This Greek Pasta Salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, castelvetrano olives, red onions, and feta is exactly what we all need as we keep inching our way towards summer!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
Listen, I have absolutely NOTHING against mayo, but pasta salads (in my world) are meant to sit out and should be easily prepped ahead. For me, that means it’s not mayo based. Instead, I tend to do a vinaigrette based recipe so it doesn’t get goopy or anything like that. That said, I love pasta salads in all forms- Caprese Orzo Pasta Salad and Tomato Confit Pasta Salad are two of my faves.
For the Greek Pasta Salad recipe below, all there really is to it is an easy Greek vinaigrette and from there, you just need pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, castelvetrano olives, red onions and feta for good measure. It’s colorful and refreshing and comes together in a pinch. And best of all I can keep this Greek Pasta Salad stocked in my fridge at all times so I have lunch and dinner handled without any real effort!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Substitutions
- Bell Peppers - If you'd like to substitute the fresh bell peppers you can swap them for jarred roasted bell peppers or even add some sun dried tomatoes.
- Castelvetrano Olives - If you can't find castelvetrano olives feel free to substitute them for any kind of green olives or kalamata olives.
- Feta Cheese - For more of an Italian spin you could substitute mozzarella pearls or ciliegine balls of mozzarella.
- Casarecce Pasta - Any other kind of pasta would be great!
For the Pasta Salad
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Persian Cucumbers
- Red Bell Pepper
- Yellow Bell Pepper
- Castelvetrano Olives
- Red Onion
- Feta Cheese
- Salt & Pepper
- Casarecce Pasta or any other short pasta shape
For the Greek Vinaigrette
- Garlic Cloves
- Olive Oil
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Dried Oregano
- Salt & Pepper
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
How to Make Greek Pasta Salad
Step 1: In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper and set it aside.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine all of the pasta salad ingredients together and gently toss to combine. Pour the Greek vinaigrette over the vegetables, and again, gently toss to coat them. Crumble the feta over the salad.
Step 3: Very gently toss the cheese into the vegetables.
Step 4: Taste and adjust for more freshly ground black pepper if desired. Serve immediately at room temperature, or chill before serving.
How to Store Greek Pasta Salad
This is best eaten fresh. If you do have leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator for 2-3 days in an airtight container.
Tips & Tricks
You can serve this Greek Pasta Salad at room temp, warm, cold, you name it!
It's great as the main course and also wonderful as a side dish! Serve Greek Pasta Salad with some chicken, steak or fish for the main.
To make this Pasta Salad recipe ahead dress the pasta and chop the veggies ahead of time and when you're ready to serve add the feta and combine.
FAQs
What is Greek pasta salad made of?
The pasta salad components include cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, castelvetrano olives, red onions, really good feta, and a Greek vinaigrette.
How can I serve this pasta salad?
It's great as the main course and also wonderful as a side dish! Serve Greek Pasta Salad with some chicken, steak or fish for the main.
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Castelvetrano Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Greek Vinaigrette
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
For the Pasta Salad
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup halved and sliced Persian cucumbers
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup Castelvetrano olives, halved
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces feta, drained and crumbled
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 10 ounces Pasta any sort variety will do
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper and set it aside
- In a large bowl, combine all of the pasta salad ingredients together and gently toss to combine. Pour the Greek vinaigrette over the vegetables, and again, gently toss to coat them. Crumble the feta over the salad and then very gently toss the cheese into the vegetables.
- Taste and adjust for more freshly ground black pepper if desired. Serve immediately at room temperature, or chill before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
This looks great! I am planning to make this for a BBQ. The serving size of 6 would you say that is the serving size as a main dish or is that the serving size as a side dish?
the recipe as written served 6 as a side
Cannot stop eating this. I add a can of chickpeas and serve over a bed of arugula. (I don't like olives, so I skip those).
I made a few modifications for my family because we are not fond of raw veggies. I used grilled roasted veggies instead and this salad was the perfect side to our salmon dinner. The vinaigrette is light and bright and perfect for summer and the feta is great with it. Next time I will use a little bit of the dressing to marinate the veggies before grilling. Yum!