Easy Greek Pasta Salad (2024)

Why you’ll love it

Fresh, crisp vegetables are complemented by briny olives and creamy, crumbled feta along with a quick homemade vinaigrette in this Greek salad recipe. The addition of pasta makes it filling and hearty, and it might just be your new go-to pasta salad all summer long!

We’ve got all the classic Mediterranean components in this easy pasta salad that you know and love. There’s something just so special about the simplicity and bright, fresh flavors of Greek cuisine. Enjoy it as a meal in itself, or serve this salad with other seasonal favorites.

What you’ll need

For the salad

• Pasta – I like fusilli/rotini
• Bell peppers – red and green are the traditional color combo
• Onion – red onion is the ideal variety for salads since it’s less sharp than others
• Olives – Kalamata olives are the classic Greek salad olives
• Cucumbers – I prefer mini cucumbers, but English works fine
• Tomatoes – use cherry or grape
• Feta – either crumbled or cubed feta is great

For the dressing

• Red wine vinegar and olive oil – the base to a good Greek vinaigrette
• Dijon mustard – it adds a little zip and depth of flavor. You don’t taste mustard specifically!
• Garlic – for another savory quality
• Fresh parsley and dried oregano – classics for a pop of herby flavor
• Brown sugar – to balance the flavors

Pro tip

My trick for making certain salad dressings (vinaigrettes in particular) is to add a little bit of sugar. It takes the acidic edge off so that the dressing isn’t too sharp.

Substitutions and variations

• You can definitely use a different kind of pasta, but you may need to adjust the amount of dressing or other ingredients since some shapes take up more/less volume.
• Feel free to double the dressing if you want extra!
• This is a flexible salad. Throw in chickpeas for some protein, sun-dried tomatoes, etc. I’ve also added capers for even more of a briny twist.