Pasta salads = Summertime…and boy do I LOVE summertime. I have lived in Michigan my whole life, so you can imagine the joy when the frigid winter comes to an end and the weather starts heating up.
Although I hate the cold, I am not sure I could ever see myself leaving Michigan. Besides the obvious reason (family), the summer’s in Michigan are second to none. Michigan has the most beautiful lakes and landscape during the summer months.
Okay, I get it…this blog post is about a Greek Pasta Salad recipe and NOT my love for my wonderful state. If you want to read more about my favorite places in Michigan, check out my blog post here: Best Travel Destinations in Michigan.
If not…let’s get on to the recipe!
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Pasta salads are undoubtedly a big part of summer BBQ’s. They may be my favorite dish, honestly. They can be a quick, last minute addition or a fun way to experiment with different ingredients.
I am on a quest to try all kinds of pasta salads. So far I have have done: Bruschetta Pasta Salad, Italian Pasta Salad and BLT Ranch Pasta Salad. This Greek Pasta Salad was next on my list and it turned out great!
For this recipe you will need:
- 16 ounces of noodles (I used rigatoni)
- 10 ounces Petite Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 Cucumber
- 1/2 a Red Onion
- 1/2 cup of Kalamata Olive Pieces
- 1 cup Feta Cheese
Check out my other Pasta Salad Recipes here 🙂
For the dressing you will need:
- 1/2 cup of Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tbsp Leaf Oregano Spice
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
- Salt and Pepper to taste
For this recipe, start with boiling water for the pasta. Meanwhile, dice up the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and red onion. For the cucumbers, I would suggest washing and slicing into 1/4″ sections. For the cherry tomatoes, wash and slice into halves.
Because I wear contacts, I do not struggle to cut up onions, but I got this Vegetable Dicer from Amazon and it is such a time-saver. I just section the onion into chunks, set it on the dicer, and press down. It is honestly, one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.
By the time all the chopping is complete, I would suspect that the noodles will be cooked and need to be drained and cooled off. If you are short on time, I would suggest putting the noodles in a bowl in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
This would be a good time to make the homemade dressing. I am always leery about homemade dressings, as they can be complicated and I don’t seem to get them right…but this dressing is SO easy. I promise.
Pour all of the dressing ingredients into a blender or shaker bottle and mix. Because of the oil and vinegar, it will settle if left still for too long, so make sure you mix again before pouring over the pasta salad. I really like this salad dressing shaker from Amazon.
After the noodles are cooled, combine and mix everything in a serving bowl and serve immediately or store in the fridge.
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Pasta Salad Ingredients
- 16 oz Noodles (I used Rigatoni)
- 1 Cucumber (chopped)
- 1/2 Red Onion (diced)
- 10 oz Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
- 1 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese
- 1/2 cup Kalamata Olive Pieces
Dressing Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 tbsp Leaf Oregano Spice
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
Instructions
Greek Dressing
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and mix
- Try mixture and add salt and pepper as needed
Pasta Salad Instructions
- In a large pot, start boiling water for the pasta
- Wash and dice cucumber
- Dice red onion
- Cut cherry tomatoes into halves
- Set all of these ingredients aside
- Add pasta to boiling water and follow the instructions on the box
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to mixing bowl
- Once cooled, add all of the diced ingredients to the bowl
- Measure and add feta cheese and Kalamata olive pieces
- Add homemade dressing and mix everything together
- Place in refrigerator to cool and serve!
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