Greek Pasta Salad
Updated Jun 07, 2025
Greek Pasta Salad is made with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and feta tossed with al dente pasta and a homemade Greek vinaigrette.
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greek pasta salad!
Greek pasta salad is one of the few things I could eat on repeat and not get sick of. It’s got all the usual Greek salad stuff: tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives, and feta, but tossing it with pasta and a quick Greek-style vinaigrette makes it feel like a little more of a full meal to me. It’s the kind of thing I’ll make ahead, stick in the fridge, and grab all week for lunch.
I brought this Greek pasta salad to a cookout recently, and a few people asked for the recipe, which always makes me feel like I did something right! It works as a side, but I’ve definitely piled a big scoop into a bowl and topped it with Air Fryer Shrimp, Pan Seared Salmon, or Yogurt Marinated Chicken and ate it for dinner more than once.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Greek Pasta Salad Ingredients
- Pasta: I like to use short pasta because it’s easier to get a forkful with the vegetables! Rotini is my favorite, but you can also use farfalle, elbow, or penne (or a gluten-free option).
- Tomatoes: Use the ripest tomatoes you can find and make sure to remove the seeds before chopping!
- Green pepper: Any medium-sized bell pepper will work, just be sure to core and de-seed.
- Red onions: I like to use half of a red onion but you can add more or less to taste!
- Olives: Go for Kalamata olives for a classic Greek flavor. But really, any olives will work.
- Cucumbers: I like to use English cucumbers because the seeds are smaller and don’t need to be removed.
- Feta cheese: Is it even Greek without the feta? There are lots of varieties of feta, so use the one you like best.
- Dressing: All you’ll need for the dressing is extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. I always use extra virgin olive oil because it’s more flavorful. Sometimes, I’ll add a little bit of red pepper flakes, cumin, or za’atar.
How to Make Greek Pasta Salad
Greek Pasta Salad Recipe
Greek Pasta Salad is made with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and feta tossed with al dente pasta and a homemade Greek vinaigrette.
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the Salad
- 8 ounces fusilli pasta
- 3 ripe tomatoes chopped
- 1 English cucumber peeled chopped
- 1 green pepper chopped
- ½ small red onion chopped
- ½ cup kalamata olives
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- To make the dressing, in a large serving bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Set aside in the fridge.
- To make the salad, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook to al dente according to package instructions. Drain the pasta, then add to the large serving bowl with the dressing. Immediately toss with the warm pasta so it can absorb the flavors.
- Add the tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, red onion, and olives and toss to coat. Chill for 1 hour for flavors to develop. When ready to serve, add the crumbled feta cheese on top and toss gently to combine.
Notes
Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 4-5 days in the fridge.
Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. Since it’s a salad though, the ingredients and measurements are just guidelines though, so feel free to adjust. To make this gluten-free, use any type of gluten-free pasta you’d like and cook it al dente.
Equipment: I love using my Cuisinart Smart Stick hand blender for making dressings. It’s quick and easy and gets me the perfect consistency, without any chunks of garlic leftover.
Original recipe
Ingredients
8 ounces rotini pasta
2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
2 cups cucumbers sliced
1 cup red onions sliced
1 cup Kalamata olives pitted, sliced
¼ cup feta cheese
Salad Dressing
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves minced
¼ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions but reduce cooking time by 2 minutes so pasta is al dente; drain well.
To make the dressing, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic, oregano and salt and whisk until blended. You can also blend in a small food processor to get a smoother dressing.
In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the dressing. Then add the tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives and feta cheese and toss. Enjoy cold or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Serving: 12ounces, Calories: 308kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium: 497mg, Potassium: 287mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 596IU, Vitamin C: 20mg, Calcium: 122mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Did You Make This Recipe?
If you try this Greek Pasta Salad recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, please rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe.
Recipe Tips
- Cook the pasta al dente. For any pasta salad recipe, I always recommend cooking the pasta al dente because it keeps the noodles from becoming mushy when you toss them with the dressing.
- Salt the pasta water. There’s a myth that salting the pasta as it boils is supposed to help it cook faster. But that’s not the real reason: It’s purely for flavoring the pasta. It’s much harder to flavor pasta after it’s been cooked!
- Don’t rinse the pasta after cooking. I like to dress my pasta salad hot so the dressing clings to it better without any vinaigrette leftover at the bottom of the dish. Allow the dressing (not rinsing with cold water) to cool down the pasta.
- Chop the ingredients into bite-sized pieces. Keeping all the ingredients small helps you get a forkful of everything in one bite, and that’s my favorite way to enjoy all the flavors and textures in this Greek pasta salad!
Serving Ideas
- Make pepper “bowls”: Hollow out halved yellow green or red peppers and stuff them with pasta salad for more fun individual servings of your pasta salad!
- Use you pasta salad as a base for protein: To make a full dinner out of this salad, I like to mix in drained, canned chickpeas, cubed grilled chicken or cooked, flaked salmon.
Comments
Looking forward to trying this Greek Pasta Salad
I hope you like it, Penny!
I was confused on the spices and used sumac instead of za’atar. I really liked it! It gave a real lemony taste which was very refreshing!
Yay, a happy mistake!! Za’atar is a spice mixture with sumac in it so it makes sense that the flavor still worked. Thanks, Joyce!!
I made this recipe for a Friday evening picnic and it went down a treat!
I followed the recipe as it is but added a tsp of maple syrup to the dressing as well. It was quick, easy and fuss free.
It was fun to make this as this was my go to dish 25 years ago when I first started to learn to cook for myself. I didn’t follow a recipe at the time and my dressing I could never get quite right, so I bought a store one which I always used too much of. It was good to see exactly how to make the dish, what quantities/ingredients to use etc. I would say this recipe here is spot on for me. I will be making this again.
That’s amazing! This must’ve been so nostalgic. Glad you enjoyed!
I’m not much of a chef but I made your Greek pasta salad for our cookout last night and it was a total hit! Thank you!
I’m so glad you gave it a try and enjoyed it! You’re so welcome!
This recipe is amazing and super simple. It was easy and my family loved it!
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear. Thanks so much!
How can I substitute red wine vinegar?
You can use any other acid like apple cider vinegar, white distilled vinegar, balsamic vinegar or lemon juice!
Light, fresh and easy summer salad.