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Greek Pasta Salad with Feta Cheese

Greek pasta salad feta with al dente penne and a classic Greek vinaigrette. Packed with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives, and generous feta crumbles.
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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-American
Calories: 720
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pasta salad
  • 1 lb penne or rotini Use penne or rotini for the best fork-toss texture.
  • 1 English cucumber Halved and sliced into large half-moons for crunch.
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes Halved.
  • 1 cup kalamata olives Halved.
  • 6 oz feta cheese Crumbled generously.
  • 0.5 red onion Thinly sliced.
  • 1 green bell pepper Diced.
Greek dressing
  • 0.5 cup olive oil
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Cook and cool the pasta
  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook penne or rotini until al dente. Drain and rinse the pasta under cold water, then cool until no longer hot.
  2. Spread the rinsed pasta on a sheet pan in an even layer to cool faster. Let it rest at room temperature until fully cooled, about 10 minutes.
Make the Greek dressing
  1. In a bowl, whisk olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice together until emulsified. Whisk in dried oregano, garlic powder, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper until smooth.
Assemble and chill
  1. In a large serving bowl, combine cooled pasta with English cucumber, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta cheese, red onion, and green bell pepper. Toss gently to distribute everything evenly.
  2. Pour Greek dressing over the pasta and toss until all pieces are coated. If needed, add a little extra toss time so feta stays suspended rather than sinking.
  3. Cover and refrigerate the salad for at least 1 hour so the flavors develop. Stir once halfway through to keep the dressing evenly distributed.
Finish before serving
  1. Right before serving, toss the chilled Greek pasta salad again. Taste and re-season with salt and black pepper if needed, then serve cold.

Notes

Pro tip: rinse the pasta well and cool it fully before dressing so it stays springy and doesn’t turn mushy. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; stir again before serving. Freezing isn’t recommended because cucumbers and tomatoes lose texture. For a lower-fat swap, use reduced-fat feta (and slightly increase lemon juice) to keep the tang without heaviness.