Greek Pasta Salad – A Couple Cooks

May 14, 2026

31

This Greek pasta salad recipe is a go-to for cookouts, picnics, and straightforward lunches all summer season lengthy. It’s loaded with feta, olives, recent herbs, and a zippy lemon-oregano dressing!

Right here’s my go-to in terms of pasta salad: Greek pasta salad! As a recipe developer over the previous decade, I’ve made nearly each pasta salad recipe conceivable. And that is one my favourite (probably as a result of Mediterranean weight loss plan recipes are my specialty!).

recipe stars Mediterranean-style flavors with chewy bowtie pasta: juicy cherry tomatoes, cool cucumber, salty olives, and savory feta, handfuls of recent parsley and dill, plus a Greek-style French dressing dressing. I like making this for picnics, cookouts, pitch-ins, barbecues, and even for wholesome lunches all through the week.

5 Star Reader Overview

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This can be a great pasta salad. It’s good for summer season and I like bow tie pasta. Thanks!” -Odile

Components in Greek Pasta Salad

The idea of pasta salad is an American invention, as you would possibly guess! One of many first mentions in print is a macaroni salad recipe printed in 1914, although the idea got here to full recognition within the 1980’s.

The commonest fashion of American pasta salad is Italian: the type with olives, mozzarella and an Italian-style dressing. Greek pasta salad is once more totally American, however options Greek-style flavors like tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta cheese and dill. Listed here are the components you’ll want for a Greek pasta salad recipe:

Bowtie pasta (farfalle): My favourite form for this salad: the little ruffles catch the dressing and are enjoyable to eat.
Cherry tomatoes: Reduce in half so each chunk will get a juicy burst.
English cucumber: Use an English cucumber and there’s no must peel or seed: I additionally assume they style the perfect!
Purple bell pepper: Diced small for colour and snap.
Shallot: Thinly sliced for a milder, sweeter chunk than crimson onion.
Contemporary parsley AND recent dill: Each, not either-or. The dill is what makes the Greek-inspired taste.
Kalamata olives: I believe they add simply the proper pop to the flavour, however you possibly can omit in case you’re not an olive fan.
Feta cheese crumbles: This provides simply the proper salty, hearty vibe.

For The Greek Dressing

The dressing for this Greek salad is fast and easy to combine up, utilizing lemon juice, crimson wine vinegar, dried herbs and olive oil. It’s a smaller amount than for a lot of pasta salads, however the taste actually pops! You should use a store-bought dressing in case you’re working low on time, however we advise the home made model if doable.

Use each dried oregano and dried dill. You is perhaps tempted to omit dried dill since there may be additionally recent within the salad, nevertheless it’s important to the flavour right here!
Substitute ½ cup bought Greek French dressing dressing in case you’re in a rush. Search for the highest quality dressing you could find: the flavour varies drastically based mostly on model. Paying just a few additional {dollars} is price it for taste.

The Finest Pasta Form

This Greek pasta salad is good with bowtie pasta or farfalle, however you should use different pasta shapes too! We like how farfalle combines with the components and the best way this form soaks up the dressing. Take note: the floor space of every pasta form is totally different. In our testing, we discovered that 1 pound of bowties appears like much less amount of pasta than 1 pound of spirals. That mentioned: listed below are just a few pasta shapes that work properly in a Greek pasta salad recipe:

Bowties (farfalle): our favourite!
Spirals (fusilli)
Penne
Shells (conchiglie)
Orecchiette
Gemelli
Gigli

Make-Forward and Storage Ideas

This Greek pasta salad is good for making forward for a cookout or barbecue. In actual fact, we’ve made it as much as 2 days upfront of a celebration and refrigerated till serving. Right here’s what to learn about this salad:

Greek pasta salad lasts for as much as 5 days within the fridge. It’s preferrred for making forward or wholesome lunches all through the week.
After refrigeration, make certain to refresh the flavors. Carry the salad to room temperature. Then stir in a drizzle of olive oil and a bit extra crumbled feta cheese. You could or might not want an additional pinch of salt.

Tip on Serving Dimension

This Greek pasta salad makes an enormous batch: 10 to 12 aspect dish servings or about 8 lunch-sized servings. It lasts for five days refrigerated. When you don’t assume you’ll eat all of it in 5 days, you could need to think about making a half batch. It’s simple to make half!

What to Serve with Greek Pasta Salad

This recipe goes with absolutely anything: particularly in the summertime! Listed here are just a few concepts for what to serve with pasta salad:

Dietary Notes

This Greek pasta salad recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based and dairy-free, omit the feta and add extra salt to style.

Often Requested Questions

Can I exploit any sort of pasta for Greek pasta salad?

Whilst you can technically use any sort of pasta, brief pasta shapes like rotini, farfalle, or penne work greatest for Greek pasta salad as they maintain the dressing properly and are simple to eat.

What sort of dressing is utilized in Greek pasta salad?

A traditional Greek French dressing is usually used for Greek pasta salad. It’s made with olive oil, crimson wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. You possibly can alter the quantity of every ingredient to your style.

Can I add different components to my Greek pasta salad?

Completely! Whereas the traditional components are scrumptious, you possibly can customise your Greek pasta salad with different additions like chickpeas, grilled rooster or shrimp, artichoke hearts, pepperoncini peppers, or recent herbs like parsley or dill.

Print