Greek Pasta Salad

You are going to love this Greek pasta salad with cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, kalamata olives, and feta cheese tossed in a tasty and easy mustard vinaigrette. This is one of our favorite summer pasta salads because it is so easy and so flavorful.

Nothing says spring and summer like pasta salad full of fresh vegetables and herbs. You just can’t go wrong. This pasta salad is tasty, nutritious, and so easy to put together. In less than 25 minutes, you can have the perfect side dish for your grilled chicken breasts, pork steaks, or dry rub grilled pork tenderloin.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.

• Pasta: Any short pasta shape will work with this recipe, including penne, rotini, elbow macaroni, farfalle, fusilli, and cellentani pasta.
• Red wine vinegar: You can substitute with wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
• Dijon mustard: In a pinch, you can use whole grain mustard or regular mustard
• English cucumber: English cucumbers work best for this salad. Their skins are less tough, so peeling is not necessary, and the seeds are so small they are barely noticeable.
• Tomatoes: Grape and cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, are ideal, but you can use any meaty sun-ripened tomato, diced.
• Bell pepper: Any color bell pepper will work, but the red and orange bell peppers are a little sweeter and brighter.
• Kalamata olives: These are jarred Greek olives. Make sure they are pitted.
• Feta cheese:  If you do not like Feta cheese, try queso fresco or Cotija. They are mild, crumbly Mexican cheeses widely available at most grocery stores. 

How to Make Greek Pasta Salad

This is the summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, see the recipe card below.

Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions and drain well. Lightly rinse with cold water and drain again. Meanwhile, whisk the red wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, dried oregano, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Place the cooled pasta in a large bowl. Add the onion, cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and parsley. Drizzle with the mustard vinaigrette and toss to coat.

Preparation Tips

• Always cook the pasta al dente. It improves the texture, and the pasta does not swell as much, absorbing the vinaigrette.
• You can make this up to a day in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Toss again before serving.
• Season with fresh herbs like mint, thyme, dill, and basil. And of course, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serving Suggestions

Serve it with Greek chicken or grilled turkey burgers. Or serve it with Greek salad with red wine vinaigrette or chickpea salad. A soup like lemon chicken orzo soup or avgolemono soup is also a great choice.

More Pasta Salads

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