
It’s all about color and freshness! Here’s what I like to include, and you can add more or less, depending on your preference.
- Pasta will serve as the base of your salad. I went with rotini, a short, corkscrew-like pasta formed into a twisted shape with a tight coil. Other popular choices include fusilli (a wider, more open spiral), penne, farfalle, macaroni, or even orzo. You can also use gluten-free pasta.
- You’ll need cherry tomatoes. You can use regular tomatoes, but cherry tomatoes tend to be slightly sweeter, which is perfect for this recipe.
- Cucumbers will add a nice crunch to the pasta salad. Any cucumber will work—English, Persian, standard, or mini.
- Black olives add a briny, salty flavor to the salad. Kalamata olives are milder, while green olives are tangier.
- For the greens, you’ll need arugula. It adds a nice peppery flavor to the salad. Baby spinach or baby kale also works well. Baby spinach keeps it bite-sized. If you use full-size spinach, simply chop them into smaller pieces.
- Red onion adds a sweet profile and more crunch to the salad.
- Crumbled feta cheese adds a salty, tangy, and creamy element to the recipe. You can substitute goat cheese if you’re not a fan of feta cheese. If you want a vegan pasta salad, you can omit it.
- For the homemade salad dressing, you’ll need balsamic vinegar, olive oil (or grapeseed oil), Dijon mustard, ground mustard, brown sugar, black pepper, and oregano. You can also use white balsamic vinegar not only for its milder flavor but also because it won’t turn a salad dressing brown, for appearance’s sake.
How to make Greek Pasta Salad:
Prepare the pasta. Boil the pasta according to instructions and set it aside when done. Your pasta should be cooked al dente.
Chop the veggies. Chop the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and olives into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
Make the home salad dressing (vinaigrette). In a small bowl, add balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, ground mustard, black pepper, oregano, and brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Set aside.
Combine all ingredients. Add the cooked pasta, chopped veggies, and feta cheese in a large bowl. Top with the homemade salad dressing,
Toss. Toss all ingredients together until blended. Serve immediately or store if preparing ahead.
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t overcook the pasta. You want it to be tender but not overly soft or mushy. Follow the instructions for your pasta type for al dente results.
- Rinse the pasta with cold water after cooking to immediately stop the cooking process.
- Let your pasta cool completely before tossing it with the other ingredients. If it’s still warm, the pasta will cook the vegetables and melt the feta cheese. Cold pasta is best.
- Want some protein? Add some grilled chicken or beef salami.
- To tone down the intensity of red onion, slice it and soak it in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry before using.
- This pasta salad will last in the fridge for up to 48 hours. If stored any longer, the pasta may get mushy, and the veggies wilt.
Handy tip: Prepare Ahead!
Like many pasta salads, you can also make this recipe ahead of time. The cooked pasta and other fresh ingredients will benefit from being soaked in the dressing for a few hours. Aim for about 4 hours prior.
However, this pasta salad can also be made a day or so in advance. If you want to make this recipe the night before, toss everything together except the homemade salad dressing and arugula until you’re ready to serve. This keeps things fresh!
While pasta salad is great for cookouts, weekend grilling, and poolside gatherings (you can’t attend an event during the summer and not come across a pasta salad!), it is equally great to enjoy when you want a light lunch or to complement a weeknight meal.
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Greek Pasta Salad
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This Greek Pasta Salad is easy and perfect any time! It combines tender rotini pasta with arugula, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onion, crumbled feta cheese, and a homemade vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- 12 oz tri-colored rotini pasta
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 1 cucumber, chopped
- 1/4 cup red onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup black olives, chopped
- 1/3 cup feta cheese crumbles
- 3 oz organic arugula
For the salad dressing:
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- 3 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp oregano
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to instructions and set it aside.
- In a small bowl, add the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, ground mustard, brown sugar, black pepper, and oregano. Whisk (paid link) until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the cooked pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, black olives, arugula, and feta cheese crumbles. Top with the homemade salad dressing.
- Toss all ingredients together.
Notes
You can substitute fusilli (a wider, more open spiral), penne, farfalle, macaroni, or even orzo for the rotini. You can also use gluten-free pasta.
In place of the arugula, baby spinach or kale also works well. Baby spinach keeps it bite-sized. If you use full-size spinach, chop them into smaller pieces.
If you’re not a fan of feta cheese, you can substitute goat cheese. If you want a vegan pasta salad, you can omit it.
For the homemade salad dressing, you can also use white balsamic vinegar for a milder flavor, and it won’t turn a salad dressing brown.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Toss
- Cuisine: Greek
Nutrition
- Calories: 199
- Fat: 2.8g
Gorgeous! I love anything with feta and this salad is no exception. Beautiful pictures and this recipe is to die for! Perfect to bring to every barbacue this summer
Thanks Heather I really appreciate it!
This has EVERYTHING that I love in a salad! Feta is one of my favorite things to eat in a salad. This looks so fresh and delicious!
Michele I really enjoyed the Mediterranean Feta used in this one it really adds some flavor that I truly enjoyed. Thanks again!
ummm…sold! Absolutely sold on this entire recipe!! I love all these ingredients…especially that dijon mustard in your homemade dressing. I’m a huge Mediterranean flavor person! I can’t WAIT to try this!
Thanks a lot Amanda! Please let me know how it comes out when you try it! Thanks again!
Just what we need in this hot weather! I bet I could make that for dinner, and the family would love it.
Thanks Anne! I think the family would really enjoy this one!
This would be great for all those cookouts that summer brings. An easy side that everyone will love.
Yes Sharon this is great for any cookouts this summer! Thanks!
Mediterranean style salads have recently become some of my favorites. They’re so light and flavorful. I could eat loads of them throughout the summer and be a happy girl! This one sounds so good. Wish I had the ingredients handy, so I could make one for lunch.
Yes this is a great summer time go to. I was never a big salad person myself but the more I had the opportunity to taste some pretty good ones I started to give them a try.
Yum, this salad looks so delicious! I love the combination of flavors and textures. This would make such a great addition to summer parties, especially since you can enjoy it at room temperature or cold
Yes Karyl this is a great option for the summer. Thanks a lot!
Oh I love this salad,so refreshing,full of colors and perfect for summer!
Thank you Prasanna I appreciate it!
Oh, a pasta salad is perfect for this summer. It is really so hot here right now we are living on juices, light salads and quick meals. So this would be perfect – love the dressing. Saving for later. Sounds so yum.
Veena this is a perfect summer salad so thanks a lot!
This pasta salad looks so amazing! Love all the fresh flavors and colors! Perfect for summer!
Thanks a lot Jenni!
This is the perfect pasta salad to make with all of the lovely things popping up in my summer garden. Love all the chunks of feta too!
Thanks a lot Jenni! That feta is a great addition.
Delicious! Gotta try!
Thanks Karly! I appreciate it.