Greek Pasta Salad

How to make this Greek-style pasta salad recipe

This recipe, inspired by Greek salad, makes a big batch of pasta salad loaded with color and flavor. Prepare all the ingredients while the pasta cooks, then toss and serve at room temperature. I like to serve this with grilled chicken, salmon, or hamburgers.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this pasta salad with feta cheese.

Typical vegetables for Greek pasta salad include tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, and herbs. This pasta salad recipe incorporates most of that, along with other flavors like feta cheese to emphasize the Greek inspiration. Cukes don’t really taste good in pasta salad, so they’re not included here. Try to always use Greek feta in brine, and crumble it yourself. It tastes a lot better than pre-crumbled, dry feta.

• 12 oz. small- to medium-shaped pasta, such as ditalini or rotelle
• 12 ounces fresh baby arugula
• 1 pound grape tomatoes, halved
• Fresh Greek feta, crumbled (about 1 generous cup)
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives, such as Kalamata
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup loosely-packed basil
• 1/4 cup loosely-packed mint leaves
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper: I recommend Diamond Crystal Kosher salt

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Cook the pasta in generously-salted water until al dente. Drain.
2. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the other ingredients (halve the grape tomatoes, crumble the feta, chop the herbs, and so on). Set a few grape tomato halves and a couple tablespoons of feta cheese aside for a garnish.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the arugula, the remaining tomatoes and feta cheese, olives, lemon juice, zest, oregano, basil, mint, parsley, a generous pinch of salt, fresh pepper, and the olive oil. Toss to combine.
4. Add the pasta. Toss once more. Transfer to a serving bowl, top with the reserved feta and tomatoes, and serve.

Serving Notes

This Greek pasta salad recipe is best served warm or at room temperature. Even if you add the pasta while hot, the arugula will stand up to the heat and should not wilt very much, though it is perfectly fine if it does. Cold pasta tends to lose its chewy texture, as well as flavor, and become unappetizingly hard and bland.

Finally, taste for seasoning. The feta and pasta will add salt, but you may want to add a little more to the overall dish. And arugula is known for its peppery taste, but you should still add some fresh black pepper to gild this lilly.