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Move over Italian style pasta salad, hello Greek pasta salad! This is my family’s favorite pasta during the hot summer months. Like your favorite Greek salad recipe, with fresh veggies, chickpeas, Kalamata olives, and tangy feta cheese! The perfect summer side-dish, and you can add chicken or shrimp for more protein.
My Favorite Pasta Salad = The Ultimate Side Dish
It’s beginning to feel a lot like… SUMMER! We’re having a mini heatwave this week, so I’ve decided it’s time to begin pasta salad season. Aka the ultimate easy dinner/lunch/side dish. And favorite pasta salad right now is this easy Greek pasta salad!
- My husband doesn’t eat meat, so I love this is a veg forward pasta salad recipe!
- But, it has bonus protein, thanks for tangy feta cheese and hearty chickpeas!
- The homemade pasta salad dressing is to-die-for-delicious! And it soaks into the noodles as the salad sits!
My family will eat pasta salad in any shape, but this Greek variety is one of our all-time favorites. When pasta, crunchy veggies, feta cheese, and creamy tzatziki vinaigrette join forces… you just know it’s going to be good. I literally make this salad once a week during the hot summer months!
The list of vegetables, proteins, and pasta shapes that can be used in this salad recipe are basically endless. And I love the convenience of having a large bowl of cold pasta salad in the fridge. It’s perfect for a quick lunch or easy dinner! Bonus: This Greek Pasta Salad is ready in 20 minutes and will keep in the fridge for 3 days.
I brought this Greek inspired salad to a BBQ last weekend and it was the first dish gone! I couldn’t believe it… and half of the party guests ended up asking me for the recipe. That was when I knew I had to hop online and share the recipe with you guys, too!
Pasta Salad Ingredients
- Pasta: Almost any small pasta shape will work for pasta salad, but Farfalle, rotini, and twists are my favorite.
- English Cucumber: Cold and crunchy, this veggie is a welcome addition to any pasta salad!
- Bell Pepper: Red bell pepper adds a delicious crunch. But you could easily substitute roasted red peppers instead.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes or even chopped heirloom tomatoes will work in a pinch! Grab the freshest juiciest tomatoes possible.
- Fresh Parsley: This herb adds a burst of freshness and should not be replaced with dried parsley. If you don’t have it on hand, simply omit it instead of subbing it with dried parsley. Or use another fresh herb like basil or even dill.
- Kalamata Olives: An essential Greek salad ingredient, these add delicious briny flavor! I prefer to use brine packed olives as oil packed olives are, well, so oily. But use whatever black olives you have on hand.
- Red Onion: Adds a zippy freshness to the salad, but can be omitted or subbed with a more milk white onion.
- Chickpeas: Aka Garbanzo beans! I used the canned variety and simply drain and rinse them before use. And pat them dry so they don’t add unwanted moisture to your salad!
- Feta Cheese: Another must-have Greek salad ingredient, this cheese is crumbly, tangy, and so delicious. In a pinch, goat cheese or cubed sharp cheese will work fine, but make the salad much less “Greek”.
Greek Dressing Ingredients
Unlike most cold pasta salad recipes that used bottled or homemade Italian dressing. This pasta salad dressing is creamy and Greek inspired, featuring Tzatziki sauce as a base!
- Garlic: I cannot suggest using fresh garlic enough! Garlic powder will not add the same flavor or texture to the dressing.
- Olive Oil: Feel free to use whatever olive oil you have on hand. Or you can really lean into the Greek vibes and use a Greek olive oil!
- Red Wine Vinegar: In a pinch, white wine vinegar will work here. Balsamic and even sherry vinegar will also work, but will change the color and taste of the dressing.
- Sugar: I prefer using granulated sugar here, but a drizzle of honey can work, too. A small amount of sweetness is required to balance the acidity in the salad dressing.
- Salt and Pepper: Start with a small amount, taste, and add more if desired. You can always add more, but you can remove it once it’s been added.
- Tzatziki Sauce: This special ingredient makes our greek salad dressing so creamy and delicious! I usually find this at Trader Joe’s or my local grocery store. But if you can’t find it, you can try making a homemade version. Or use Greek yogurt with a tablespoon of lemon juice and a tablespoon of fresh dill mixed in as a substitute.
Greek Pasta Salad Recipe
- Cook the Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add your desired pasta shape and cook until al dente. Drain well then submerge pasta in ice water for 10 minutes – or just rinse it under cold water. Don’t overcook!
- Prep the Salad Ingredients: While the pasta is cooking, prepare the vegetables by chopping them into small bite-sized pieces. I like to half-moon the cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and English cucumber. And dice the red onion and red bell pepper into pretty fine bits.
- Make the Salad Dressing: Whisk all of the salad dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste and add salt, pepper, lemon juice, or more garlic to taste.
- Assemble the Pasta Salad: Pour the pasta in a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing on top of the pasta and toss well to coat. Then toss in the chopped veggie salad ingredients, chickpeas, olives, and feta cheese and toss well to combine.
- Serve your Salad: Serve at once, or chill until needed.
Pasta Salad in 30 Minutes?
- You can actually make this pasta salad in exactly 20 minutes! I’ve done it dozens and dozens of times.
- But you’ll need to work quickly and efficiently. When you set your water on the stove to boil, get busy chopping veggies and making the dressing! That way when the pasta is cooked and drained, all you need to do is add everything together and toss.
- If you’re a new cook, this recipe may take you closer to 30 minutes.
How long will pasta salad last?
- Place leftovers in an airtight container and store in the fridge. This salad stays nice and fresh for up to 3 days. So feel free to make a batch a few days before you need it.
- Outside the fridge, it should be ok for about 1 and 1/2 hours. As long as it’s sitting out in a cool environment. Because of the tzatziki, you shouldn’t leave it out in extremely warm conditions for long periods. And you should always refrigerate it when you don’t need to serve it.
This recipe is so quick and easy, it’s perfect for parties, picnics, and potlucks! I know we’ll be making this Greek pasta salad as an easy side all Summer long! And I hope you do too 😉
More Easy Pasta Salad Recipes:
- 20-Minute Rainbow Veggie Pasta Salad
- Avocado BLT Pasta Salad
- 20-Minute Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella Pasta Salad
- Greek Orzo Salad
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20-Minute Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound farfalle pasta
- 1 large English cucumber
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 3/4 cup kalamata olives pitted and cut in half
- 3/4 cup chickpeas drained and patted dry
- 1/2 cup red onion diced
- 1 8-ounce container crumbled feta
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (more or less to taste)
- 1 cup tzatziki sauce
Instructions
- Place a large pot of salted water over high heat; bring to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes.
- While the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, prepare the vegetables and dressing. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise and remove the seeds with small spoon; slice into half-moons and set aside. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half; finely chop the parsley; slice the olives in half; dice the onion; set aside.
- In a small bowl combine the minced garlic, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper; whisk well to combine. Add in the tzatziki sauce and mix well; season to taste.
- When the pasta has finished cooking, drain it at once and quickly rinse it under cold water until cool, about 1 minute. Place cooled pasta in a large mixing bowl. Add dressing to pasta and toss well to coat.
- Add the chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, olives, onion, chickpeas, and feta and toss to combine. Serve at once, or chill until needed.
Amazing with the tzatkiki ! Thank you
I loved this recipe in the past. But it’s different than I remember. The other one had Romaine lettuce and no chick peas. Anyway, I don’t know if this was an oversight. I do see lettuce in the picture. I’m one who follows recipes exactly, but I can wing it to make it as I remember it.
THERE WAS NO MENTION OF ROMAINE LETTUCE IN THIS RECIPE, so I added spinach instead of romaine because that’s what I had on hand. I hate it when an ingredient is left out and then when you are putting it together, all of a sudden it appears in the Instructions!
These were terrific! Really flaky and easy to make/ whole family ; loved them,
Very good ! it was delightful but I substituted tzatziki for plain yogurt so it was a little heavy. But apart from this, it’s a nice recipe !
Love this. I will make it ahead for 3 days for lunches. The dressing is hands down awesome. I use honey in place of sugar and used apple cider vinegar since I didn’t have red wine vinegar. Amazing.