A simple mixture of tomatoes, cucumbers and olives with a light Greek Dressing makes a fresh, mild pasta salad.

Recipe for Greek Pasta Salad with Feta

At it’s base this is a very traditional pasta salad, the dressing and feta cheese make it different from the more common Italian dressing. The more vibrant grape flavor in the Red Wine Vinegar denotes the easy Greek dressing that enhances this simple pasta salad.

The dressing is a wonderful accent that is light, lemony, robust with vinegar and has a pop of fresh garlic. It’s olive oil based instead of the mayo based dressing on our Cold Angel Hair Pasta Salad and lighter than our Pasta Salad for 50.

A combination of smaller pieces of mini cucumbers, black olive slices, quartered cherry tomatoes and red onion pieces blend well and balance each bite nicely.

Silver spoon stirring together a mixing bowl full of rotini pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives and red onion with a light, homemade Greek salad dressing.

Pro Tip – Stir a couple tablespoons of olive oil into the pasta if making a day ahead. Wait to add dressing until serving as the pasta will soak up the dressing while sitting over night.

What You’ll Need

Rotini Pasta – the traditional white pasta is simple and more common than the tri-color rotini.
Cherry Tomatoes – cut in quarters for best results.
Black Olives – we prefer slices to mix in to the pasta easiest.
Cucumber – we love cutting a baby cucumber in half lengthwise and then slicing the two halves.
Red Onion – Thin slices cut into 1 to 2″ sections are our preference.
Greek Dressing Recipe

Ingredients to make Greek pasta salad are black olives, cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, rotini pasta, feta cheese and Greek salad dressing on a wooden counter top.

Recipe Instructions

Cook the pasta according to the directions of the package. Immediately drain and run under cold water to stop the pasta from over cooking and to rinse off extra starch.

Add to a large mixing bowl. Stir in chopped vegetables.

Overhead view of a large mixing bowl with a pound of twist pasta, cherry tomato halves, mini cucumber slices and sliced black olives in sections on top of the pasta.

Slices of red onion added to a Greek style salad.

Mix up a simple batch of our Greek Dressing – this makes the pasta salad special!

Glass jar with homemade dressing for Greek pasta salad on a blue and white napkin.

To prep ahead mix a tablespoon or two of olive oil into the pasta to prevent sticking together.

Then mix the dressing in just before serving. Enjoy!

Tips For Success

Stir the dressing into the pasta salad within an hour of serving.
Wait until 15 minutes before serving to sprinkle feta on top.
2 1/2 cups of whole cherry tomatoes is roughly equal to 2 cups of halved or quartered
Stir often while serving. If salad seems dry mix in a tablespoon of olive oil at a time.
A batch of this Greek pasta salad with feta makes about 12 to 14 cups.

More Easy Potluck Recipe Ideas

Greek Pasta Salad

Created by Jennifer Osterholt

Servings: servings

Prep Time: 20

Total Time: 20

A simple mixture of tomatoes, cucumbers and olives with a light Greek Dressing makes a fresh, mild pasta salad.

Ingredients

Salad

▢ 16 ounces rotini pasta
▢ 2 cups cherry tomatoes quartered
▢ 6.5 ounce can black olives drained
▢ 1 1/2 cup cucumber chopped
▢ 1/2 cup red onion finely chopped
▢ 1/2 cup feta

Dressing

▢ 1 batch Greek Dressing

Instructions

Cook 16 ounces rotini pasta according to the directions on the package in salted water. Drain immediately and rinse under cold water.
Add pasta to a large mixing bowl. Stir in 2 cups cherry tomatoes, 6.5 ounce can black olives, 1 1/2 cup cucumber and 1/2 cup red onion.
Mix in 1 batch Greek Dressing within a couple hours of serving. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup feta just before serving.

Notes

2 1/2 cups of whole cherry tomatoes is roughly equal to 2 cups of halved or quartered

Nutrition

Calories: 188kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 6gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 317mgPotassium: 179mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 215IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 53mgIron: 1mg

“Plowing Through Life” is not a dietitian or nutrition professional. Any nutritional information shared is an estimate and can vary greatly depending on specific products are used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator of your choice.