Description
Greek Pasta Salad is a healthy and easy side dish that’s perfect for meal prep. It’s loaded with bell peppers, juicy tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, and creamy feta cheese, which are all tossed in a tasty Greek salad dressing.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 8 ounces farfalle pasta (bow tie pasta)
- 1 cup diced cucumber (about 1/2 an English cucumber)
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley, dill, or mint
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
For the Greek Salad Dressing
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon honey (or maple syrup)
- 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano)
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Make the dressing. In a Mason jar, add the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, lemon zest, honey (or maple syrup if using), Dijon mustard, oregano, a generous pinch of salt and several grinds of fresh black pepper. Seal the jar and give it a good shake until the dressing has emulsified. Don’t have a jar? Add everything to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta and drain. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente according to package directions. Drain in a colander and immediately rinse under cool running water for 30 seconds.
- Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, add the cooled pasta, cucumber, green bell pepper, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, red onion, fresh parsley (or dill or mint if using), and feta cheese.
- Cover and refrigerate. Add HALF of the prepared dressing and gently toss to combine. Let the pasta salad chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Add the remaining half of the dressing and enjoy! Just before serving, add the remaining half of the dressing and toss to combine.
Notes
- Short on time? Add the entire dressing when you assemble the salad and serve immediately or let chill for at least 20-30 minutes in the fridge.
- Make it gluten-free by using your favorite gluten-free pasta. I like lentil-based pasta for this salad.
- Make it vegan by using maple syrup instead of honey and vegan feta or leaving it out.
- Make it high protein? Use protein pasta and add a 14-oz can of drained and rinsed chickpeas to this salad.
- Make-ahead instructions: You can prep all the ingredients up to one day in advance – except the pasta – and store them in separate airtight containers in the fridge. The Greek salad dressing can also be prepared up to one day in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.
- Leftovers? It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. It’s normal for the pasta noodles to absorb the dressing as it chills in the fridge. You can add more dressing or give the pasta a good stir to get any dressing that may have pooled to the bottom before serving.
- Other pasta choices that I recommend for this salad include penne, rotini, or fusilli.
- Red onion tip: To tone down the taste of the red onion, you can soak the chopped onion in cold water for 10-15 minutes before assembling the salad. Drain the onions thoroughly before adding them to the salad.
- Nutrition information is a rough estimate based on 5 servings.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Chopped
- Cuisine: Greek
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 251
- Sugar: 2.9g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 18.8g
- Saturated Fat: 4.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11.9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 17.6g
- Fiber: 3.1g
- Protein: 3.9g
- Cholesterol: 13mg