This Greek Pasta Salad is light and fresh, loaded with garden tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers tossed in a homemade Greek dressing with Kalamata olives and Feta cheese. Perfect for summer parties or potlucks!
Greek Pasta Salad
I love pasta salad, but taking my Greek Salad recipe and adding it to pasta is my favorite when I want a light pasta salad with no mayo. It’s easy to make and even tastes great the next day or two. If you’re entertaining, add an easy charcuterie board to the menu. Want to try something more traditional? This Summer Macaroni Salad is perfect!
For extra flavor I like using the brine from the olives in my vinaigrette. I love mixing up the colors so I used orange bell peppers but green or red are perfectly fine. Any variety of cucumbers will work here, I usually use English cucumbers or a few smaller Persian cucumbers because you don’t have to peel them or remove the seeds but if your garden is overgrowing with other varieties of cucumber, you make want to scoop the seeds out first. You can use wheat or gluten-free pasta, for added fiber adding chickpeas would also be great.
Tips for Cooking Perfect Pasta for Salad
For perfect pasta salad here’s a few tips for success.
- Choose the best shape. Look for short pasta shapes with nooks and crannies to trap the dressing such as fusilli, rotini, cavatappi or bow ties.
- Salt the pasta water. Because pasta salad is eaten cold, the flavors tend to get muted so you want to make sure your pasta is well-salted as it cooks.
- Cook the pasta a little past al dente. Since you’re serving the pasta cold, cook the pasta a minute or two longer than you normally would, but careful not to let it get mushy. Pasta gets hard as it cools, so the extra cooking time will keep it moist.
Variations
- Swap the pasta for spinach tortellini to make it a Greek Tortellini Salad
- Cut the veggies small and use orzo in place of the pasta to make a Greek Orzo Pasta Salad
- Make it a meal and add grilled chicken to make it a Greek Chicken Pasta Salad
More Pasta Salads
- Summer Pasta Salad with Baby Greens
- Macaroni Salad with Tomatoes and Zucchini
- Macaroni Salad with Tomatoes
- Shrimp Tortellini Salad
- Summer Cavatelli
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 16 oz pasta (rotini, cavatappi or bow ties), wheat or gluten-free
- 1/2 cup halved pitted kalamata olives, plus 2 tablespoons brine
- 1/3 cup red onion, diced
- 3 cups (from 1 large) English cucumber, diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 orange bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, cubed
- fresh oregano, optional garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions for al dente, adding an extra minute.
- Drain and rinse under cold water, drain.
- Meanwhile, In a large bowl, combine the dressing ingredients.
- Add the olives, red onion and brine from the olives and mix to combine.
- Stir in the pasta with the cucumber, tomatoes and bell pepper and toss well. Add the cheese just before ready to serve.
Last Step:
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Nutrition
Photo credit: Jess Larson
This is absolutely delicious and so fresh tasting for summer!
Delicious and easy prep!
Amazing, even my kids loved it. So great as a side dish during the summer
Can this recipe be made the night before?
Yes, but I would keep some dressing back to add just before serving (the pasta will soak it up).
I don’t know why I ever look at other recipes, Gina’s are the tastiest, easiest and most complete. This salad was a huge hit at a barbecue today and just so much fun to make❤️
Thanks Heidi!
Is there a recipe for the brine needed? Or did I miss that in the instructions?
It’s the liquid in the jar the olives come in.
One of my favorite recipes. I add shrimp for extra protein.
This is so good. My mom said we should keep it in our weekly rotation.
Can this be made in advance?
Delicious Added some cooked chopped turkey breast and chick peas for xtra protein.
love the recipe – but when you click on WW points, it takes you to their website and you cannot find point value??
Weight Watchers changed and requires everyone to use the app only, so if you download the app on your phone you can still see points and recipe builder from there when you’re logged into your account. 🙁
Delicious & Light!
fast and tasty meal
Delicious! I added an extra bell pepper for more veggies. Definitely making this again!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious and perfect for a hot summer day! Followed recipe to the T and even my husband, who does not care for cucumbers or olives said it was good.
A low-calorie PASTA salad?? Delicious! I used DeLallo’s wheat pasta and cut all of the veggies small, quartering the cherry tomatoes to guarantee a tomato in every bite. It was loved by all! It’s got a fresh taste that was a great companion to ST’s Kalua Pork. A keeper, for sure!
Easy and tasty for dinner side and lunches next day.
Love the perfect recipe! Sometimes even use lettuce instead of pasta as a dinner salad, both ways get rave reviews!
The dressing for this salad is great! Very good and perfect to bring to a pot luck. I’ve made this and added chick peas and ate it for lunch.
Great salad! Loved it and have made it a few times now! Also easy to halve ingredients for a smaller quantity.
Easy and quick to prepare. Will definitely do this again
love love love
Love this recipe. Well balanced and beautiful.
Wonderful recipe but did not like dressing ingredients when mixed.
I omitted the recipe dressing and used Ken’s Light Greek Vinaigrette and got rave reviews.
This is one of the best pasta salads I’ve ever had. We had it as a side at dinner with Mahi Mahi as the main entree. We had enough for Lunch the following day.
Excellent pasta salad! Easy to make, flavorful, and all the different colors make it beautiful as well. You can go easier on the red onion if you’re not a huge fan … a little raw red onion goes a long way!
This salad was so yummy! I wonder how it would be if I substituted some of my fresh dill or basil. Thoughts?
I chose this Greek pasta salad recipe as the oil content was considerably less in the dressing. We added some black olives to the Kalamatas. Easy to prepare and very flavorful. Thank you!
This was great. Want to make it more awesome? Add a can of Trader Joes Greek Chickpeas with Parsley and Cumin. SO GOOD.
It was good. I added cooked chicken cubes to make it a little more of a hearty meal.
It is good and I’ll make it again with less pasta and move veggies.
What is the specific serving size?
One cup
Very tasty! Can’t even tell it’s got whole wheat noodles. Great summer salad 😊
Huge hit! I made this for 4th of July and brought leftovers to work the next day- Absolutely Everyone loved it😍
I would like to make this for a weekend family party. I’m considering adding some fresh mint that I have in my garden, and also some fresh parsley. Would you recommend? And if so, how much (2T each?)? Thank you!
I have made this salad many times. My family loves it. It is great to take to partys.
Hi Gina! I am planning on making this tomorrow, I cannot wait! Im wondering about the serving size. Is it one cup in a liquid measuring cup? Or do you use a dry measure cup for a serving. Thanks!
,dry cup measure
Made this for meal prep for lunches this week and I’m so excited to eat lunch every day! Delicious!
This is the BEST version of Greek pasta salad and the closest to my own recipe that I’ve ever made.I Beverly use Israeli couscous or penna pasta. TOTALLY agree with salting/seasoning the water and cooking just past al dente… I also put a Knorr chicken bullion cube, a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, a teaspoon of black pepper and a couple tablespoons of olive oil in my pasta water to give it a bit of flavour. I don’t use fresh garlic bc of the harsh bitterness of raw garlic… garlic powder is best in this recipe. I cut the bitterness of the dressing with a teaspoon of sugar and I use 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar, 3 tablespoons FRESH lemon juice and 2 tablespoons brine/juice from my kalamata olives. I use Roma tomatoes bc they’re heartier and can be de-seeded easily. They tend to stand up to the Vinaigrette a bit longer – Not that this pasta salad lasts more than 48 hours in our house!!! I also do this the night before… I keep the Veg and Dressing in a separate container overnight to marinate and then mix with the pasta and feta the next day or just before serving. If you use this method, you can loosen up the cold pasta with a bit of olive oil and a quick stir. We like the crunch of an English cucumber, so I use a whole one and I usually use green bell pepper, but whatever I have on hand in what I throw in. This is alao super nice over a bed of greens/lettuce as a salad and I’ll do a side of grilled chicken or cottage cheese for a bit of protein as a more filling meal… great with hummus and pita as a quick healthy snack too!!
Can you freeze the leftovers?
I dont think raw veggies and cooked pasta would freeze very well 😕
It the recipe in half.
Excellent fresh tasting pasta salad recipe! Made exactly as directed and loved it, thank you!
I’ve made this twice now! We love it!
I halved the recipe, and reduced the amount of olive oil a little bit to cut down on as many calories as I could because I knew that I would be eating much more than what’s listed as a serving here. It tasted great and was much more filling than I would’ve guessed. Will definitely make again in the future.
Had this salad with smoke smoked beef ribs – the light, slightly acidic salad was a great complement to the rich, fatty ribs. It’s great as written, but once I added sliced pepperoncini, it was perfect. This reminds me of her Italian Chopped Salad which is what gave me the idea of adding pepperoncini. I may add roasted red peppers next time as well. I’m also thinking that I’ll throw some pepperoni and/or salami to make it a complete meal… Thank you for such great, versatile recipes!
A bit too tangy, I think you need less red wine vinegar than the recipe suggests unless you’re using a flavored pasta.
I put it in the fridge and hoping that will emulsify and mute some of the tanginess
LOVE this recipe! I used chickpea pasta to increase protein and decrease carbs, Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious!
This is AMAZING!!! I did substitute zucchini for the cucumber. I have made this 3 times already and will many many times!
All I can say is YUMMIE👍😁
Love this salad…I made it for the first time last year and it is my go too! It also was the first salad that had me try my hand at making the dressing which I wouldn’t go back to store bought now.
This looks amazing. Can I make it the day before serving?
I have made this several time and it is absolutely delicious!!!
So refreshing and delicious, especially made with fresh tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumber from my garden. Sometimes I toss in some sliced turkey pepperoni for more protein.
I used chickpea pasta for this. Does that change the purple poiints? Thanks.
Sooooo delicious! Thank you for all the wonderful, healthy recipes!
I love all of your recipes! Just tried the Greek pasta salad one today and I’m hooked! Thank you so much 😊
I absolutely love this salad. I made it for my family and they all loved it. I added a little more vinegar and more fetta. It gave it a little more flavor.
This salad is definitely a keeper. I did double the dressing to get more flavor in the salad. It was perfect. Will be making this often this summer with grilled chicken.
I love this recipe. It comes together quickly and has a TON of flavor. I love it even more the next day after all the flavors have been marinating in the fridge. I will definitely be making this on a regular basis, so good for spring/summer.
Delicious!! The dressing itself is a stand alone. My husband took a fork to the serving bowl. Will be a staple at our house this summer!
What if I do not have red wine vinegar? I have regular white vinegar and a few different kinds of salad dressing?
The white vinegar will be OK.
While this is delish and I make it all the time, I calculated and my calorie count is different. I never have whole wheat or gluten free pasta on hand because my kids can sniff this stuff out like no other, BUT my calculations are 429kcal with regular pasta and that is divided into 1 c servings to feed my entire family as a quick easy lunch meal or side for dinner. Hope this is helpful!
I love the bold flavors. Great leftover for lunch.
I used barilla chickpea rotini and a fat free feta and this recipe came out to 1 smart point for a cup
This was absolutely delicious! Thank you for all your amazing recipes!
Made exactly as written and it is DE-LICIOUS! I love this salad. Light, flavorful, with yummy flavors. Thanks!
What can I substitute for olives? I’m not a fan. I love a light salad. I’m also not a fan of feta but can see goat cheese in its place. Any ideas?
Why ni
Ot try chopped marinated artichoke hearts in place of olives, and goat cheese is a great substitute for feta
Feta is goats cheese?
Not in America . They use cows milk to make feta
How many cups of pasta is 16 oz uncooked? Thank you!
Yummo! Love this recipe. Easy to make and it makes a huge bowl. Perfect for a summer bbq. Thank you.
Yummo! Love this recipe. Easy to make and it makes a huge bowl. Perfect for a summer bbq. Thank you.
Hi. Love your recipes! I’m looking to make this with quinoa instead of pasta. Would you know how much dry, uncooked quinoa I would use? Thanks!
Oh my goodness. This salad is delicious. Made it for an afternoon get together and couldn’t resist sampling it right way. Would also be good with grilled shrimp mixed in just before serving.
I found it too light in flavor, So I had to mix it with some green goddess dressing. Yours is great for a diet though.
Looks really good too.
Is this to be eaten cold or room temperature?
You can serve it either way, your preference.
Hi! I was wondering how you would go about adding chicken to this recipe? How much? Any seasoning? Thank you! So excited to make this for Ladies Night!
OMG this has become my 2019 go to summer salad. I maje it at least once a week. Soooooooo goooood!
Made it and it’s delicious and easy.
How long does this keep the fridge? I’m only making this for myself.
I made the whole recipe on Monday. We’ve been eating it all week. Delicious. A keeper.
This looks great! – can’t wait to try it! I am on WW and do a lot of meal prep – could you tell me how large the servings come out to, approximately? It is hard to visually divide a big vat of pasta salad by 16. And thank you so much for making it possible to be excited about and always satisfied by food while dieting / eating well!
Serving size is 1 cup.
My method for meal prep/dividing servings is using my food scale. I weigh the total amount, and then know how much each serving should weigh. Much easier than eyeballing it, and I can keep it all in one bowl in the fridge.
My food scale is probably my most used kitchen item!
This recipe was great! I added in chickpeas, avocado & a little extra lemon; only used half of the amount of oil listed to cut calories & fat, but it turned out great. I used green veggie pasta as well.
Made this today and it’s fresh and light and not over the top! I’ll definitely make it again.
This recipe is awesome. I had a can of artichokes on hand and drained those and added as well. Perfect for a quick and easy packed lunch, thanks Gina!
This salad is so tasty and easy to make. It is wonderful to enjoy a summer salad that is NOT loaded with mayo!
I will put this salad on my go to list:)
Thank You Gina for making eating healthy enjoyable 🙂
Gave 4 stars because thought it was a little dry. I doubled the recipe and used 1 tablespoon less vinegar and a little more extra virgin olive oil and freshly minced garlic instead of garlic powder. I quickly sauteed the garlic to remove a little of the bite. I also thinly sliced the red onions (instead of chopped) and sauteed until just translucent. Everyone loved the salad at our 4th of July picnic!
I made this exactly as written for 4th of July celebration. Everyone loved it. I used mini farfalle. Fantastic!
I made it according to the recipe. I thought it was bland. I was so disappointed because it looks great. Any ideas on how to give it more taste?
Add Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning to taste and it adds the perfect flavor profile! I am from Texas and we like our seasonings 🙂
This looks really good.
It appears you made the dressing in one bowl, then added to the large bowl with the salad and pasta ingredients. Am I seeing that correctly? In the directions, you are adding the pasta ingredients to the dressing.
Thanks, Happy 4th,
DELICIOUS!!!!
How does making this with regular pasta change the calorie and point count? It’s all I have the house right now.
I’ve been making variations on this salad for decades but I like the idea of marinating the red onion to reduce their bite, since some of my family don’t like raw onion. I also like to add the marinade to the pasta while it’s still warm so it really absorbs the flavor.
What’s the fresh green garnish? Also how far in advance can this be made? Looks delish!
It’s oregano. I say 1 day ahead for a party.
I made something on my own similar to this using chickpea pasta. I brought it to a friends bbq and everyone loved it. No one knew the “pasta” was made solely from chickpeas!
I like a lot of pasta. i always try to white sauce pasta and red sauce pasta. But I impressed your recipe Greek pasta salad. I will try to your recipe at a home. i also made a blog on different Indian recipes.
love this! One question… Did you use fresh oregano? The photos look like that might be the case.. and if so, would you still recommend 1 tsp?
Thanks!
I used dry but fresh I would double.
Looks delicious! I just want to confirm — is 16 servings correct? Thanks, Gina!
I’m guessing yes because I recently made another ST recipe that called for 1 cup of cooked pasta, from 2 oz dry, and this has 16oz dry pasta AND 3 cups of cucumber, among other ingredients.
This is dry as I give the cook directions.