This Greek pasta salad is super simple to make and has the most delicious dressing! It’s light, fresh, and perfect for summer entertaining and potlucks!
Inspired by my favorite Greek salad recipe, this easy pasta salad has fresh tomatoes, red onion, olives, and feta cheese. It’s simple to shop for and quick to make.
Serve it as a side dish, or turn it into dinner and top it with grilled chicken or your favorite protein. For more incredible pasta salad recipes, see our easy pasta salad, orzo salad, or this Italian pasta salad with salami.
Key Ingredients
- Pasta: The best pasta shapes for pasta salad have lots of nooks and crannies to trap the dressing and bits of cheese, like penne, fusilli, rotini, and farfalle (bow tie). I also love using orzo or pearl couscous, which I use to make my couscous salad. I used mini farfalle in the photos.
- Veggies: I take inspiration from my Greek salad and use tomatoes and red onion. I swap the traditional cucumber for green bell pepper because cucumber doesn’t hold up well in this type of salad.
- Olives: I prefer pitted Kalamata olives for this salad, but you can use your favorite type. Black olives, green olives, or Castelvetrano olives are all great options.
- Feta Cheese: I recommend buying feta cheese sold in brine. It tastes better and you can use the brine in the dressing for extra flavor!
- Pepperoncini Peppers: These are optional but add a zippy flavor. I love slicing them and adding them to the pasta salad, and I also use a splash of the pepperoncini brine in my dressing for even more flavor.
- Greek Salad Dressing: My Greek dressing is super simple, made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, salt, and pepper. If I have them on hand, I also love adding some feta brine and pepperoncini brine for extra flavor (trust me, it’s delicious!).
How to Make Greek Pasta Salad
Making our Greek pasta salad is fast. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in the bottom of a big serving bowl, then pile in everything else.
This pasta salad gets better over time, so I let the pasta and veggies sit in the dressing for at least 30 minutes before serving.
This Greek salad is perfect for bringing to your next get-together. It’s fresh, colorful, and tasty. I’ve also been enjoying it myself as a base for something else. Add chickpeas, poached salmon, baked tofu, or juicy chicken breasts for a complete meal.
Seriously Good Greek Pasta Salad
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Greek pasta salad is an excellent salad to have in your back pocket. It’s simple to shop for and quick to make. Serve this as a side dish, or turn it into dinner and top it with your favorite protein.
To create a well-seasoned and flavorful salad, we use brine in two ways: First, we add a couple of tablespoons of juice from a jar of pepperoncini peppers, which adds some pep and spice. Second, we buy feta cheese packed in brine and incorporate a couple of tablespoons of the cloudy, salty liquid into the dressing. While the pepperoncini and feta brine are optional, we highly recommend them if you have them available.
You Will Need
Greek Pasta Salad8 ounces (226g) short-cut pasta, such as bow-tie, fusilli, or penne
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
3 small tomatoes, chopped, 1 ¼ cups
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 ¼ cups Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
8 ounces (226g) feta cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes
4 pepperoncini peppers, thinly sliced, optional
Salad Dressing1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (60ml) red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons (30ml) brine from jar of pepperoncini peppers or use fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30ml) brine from feta, optional, see tips
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt plus more to taste
Directions
1Place the sliced onion in a small bowl and cover with cold water. Set the bowl aside for 10 minutes so that the raw flavor of the onion calms a little. Drain and rinse the onions before adding them to the salad.
2Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender, 6 to 10 minutes (check the package for recommended cook time). Drain and rinse well under cold water.
3While the pasta cooks, in the bottom of a large bowl, make the dressing. Whisk the olive oil, red wine vinegar, pepperoncini brine, feta brine, oregano, salt, and black pepper until well blended.
4Add the drained and rinsed pasta to the dressing and mix well.
5Stir in the drained and rinsed red onion, tomatoes, bell pepper, olives, feta cheese, and sliced pepperoncini peppers.
6Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Serve or, for the best results, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Feta brine: We buy feta cheese that’s packaged in brine. That cloudy liquid is salty, creamy, and delicious whisked into our dressing. If you don’t find feta sold in brine, that’s okay. The salad still tastes great, but if you can find it, buy it. The feta is better, and you can use the brine to season all sorts of things (this pasta salad, included).
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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