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Greek Pasta Salad

Greek pasta salad with traditional Greek salad ingredients tossed in a bright lemon-oregano dressing. Cooked penne is rinsed cold for a tender, non-sticky bite and chilled for the flavors to meld.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
chilling 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Greek
Calories: 620
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Penne or rotini pasta
  • 1 lb penne or rotini pasta
Cherry tomatoes
  • 2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Cucumber
  • 1 large cucumber, diced
Kalamata olives
  • 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
Red onion
  • 0.5 cup red onion, thinly sliced
Feta cheese
  • 8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
Olive oil
  • 0.25 cup olive oil
Lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
Red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Garlic
  • 2 clove garlic, minced
Oregano
  • 1 tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)
Salt
  • Salt to taste
Pepper
  • pepper to taste

Method
 

Cook and cool the pasta
  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, then cook the penne or rotini according to package directions. Cook for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water until no longer hot (visual cue: pasta feels cool to the touch).
Make the lemon-oregano dressing
  1. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper until the dressing looks evenly blended and glossy. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper if needed (visual cue: no separated oil pools).
Assemble the salad
  1. In a large bowl, combine cooled pasta, halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, pitted and halved Kalamata olives, and thinly sliced red onion. Stir gently until the colors are evenly distributed (visual cue: red, green, white, and black are clearly visible).
  2. Add most of the crumbled feta to the bowl and toss gently to coat. Keep some feta aside for topping before serving (visual cue: feta is scattered throughout rather than all on top).
  3. Pour the lemon-oregano dressing over the pasta salad and toss gently until everything looks lightly coated. If the salad seems dry, toss for 30-60 seconds more (visual cue: dressing clings to pasta).
Chill and serve
  1. Cover and refrigerate the Greek pasta salad for at least 2 hours. Chill until firm and well flavored (visual cue: salad looks set and cold throughout).
  2. Right before serving, top with the remaining feta and toss very lightly just to distribute. Serve cold (visual cue: fresh feta sits on top, not fully mixed in).

Notes

For best texture, rinse the hot pasta under cold water so it stops cooking and stays non-sticky before dressing. Refrigerate in a sealed container for 3-4 days; it’s freezer-free, since fresh cucumber and tomatoes soften after thawing. For a lighter option, use reduced-fat feta and reduce olive oil to 2 tablespoons to cut calories while keeping the lemon-oregano flavor.