Easy Greek Pasta Salad [+ Video]
A fresh and easy Greek Pasta Salad just in time for summer! This crowd-pleasing side dish is tasty alongside grilled meats at all your backyard barbecues.
Easy Greek Pasta Salad
This easy Greek pasta salad is all about one thing: the chunks of feta cheese. Yes, I love the chewy pasta, the crunch of the fresh veggies, and the tangy dressing. It’s basically summer in a bowl, colorful and fresh.
But honestly? It’s all about the feta for me. Every time I see someone on the Food Network making a salad with chunks of feta cheese, I vow to stop what I’m doing and immediately follow their lead. And now, you can too.
The red wine vinaigrette that’s tossed with this cucumber pasta salad is so simple and flavorful, you can throw it together right before you need it. And it comes together in minutes with just a few pantry ingredients. Save the recipe because you’ll want it on all your other salads, too!
I love the classic combination of cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and olives. In traditional Greek salads, chopping up a tomato is the norm. Since grocery store tomatoes can be unpredictable, I go with my favorite brand of grape tomatoes and slice them lengthwise. I also use red onion and kalamata olives, but you are welcome to substitute your favorite onions and olives.
This is one Greek pasta salad your guests will rave about! It is simply the BEST with your favorite summery grilled meats (find my favorite grilled chicken recipe here) or at any potluck or picnic you are attending.
What’s Needed for Greek Pasta Salad?
The ingredients list for this Greek pasta salad recipe is short and sweet:
- Rotini
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Garlic
- Dried oregano
- Persian cucumbers
- Red onion
- Grape tomatoes
- Feta cheese
- Pitted Kalamata olives
How to Make Greek Pasta Salad
This feta and cucumber pasta salad couldn’t be easier to make! Here are the basic steps to making this simple pasta salad recipe:
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions, then drain and let cool.
- Whisk together the Greek dressing.
- Toss together the prepared vegetables, feta, and cooled pasta in a large bowl.
- Drizzle over the dressing and toss to combine.
How Long Will Pasta Salad Last?
To maximize the shelf life of pasta salad for safety and quality, refrigerate the pasta salad in airtight containers. Properly stored, pasta salad will last for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
What’s the Best Pasta for Pasta Salad?
You can use whatever pasta you want in this Greek Pasta Salad. I love rotini because it’s fun to eat and the kids love it. I also love the way the dressing gets caught in the nooks and crannies and infuses the pasta with flavor. Since all the other ingredients are chopped, I definitely suggest going with something thicker and bite-sized (as opposed to long, skinny spaghetti noodles).
Tips for the Best Pasta Salad
Note that slightly undercooked pasta is best in this simple pasta salad so that it doesn’t absorb all of that dressing and go extra soft in serving.
I use Persian cucumbers in this easy pasta salad recipe because they taste the best (as if I just picked them from my own garden). They also have soft skins (no peeling) and minimal seeds (no seeding). Hothouse or Japanese cucumbers are another good choice if you can’t find Persians.
Be sure to buy a CHUNK of feta cheese, not the crumbled kind. It’s just not the same. The goal is uniformly cubed salty bites of feta because they look great and taste even better. It really brings the salad together!
Feta cheese is sold in a lot of varieties lately, so if you’re up for it we totally recommend trying a flavored versus traditional feta cheese. There’s not going to be a huge change but it gives an extra little something. And if you’re not feeling the feta cheese thing you can easily use parmesan or skip the cheese all together.
More PASTA SALAD IDEAS:
- Easy Southern English Pea Pasta Salad
- Easy Italian Pasta Salad
- Southwest Pasta Salad
- Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Bacon Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad
- Elote Mexican Corn Pasta Salad
- Cuban Pasta Salad
- Teriyaki Chicken Pasta Salad
- ALL OF OUR PASTA SALAD RECIPES!
More MACARONI RECIPES:
Easy Greek Pasta Salad
Easy Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Greek Dressing:
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
For the Pasta Salad:
- 1 pound rotini pasta (or other small pasta)
- 8 ounces Persian cucumbers , diced (about 3)
- 1/4 cup sliced red onion
- 1 pint grape tomatoes , halved lengthwise
- 8 ounces feta cheese , cubed
- 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
Instructions
- To cook the pasta, bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil.
- Add pasta and cook according to package instructions, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Drain well and rinse with cold water.
- Meanwhile, to make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta, cucumbers, onion, tomatoes, feta, and olives.
- Drizzle with dressing.
- Toss gently until uniformly combined and serve.
