How to Make Greek Pasta Salad?

Whether you’re looking for a flavorful side dish or a hearty main course, this Greek pasta salad is sure to please. Featuring a delicious combination of olives, peppers, and feta cheese, it’s perfect for any occasion. Plus, it’s easy to make and can be tailored to your taste preferences. So why not give it a try today? You won’t regret it!

How to Make Greek Pasta Salad

How to Make Greek Pasta Salad?

Pasta salads are a Summer staple, and this Greek pasta salad is no exception! Tons of flavor and nutrients in every bite, this dish will quickly become one of your favorites. Ready in minutes, it’s the perfect meal for a hot day. So, grab your ingredients and let’s get started!

Choosing your favorite pasta

You can use whatever pasta you like to make this recipe. I liked Garganelli and rotini the best, but penne, farfalle or rigatoni could also excellent choices.

If you follow gluten free diet, you can modify the recipe and try it with lentil pasta or chickpea pasta. That’s what I love about cooking as there is always room to improvise any recipe and, in the results, you find an entirely different result and explore a new dimension of the same recipe.

Prep in Advance – No Cooking Involved

This Greek pasta salad is a great summertime meal because you can prep all of its ingredients for a day in advance and store everything in bowls or containers because there is not much in terms of cooking that is involved.

You can prepare the pasta in advance as well and if you do, rinse it to cool off and removing the starch. Add a spoon or two of olive oil and toss it well. Transfer to a container or air tight jar and store it alongside other ingredients in the fridge till the time you are ready to assemble the salad and eat.

Never Forget to Soak the Onions

When working with raw red onions, the flavor can be a bit much sometimes. My friend taught me a simple hack about how to make them more subtle. Soak the chopped onions in cold and slightly salty water to tame its punchy bite down. Soaking the onions for 10 minutes in salty water will make them blend perfectly with other ingredients.

Greek Pasta Salad Recipe Ingredients

  • 1 pound rotini pasta, or other pasta shape of your choice
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cucumber, quartered and sliced
  • 1/2 small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
  • 1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 red pepper, finely diced

How to Make Greek Pasta Salad: Step by Step Recipe

Step:1

Boil a large pot of water, add your favorite pasta (Favorite in term of pasta design) and cook it to get your required doneness. Once al-dente, rinse in cold water until it is cool.

Step:2

As we suggested, or as a good friend of mine suggested, soak the chopped or sliced onions in cold salted water for 10 approximately minutes. After 10 minutes, drain the water and let the onion sit there.

Step:3

You can prepare dressing for the salad if you’d like. Here are the ingredients for dressing also called lemon olive oil dressing!

  • 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano, optional
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Mix the ingredients in a small bowl, add the seasoning to your taste.

Step:4

Once all the ingredients are ready, its time to assemble and serve the dish. Mix pasta, onion, pepper, tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, cucumber and parsley together. Add ¼ cup of dressing that we prepared already. Add more dressing as required. Seasoning can be stored in the fridge for well over a week.

Add salt and pepper to the taste and Enjoy delicious and nutrient rich healthy Greek Pasta Salad with your loved ones!

Is Greek Salad the healthiest salad around?

Given the ingredients this Greek Pasta Salad is pretty healthy. It is packed with healthier veggies without any food preservatives or a heavy creamy dressing. We suggested lemon olive oil dressing which itself is pretty healthy. So yes, Greek Pasta Salad is a healthy summertime dish that everyone should add in their routine diet.

How can you make Vegan Greek pasta Salad?

The best way to make this dish vegan is by either leaving out the feta or using a substitute. You can easily find a substitute for feta or if you leave out the cheese, the dish will be as healthy and tasty as it was before.

Does pasta salad make you gain weight?

No, pasta salad does not make you gain weight. However, eating large amounts of any type of food can lead to weight gain if you’re not careful about how much you eat. It’s important to remember that all foods have calories, and even healthy foods like pasta salad can add up if you’re not mindful of your portions. So, enjoy your pasta salad, but remember to eat in moderation.

Why is Greek salad so tasty?

There are many reasons why Greek salad is so tasty. The olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta cheese all contribute to the classic Mediterranean flavors that are found in Greek salad. Additionally, the olive oil and vinegar used to dress the salad add a delicious richness and tanginess that takes this dish to the next level. And finally, the herbs such as oregano give Greek salad its characteristic flavor which completes this irresistible dish.

What pasta to use in Greek Pasta Salad?

Answer: You could use any type of pasta you like in a Greek Pasta Salad. Some people might prefer to use a type of pasta that has a more subtle flavor, like farfalle (butterfly) pasta, so the other ingredients in the salad can shine through. Others might prefer to use a more flavorful pasta, like cavatappi (corkscrew), which would also pair well with the feta cheese and Kalamata olives in the salad.

Final Thoughts

Greek pasta salad is a great dish to make for summer potlucks and barbecues. The recipe is easy to follow, and the ingredients can be easily adapted to fit your taste preference.

We thank you for reading our post on Greek pasta salad. We hope you enjoy making this dish as much as we enjoyed writing about it. Be sure to let us know how it turns out in the comments below, and don’t forget to share a photo of your creation with us on social media!