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Greek Pasta Salad with Feta Cheese

Greek pasta salad with feta features penne or rotini tossed with cucumbers, tomatoes, Kalamata olives, red onion, and a tangy Greek-style dressing. It’s chilled for at least 1 hour so the flavors meld and the feta stays creamy and crumby.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
chilling 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Greek
Calories: 520
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pasta
  • 1 lb penne or rotini pasta Cook until just al dente for best bite in the salad.
Vegetables and olives
  • 2 cup cherry tomatoes Halve for quick mixing and even flavor.
  • 1 large cucumber Dice into bite-size pieces.
  • 1 cup Kalamata olives Pitted and halved.
  • 0.5 cup red onion Thinly sliced.
Cheese
  • 8 oz feta cheese Crumbled; reserve some for topping.
Dressing
  • 0.25 cup olive oil
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 garlic Minced.
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 0.25 salt and pepper To taste.

Method
 

Cook and rinse the pasta
  1. Cook penne or rotini pasta according to package directions until al dente, then drain. Rinse under cold water to stop cooking and cool it quickly.
Make the Greek dressing
  1. Whisk olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, and pepper together until smooth and evenly combined. The dressing should look glossy and well blended.
Toss and chill
  1. Combine pasta, halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, pitted-and-halved Kalamata olives, thinly sliced red onion, and most of the crumbled feta in a large bowl. Toss gently until ingredients are evenly distributed.
  2. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently again until everything is coated. Stop when the pasta looks lightly slicked, not drowning.
  3. Refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld and the pasta firm up. Cover once chilled so the top feta doesn’t dry out.
Serve
  1. Top with the remaining feta right before serving. Finish with a quick taste and add extra salt and pepper if needed.

Notes

Pro tip: rinse the pasta under cold water so it doesn’t keep cooking in the warm salad and turns the dressing into a clingy coat. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; the salad can be frozen? No—freeze may soften cucumbers and change the feta texture. For a lighter option, use reduced-fat feta and reduce olive oil to 2 tablespoons while keeping the vinegar and lemon the same.