An easy homemade Greek pasta salad recipe

This easy Greek pasta salad combines pasta with tomatoes, cucumber, olives and feta, all tossed in a simple lemon, oregano and red wine vinegar dressing. You can serve it as a side dish for a BBQ or buffet, have it for lunch, or add chicken to make it into a more substantial meal.

It’s obviously not a traditional Greek salad because we’ve added pasta, and the optional chicken takes it even further away from that, so I’d describe it as Greek-inspired rather than pretending otherwise. What you’re getting are lots of the ingredients and flavours we associate with a Greek salad turned into an easy pasta dish.

I particularly like pasta salads in summer because you can make them ahead and eat them cold. They’re also handy when everyone wants something slightly different. I can keep mine vegetarian while Stuart and Ben can add chicken to theirs if they want it.

Ingredients for Greek pasta salad

For the salad you’ll need:

• 16 oz bow-tie pasta
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ cucumber, diced
• ¼ cup black or green olives
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast, optional

For the Greek-inspired pasta salad dressing you’ll need:

• Juice of ½ lemon
• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• Salt and black pepper to taste

This makes approximately six portions.

How to make Greek pasta salad

Start by cooking your pasta according to the packet instructions. Once it’s cooked, drain it and leave it to cool.

While the pasta is cooling, halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the cucumber and prepare your olives and feta.

Put the cooled pasta into a large mixing bowl and add the tomatoes, cucumber, olives and feta. If you’re making the chicken version, add your cooked shredded chicken at this point too.

In a separate small bowl or jug, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and mix everything together well.

Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and toss gently until everything is evenly coated.

You can serve the salad straight away or chill it before serving.

Greek pasta salad dressing

The dressing is one of the things that gives this pasta salad its Greek-inspired flavour.

It’s a simple vinaigrette made from olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon, garlic and oregano, so you don’t need to buy a specialist dressing.

Give it a really good stir or whisk before adding it because the oil and vinegar will naturally separate if they’ve been sitting for a while.

If you’re making the pasta salad ahead, you can keep the dressing separately and combine everything closer to serving.

Can I make Greek pasta salad with chicken?

Yes. The recipe uses two cups of cooked shredded chicken if you want to turn it into a chicken Greek pasta salad.

It’s a useful way to use cooked chicken you already have, provided it has been stored safely.

I prefer keeping the chicken optional because it makes the basic salad much more flexible. Being vegetarian myself, I’d have mine without chicken, while Stuart and Ben could add chicken to their portions.

You could also try another protein that suits you rather than feeling that chicken is essential to the recipe.

Can I make this Greek pasta salad vegetarian?

Yes, and it’s incredibly easy because you simply leave out the chicken.

The pasta, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta and dressing already make a lovely vegetarian pasta salad.

If you want to add some extra protein without meat, chickpeas would fit nicely with these flavours. You could also look at my high protein pasta salad ideas for other vegetarian options.

What pasta is best for Greek pasta salad?

I’ve used bow-tie pasta here, which you might also see called farfalle.

I like shaped pasta for pasta salads because all the little pieces of tomato, feta and dressing get distributed through it more easily than they would with something long like spaghetti.

Fusilli or penne would also make sense if that’s what you have in the cupboard.

There’s no need to buy a particular shape just for this recipe.

Can I make Greek pasta salad ahead of time?

Yes. That’s one of the reasons pasta salad works so well for BBQs, packed lunches and buffets.

Cook and cool the pasta, prepare the vegetables and other ingredients and keep everything refrigerated.

You can keep the dressing separately and toss it through before serving. This helps prevent the pasta from sitting in the dressing for too long and becoming softer than you want it.

If you’re using chicken, be particularly careful to keep the salad properly chilled.

How to stop pasta salad becoming dry

Cold pasta can absorb dressing while it’s sitting, which is why a pasta salad can sometimes look lovely when you first make it and considerably less exciting a few hours later.

Keeping the dressing separate until closer to serving can help if you’re preparing it in advance.

Give everything a good toss before serving too, because the dressing naturally settles at the bottom of the bowl.

If you’re struggling with the pasta itself, my guide to cooking pasta has more tips.

What else can I add to Greek pasta salad?

This is an easy recipe to adapt depending on what you have.

Chopped peppers would fit nicely with the tomatoes and cucumber, while red onion would add a stronger flavour if you enjoy it.

You can use green or black olives, or a mixture of both.

If somebody in your family doesn’t like olives, I’d serve them separately rather than leaving them out of the entire salad. I’m a big fan of meals where everyone can add the bits they actually like instead of one person dictating the contents of everybody else’s plate!

You can also adjust the balance of vegetables according to what needs using from the fridge.

What to serve with Greek pasta salad

You can eat this as a light lunch or make it more substantial by adding the optional chicken or another protein.

It also works really well as part of a summer buffet or BBQ alongside other salads, breads and whatever else you’re serving.

If you’re making several salads, have a look at my pasta salad recipes for more ideas rather than making an enormous bowl of just one flavour.

Is Greek pasta salad healthy?

A pasta salad can certainly form part of a balanced diet, but I don’t think there’s much value in giving an entire recipe a simple “healthy” or “unhealthy” label.

This one contains pasta alongside tomatoes, cucumber, olives and feta, with olive oil forming the base of the dressing. Adding chicken changes the nutritional profile again.

If you’re interested in pasta more generally, I’ve written separately about whether pasta is healthy or bad for you, because there’s a lot more to that question than simply deciding carbohydrates are bad.

Can I make this Greek pasta salad vegan?

You can adapt it.

Leave out the chicken and replace the feta with a suitable plant-based alternative. You’ll also need to check the pasta and all packaged ingredients you’re using to make sure they’re suitable for your dietary requirements.

Can I make it gluten-free?

Use a suitable gluten-free pasta in place of the wheat pasta.

Different gluten-free pastas can behave quite differently once cooked and cooled, so follow the packet instructions rather than automatically using the same cooking time.

If you’re avoiding gluten because of coeliac disease, check all of the ingredients and labels carefully rather than assuming the rest of the dish is automatically suitable.

My gluten-free pasta alternatives guide has more information about the different types available.

How should I store Greek pasta salad?

Keep the pasta salad covered in the fridge rather than leaving it sitting out for long periods, particularly if you’ve added chicken.

If you’re making it for a BBQ or buffet, only put out what you need and keep the remainder chilled until it’s wanted.

Leftovers should be refrigerated promptly in a covered container. Follow current UK food-safety guidance for chilling and storing cooked food, and discard anything that’s been left unrefrigerated for too long.

More pasta salad ideas

If you’re anything like me, once summer arrives one pasta salad quickly turns into several.

Have a look at my pasta salad recipes for more ideas, including my tomato and mozzarella pasta salad, bruschetta pasta salad and high protein pasta salad guide.

Or, if you’re looking for dinner rather than something cold, my Slimming World pasta recipes collection has plenty more pasta ideas.

Greek pasta salad recipe FAQs

What is Greek pasta salad made of?

This Greek-inspired pasta salad combines bow-tie pasta with tomatoes, cucumber, olives and feta, plus a dressing made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon, garlic and oregano. You can also add shredded cooked chicken.

Can Greek pasta salad be made the day before?

Yes. Prepare the ingredients and refrigerate them, ideally keeping the dressing separately until closer to serving so the pasta doesn’t soften too much.

Can you eat Greek pasta salad cold?

Yes. This recipe is designed to be eaten cold or chilled, making it particularly handy for lunches, summer meals, BBQs and buffets.

Can I use a different pasta shape?

Absolutely. Bow-tie pasta works well, but fusilli, penne or another short pasta shape should work too. Follow the cooking instructions for whichever pasta you choose.

Can I leave the chicken out?

Yes. The chicken is optional and the salad works perfectly well as a vegetarian Greek-inspired pasta salad without it.

An easy pasta salad for summer

For me, the best thing about pasta salad is how little fuss it needs.

You can make a big bowl for everyone, keep the chicken separate if you’re feeding vegetarians and meat eaters together, and put it on the table with a few other dishes without spending half the afternoon cooking.

The tomatoes, cucumber and feta keep this one fresh, the olives give it plenty of flavour and that lemon and oregano dressing brings everything together.

Exactly the sort of dinner I want when it’s far too warm to be standing over the cooker any longer than necessary.

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