Lighten things up with this delicious Greek Pasta Salad. Made with a variety of fresh vegetables, fusilli pasta, feta cheese and topped with a homemade dressing. This is perfect for your next cookout or to enjoy as a meal by itself.
The weather is warming up and spring is finally here. I don’t know about you, but I am ready to come out of hibernation and ditch the warm heavy meals. Nothing says light and fresh like this greek pasta salad. It is bright, packed with flavor, and so refreshing!
If you are looking for a side dish that is easy and doesn’t involve much cooking, this is for you! Other than cooking the pasta, all you have to do is chop the vegetables and assemble this dish.
To prepare this ahead of time, I would recommend keeping the sliced veggies and pasta in separate containers in your refrigerator. Once you are ready to serve, toss all the ingredients together and top it with the homemade dressing.
What is Greek Pasta Salad Made Of
Greek pasta salad is so delicious because of all of the fresh ingredients. Here is a list of everything you will need for this Greek Pasta Salad recipe.
- Fusilli Pasta – This is my favorite to use, but any other small pasta such as rotini will work great.
- Cherry tomatoes – adds some color to the pasta salad.
- English Cucumber – 5 mini cucumbers could be substituted.
- Kalamata Olives – Feel free to use canned sliced olives to make it easier.
- Red Bell Pepper – Any color bell pepper will work.
- Red Onion – Make sure to let them soak in ice water to remove the sharpness before adding.
- Feta cheese – Half of the cheese is mixed into the salad and half is used to top the dish before serving.
- Homemade dressing – Made from a combination of olive oil, vinegar, garlic, sugar, mustard, oregano, salt, and pepper. If you prefer, you can use a store bought Greek or Italian dressing.
How To Make Greek Pasta Salad
Start by cutting the red onion into thinly sliced semi-circles and soaking them in ice water for 30 minutes. This will remove the sharpness of the onion, but keep the taste. Strain the onions after they have soaked and pat them dry with a paper towel.
While the onions are soaking, prepare the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and sprinkle in a generous amount of salt. Once boiling, add the fusilli noodles, stir, and cook for the amount of time directed on the package. After the noodles are cooked, strain and rinse well with cold water. This will help the dressing stick to the noodles. Finally, allow the pasta to drain and cool slightly in the colander for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, add the pasta, onions, cucumber, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, red pepper, and half of the feta cheese. Set the mixture aside while you prepare the homemade dressing.
Add all of the dressing ingredients to a separate mixing bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour ¾ of the dressing over the pasta salad and toss until it’s fully coated. Taste the salad and add additional dressing as needed. Sprinkle the other half of the feta cheese over the pasta salad before serving.
What to Serve With Greek Pasta Salad
This recipe makes a great side dish for a variety of meals. I personally love serving this alongside some grilled chicken or pork, but there are tons of other options. Check out some of the other ideas listed below to serve with this greek pasta salad.
Recipe Tips
- Soaking the sliced onions is optional, but I highly recommend doing it if you have time! This will remove any sharpness from the onions, so they don’t have a strong flavor in your finished pasta salad.
- I prefer a more veggie forward pasta salad, but feel free to use less if you prefer.
- If you are sensitive to salt, you may reduce the salt in the dressing to 1 teaspoon and add more as needed.
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For The Pasta Salad
- 16 ounces fusilli pasta or another small pasta you prefer
- ½ medium red onion peeled and thinly sliced into semi-circles
- 1 English cucumber diced into ½" cubes
- ¾ cup kalamata olives roughly chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 red bell pepper diced into ½" cubes
- ¾ – 1 cup feta cheese half for topping
- salt for pasta water
For The Dressing
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar or honey
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Peel and thinly slice the onion into semi-circles. Then place the semi-circles into a bowl of ice water and let soak for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes strain and pat dry with paper towels.
- Place a large pot filled with water on the stove top and salt to taste. Once boiling, add the pasta, stir, and cook for the directed amount of time on the package. Usually 10-12 minutes. Once cooked, strain and rinse well with cold water and allow to drain in the colander for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the pasta to a large bowl and add the soaked onions, cucumber, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, and half of the feta cheese. Set aside.
- To make the dressing: In a medium bowl combine the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, granulated sugar, dijon mustard, dried oregano, sea salt, and ground black pepper. Whisk vigorously until well combined.
- Pour ¾ of the dressing over the pasta salad and toss until fully coated. Taste and add the remaining dressing if you like.
- Sprinkle the remaining feta cheese over the pasta salad and serve.
Notes
- Soaking the onions will keep the onion flavor, but remove the sharpness so the taste isn’t overpowering.
- Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of veggies in this recipe, just note that you may need more or less dressing depending on the adjustments you make.