Greek Pasta Salad Recipe
This Greek pasta salad is a fresh and flavorful side dish! In this Greek pasta salad recipe, tomatoes, chickpeas, veggies, pasta and fresh dill are tossed in a delicious homemade dressing for healthy salad, perfect for pot lucks & BBQs.
Servings: 20 Servings
Cost: $8
Ingredients
- 16 oz fusilli pasta
- Salted water
- 1 cucumber (peeled and diced)
- ½ cup red onion (finely diced)
- 1 pint baby tomatoes (halved)
- 15 ounces chickpeas (drained and rinsed, about 1 ½ cups)
- 2 teaspoons fresh dill (or 1 tsp freeze-dried)
- 6 ounces kalamata olives (drained and rinsed)
- 6 ounces Feta cheese (crumbled)
Dressing:
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ to 1 teaspoons fine sea salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Cook the Pasta
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package instructions.
- When the pasta is finished cooking, drain and do not rinse.
Make the Dressomg
- While the pasta is cooking, make the dressing by whisking the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Assemble
- Put cooked pasta in a large bowl, add half the dressing and stir to combine. Chill in the refrigerator until it cools down to at least room temperature.
- Once the pasta has cooled, add cucumber, onion, tomatoes, chickpeas, fresh dill, olives, feta cheese (save 1-2 TBS for the top), salt, pepper and the rest of the dressing. Stir to combine.
Chill & Serve
- Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with extra feta, fresh dill, olives, etc. and serve cold.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Notes/Substitutions
- Fusilli pasta. You really can use any pasta shape to make this recipe - just be sure to use 16 oz. Some suggestions include (but are not limited to), penne, farfalle (bowties), gemelli, and rotelle (wheels).
- Cucumber. I suggest using peeled cucumbers. Removing this seeds is not mandatory, but it does help reduce the water in the recipe.
- Red Onion. choose your favorite onion variety, I suggest green onions, and sweet white or yellow onion in place of the red if desired.
- Cherry Tomatoes. You can substitute any tomato including heirloom, Roma, etc., diced small.
- Chickpeas. You can use a different bean, if you’d like, or omit the chickpeas. Chickpeas are definitely my favorite choice. You can even roast them and use this crispy roasted chickpea recipe.
- Fresh Dill. Freeze-dried dill works well too.
- Kalamata Olives. You can substitute your favorite olive variety, but kalamatas give the most authentic Greek flavor.
- Feta Cheese. Goat cheese, parmesan cheese, etc. are good substitutes for feta.
- Olive oil. Avocado oil works well.
- Red wine vinegar. white wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar are great substitutes.
- Dijon mustard. Any mustard variety can be used in place of Dijon.
- Dried oregano. fresh oregano or your favorite Greek spice blend both work well in this recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.75cup | Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 301mg | Potassium: 214mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 288IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 1mg