Greek Pasta Salad

This Greek Pasta Salad is a fresh and flavorful dish that’s perfect for feeding a crowd because it makes a ton. It's loaded with colorful ingredients that have classic Greek flavors and it's also fabulous to prep ahead because it's even tastier the next day! So great for make-ahead lunches and cookouts!⁣

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Greek

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings servings (1 cup each)

Calories 198

Author Kim

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette:

2/3 cup olive oil
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste

For the pasta salad:

1/2 medium red onion quartered and thinly sliced
16 ounces dried short pasta such as rotini, penne, cavatappi or bowties
8 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes halved or quartered
1 small to medium English cucumber scrape seeds out with a spoon & dice
1/2 to 1 cup pitted sliced olives black or Kalamata
1/2 to 1 cup canned chopped artichokes packed in water
1/2 to 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers chopped
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves plus more to garnish
4 to 8 ounces crumbled feta cheese plus more to garnish

Instructions

To make the vinaigrette, add all the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl or jar with a lid and whisk or shake jar to combine.
Add the red onion into the vinaigrette to soften. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Cook the pasta. Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (soft with just a bit of chew) about 8 minutes or according to package directions.
While the pasta is cooking; dice, chop and prep all other ingredients.
Drain the pasta in a colander and run under cold water to quickly cool off the pasta.
Place the pasta salad ingredients and drained pasta in a large serving bowl. Toss the pasta salad with the vinaigrette and onions until all ingredients are well coated.
Refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 2 hours before serving. Taste and add more salt & pepper as needed. Garnish with more diced fresh parsley and crumbled feta cheese.

Notes

*Homemade vinaigrette can be replaced with 1 to 2 cups bottled Greek vinaigrette. Because of reader comments, I decided to double the dressing recipe. Feel free to use as much or as little as you'd like. You more than likely will not need to use all of it.

*Ingredients are just a guide. With this type of recipe, feel free to use as much or as little as you want. And if you don't like an ingredient, leave it out.

*Nutritional information is calculated using 1/2 cup olives, artichokes and bell pepper and 4 ounces fat free feta cheese.

Storage: This pasta salad keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Taste and season again before serving, if needed.

Dietary suggestions: This salad can easily be made dairy free and vegan by omitting the feta cheese. It can also be made gluten free by using a gluten-free pasta.

Nutrition