Greek Pasta Salad

Greek Pasta Salad combines tender pasta, juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, tangy onions, and creamy feta cheese. It’s topped with the absolute best, mayo-free Greek dressing.

We love adding in some protein by serving grilled Greek Chicken or baked Greek Meatballs on the side.

Greek Pasta Salad Without Mayo!

Greek Pasta Salad is fresh, light, flavorful, and filled with veggies. It’s the perfect dish for when the weather is hot and you need something that won’t heat up the kitchen. It’s also such a great side dish to bring to a potluck — trust me, it will be the talk of the party!

With the light dressing and all the fresh garden veggies, this is a salad that will leave you feeling refreshed and energized.

While creamy, mayo-heavy pasta salads like this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad or Macaroni Salad have their place, sometimes it’s nice to enjoy a lighter option that won’t leave you feeling sluggish.

Ingredients Needed

• Pasta: I love using bowtie pasta because its shape is ideal for mixing with veggies and soaking up the dressing.
• Cucumber: Grab smaller, thinner cucumbers like English or mini salad cucumbers. If you can only get large cucumbers, peel their skin and remove the seeds.
• Bell Pepper: Green bell peppers aren’t as sweet, so they work well to balance the sweetness of the tomatoes. However, if you prefer, you can use a sweet bell pepper (yellow, red, or orange).
• Cherry Tomatoes: These add a sweet, fresh flavor to this Greek Pasta Salad. Halve or quarter them depending on their size.
• Flavor Boosters: Olives for a briny taste, red onion for tang, and Italian parsley for freshness.
• Feta: Choose good-quality feta for a creamy, tangy flavor. Leave it out if you’re dairy-free.
• Greek Salad Dressing: Made with olive oil as the base, it includes flavor enhancers like lemon juice, honey, mustard, garlic, and oregano for a mix of sweet and tangy flavors. Red wine vinegar adds acidity to brighten and balance the dressing.

Other Delicious Pasta Salads:

• BLT Pasta Salad with bacon and tomatoes
• Cowboy Caviar Pasta Salad with a lime and olive oil dressing
• Italian Pasta Salad with chicken and veggies
• Pesto Pasta Salad with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil
• Taco Pasta Salad with a creamy chili-lime dressing

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5 from 20 votes

Greek Pasta Salad

By Chelsea Lords

Greek Pasta Salad combines tender pasta, juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, tangy onions, and creamy feta cheese. It's topped with the absolute best, mayo-free Greek dressing.

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 -8 servings

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Salad

• ▢ 3 cups mini bowtie (farfalle) pasta (NOT the entire box)
• ▢ 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted & halved
• ▢ 1/3 cup red onion, diced (Note 1)
• ▢ 2 cups English or Persian cucumbers, cut into half moons (Note 2)
• ▢ 2 cups (1 pint) cherry tomatoes, halved
• ▢ 1 green bell pepper, diced
• ▢ 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• ▢ 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled or cubed

Dressing (OR Use Store-Bought Greek Dressing)

• ▢ 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1.5 tablespoons each: lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard
• ▢ 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ▢ 1-1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ▢ 3/4 tsp salt & 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions 

• PASTA: Bring 12 cups water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Add 1 tbsp salt and then add the pasta (See Note 3). Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water for 20 seconds. Shake off excess water and set aside to fully cool.
• DRESSING: Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Seal and shake thoroughly to combine, making sure no honey is stuck on the bottom. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• VEGGIES: Meanwhile, prep the veggies.
• ASSEMBLE: Add completely cooled pasta to a large bowl. Add veggies on top. Give the dressing another shake then drizzle on salad (See Note 4). Add feta on top. Taste and adjust seasonings and enjoy!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Red onion: If you're sensitive to the flavor of raw red onion, soak the diced onions in ice water (with a pinch of salt) for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly before adding to this salad.

Note 2: Cucumbers: Make sure to cut off and discard about 1 inch from both ends of an English cucumber; this part of the cucumber is very bitter.

Note 3: Pasta water: Even though the pasta will be tossed in the vinaigrette, if you haven't salted your pasta water, the salad will taste under-seasoned/bland. Seasoning the pasta water is how you flavor the pasta itself.

Note 4: Dressing: Add it gradually and to taste. Since the pasta absorbs dressing over time, it may become drier. Start with most of the dressing, then add more as needed if the salad seems dry after sitting. 

Make Ahead: Store ingredients (veggies, pasta, feta cheese, dressing) separately in the fridge. Assemble each serving just before eating to keep the salad fresh for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 8servings | Calories: 442kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 376mg | Potassium: 465mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 829IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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