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Greek Pasta Salad with Feta Cheese

Greek pasta salad with feta cheese featuring penne or rotini tossed with cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, red onion, and a tangy Greek-style dressing. Chilled for at least 1 hour for the best flavor melding and tender-yet-firm pasta texture.
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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 Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pasta and vegetables
  • 1 lb penne or rotini pasta
  • 2 cup cherry tomatoes Halved
  • 1 large cucumber Diced
  • 1 cup Kalamata olives Pitted and halved
  • 0.5 cup red onion Thinly sliced
Feta and dressing
  • 8 oz feta cheese Crumbled
  • 0.25 cup olive oil
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 clove garlic Minced
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 0.25 salt To taste
  • 0.25 pepper To taste

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Cook the pasta and cool it
  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook penne or rotini pasta according to package directions, then drain and rinse with cold water.
  2. Spread the drained pasta on a sheet pan in a single layer, then let it cool until no longer hot.
Make the Greek-style dressing
  1. Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, and pepper until the mixture looks evenly combined.
Assemble and chill
  1. In a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta, cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, Kalamata olives, and thinly sliced red onion.
  2. Add most of the crumbled feta cheese to the bowl and toss gently so the feta is distributed without breaking up too much.
  3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently until everything is glossy and evenly coated.
  4. Refrigerate the salad for at least 1 hour for the flavors to meld, keeping it covered.
  5. Before serving, top with the remaining crumbled feta cheese so you get fresh, creamy bites on top.

Notes

Pro tip: rinse the pasta with cold water and cool it briefly so it stays firm and doesn’t clump when dressed. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days; it does not need freezing. For a lighter option, use part-skim feta (or reduce feta to 4 oz) to lower calories while keeping the tangy Greek flavor.