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Greek Pasta Salad

Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American, Greek-Inspired, Southern
Keyword greek-pasta-salad-recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Chilling time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 32 minutes
Servings 12 servings
Calories 326kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound box corkscrew pasta
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1 medium red bell pepper seeded and diced
  • 1 medium green bell pepper seeded and diced
  • 1 medium red onion thinly sliced
  • 1 medium english cucumber quartered and thinly sliced
  • 1 6 oz jar Greek marinated olives OR kalamata olives. drained
  • 1 6-8 oz container crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley plus additional for garnishing
  • Dressing:
  • 2 0.7 oz packets Italian dressing mix
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  • Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water per the package instructions until al dente. Drain well.
  • Prep the Vegetables: Halve the cherry tomatoes, seed and dice the peppers, thinly slice the red onion. Cut the english cucumber into quarters, then thinly slice.
  • Drain the pasta, then add to a large mixing bowl, with the tomatoes, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, red onion, cucumber, parsley, olives and feta cheese.
  • Dressing: Place the dressing mix, sugar and red wine vinegar into a mason jar or a dressing cruet. Place the lid on top and shake to combine. Add the olive oil, cover and repeat shaking until emulsified.
  • Pour the dressing into the mixing bowl and use a large rubber spatula to stir until the ingredients are fully combined.
  • Cover with plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
  • Serve garnished with additional parsley.

Notes

    • Pasta: You could use penne pasta, rotini pasta, bowtie pasta or classic elbow macaroni.
    • Salt: The dressing mix will likely have ample salt to season the entire Greek salad. You can adjust the salt after combining the salad ingredients with the prepared dressing,
    • Peppers: You may opt to use any variety of bell peppers that you enjoy. You could also use pepperoncini in place of bell peppers.
    • Herbs: You could replace parsley with fresh oregano or chives.
    • Artichoke Hearts: You could add one 8 ounce jar of chopped artichoke hearts. Roughly chop them and make sure they're drained well prior to adding to the salad.
    • Greek Dressing: Many of the flavors used in cooking in the Mediterranean region are the same or similar in flavor. We're taking a shortcut using dry Italian dressing which includes oregano, parsely, garlic and lemon. You could adapt this recipe using a bottle of Greek salad dressing, if you're short on time.

Nutrition

Serving: 12servings | Calories: 326kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 0.1mg | Sodium: 30mg | Potassium: 272mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 673IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg