5 Star Reader Comment
This was absolutely delicious and easy!!! Your salad dressings are the best and this pasta salad deserves 10 stars. I had bow tie pasta on hand and it’s looked so pretty in the big glass serving dish (but it was gone in a flash..everyone raved about it).
Mari Ann
This Is The Pasta Salad Of Your Dreams
You all already know it, salads are kinda of my thing. And, this one is without a doubt one of my favorites. Juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, salty feta — all the good stuff tossed with my homemade dressing – Y’all, this is the pasta salad you’ve been craving.
My Mediterranean-inspired salad is easy, fresh, and it’s proof that simple ingredients really do shine when you let them.
Enjoy!
Donya’s Tips For The Best Pasta Salad
- Cook the pasta just to al dente: Pull it from the water when it still has a little bite. Once it chills and soaks up the dressing, soft pasta turns to mush — and nobody wants that.
- Salt the pasta water generously: This is your one real shot at seasoning the pasta itself. Water should taste like the ocean!
- Rinse with cold water right away: The moment you drain the pasta, run it under cold water to stop the cooking and cool it down fast. This keeps it firm and prevents it from clumping together in the bowl.
- Dress it in two rounds: Toss the pasta and vegetables with about two-thirds of the dressing first. Save the rest to add right before serving — pasta absorbs dressing as it chills, and that second round brings everything back to life.
- Soak the red onion if you want a gentler bite: Red onion can be sharp. If you prefer a milder flavor, place the sliced onion in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes, then drain before adding it to the salad.
- Add the feta last, and fold — don’t toss: Feta is soft and crumbles easily. If you stir too aggressively, it disappears into the dressing instead of staying in little creamy pockets throughout the salad.
Pasta salad lovers, make my Greek Pasta Salad and Caprese Pasta Salad – they are easy and loaded with flavor!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pasta – Short pasta like rotini, penne, or farfalle holds the dressing well. Cook until al dente so it doesn’t get mushy. Gluten-free pasta works great, too.
- Cherry Tomatoes – Sweet and juicy, they add a pop of color and freshness.
- Cucumbers – Crisp and refreshing. English or mini cucumbers work great.
- Red Onion – Adds a little bite and crunch. Pro tip: soak slices in cold water for 10 minutes if you want to mellow the flavor.
- Spinach – Baby spinach mixes in easily and adds a boost of greens without overpowering.
- Olives – A mix of black and green olives gives are briny, salty, and tangy all in one bite. Kalamata olives are also a great choice.
- Feta Cheese – Creamy, salty, and classic in Mediterranean recipes. Crumble it yourself from a block for the best texture.
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad Dressing: I use my Greek Salad Dressing recipe, which is good as a dressing and as a marinade.
Endless Options: How to Customize This Cold Pasta Salad
- Greens – Swap spinach for arugula or romaine.
- Protein – Add leftover roasted chicken, shrimp(my Cajun shrimp is so good!), or pan roasted chickpeas for a heartier meal.
- Veggies – Try bell peppers, zucchini, or artichokes for more crunch and color.
- Cheese – Goat cheese or fresh mozzarella pearls are delicious instead of feta.
- Dressing – Substitute Greek dressing for one of my other homemade dressings.
How To Make Cold Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Cook the pasta – Boil in salted water until al dente, then drain and rinse under cold water.
- Prep the vegetables – Slice tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and olives. Add spinach to a large bowl.
- Mix it up – Add pasta, vegetables, and olives to the bowl. Drizzle with dressing and toss until coated.
- Add feta – Gently fold in crumbled feta. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
- Chill or serve – Serve right away or cover and refrigerate until ready.
Make It Ahead and Show Up Ready
This is one of the best recipes to have in your back pocket when you’re hosting a cookout or heading to a potluck. I make it the night before almost every time.
Wait to add feta until serving day — If you’re making this more than a few hours ahead, you can hold the feta separately and fold it in right before serving. This keeps the cheese in distinct creamy crumbles instead of blending into the dressing.
Make it up to 24 hours ahead — Assemble the full salad, toss with most of the dressing, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight. The pasta absorbs all that herbaceous, tangy dressing as it chills and the flavors deepen beautifully.
Hold back some dressing — Reserve a few tablespoons of the Greek dressing separately in the fridge. Stir it into the salad right before serving to freshen everything up and bring back the bright, glossy coating.
Store leftovers for up to 3 days — Keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Give the salad a good toss before serving again since the dressing settles to the bottom as it sits.
More Pasta Salad Recipes You’ll Love
Equipment
Ingredients
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- 12 ounces pasta
- 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
- 1 cup sliced and quartered cucumbers
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1 cup baby spinach
- ½ cup sliced pitted green olives
- ½ cup sliced pitted black olives
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ to ¾ cup Homemade Greek Salad Dressing
Greek Salad Dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 large clove minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- To a pot of salted boiling water, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Add pasta, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, spinach, and olives to a large bowl. Drizzle on about ½ cup of Greek Salad Dressing and toss all ingredients. Add feta cheese and more dressing plus salt and pepper if desired and toss until just combined. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Greek Salad Dressing
- Add all ingredients to a bowl or a jar with a lid and whisk/shake until blended.
Video
Nutrition
What To Serve With Mediterranean Pasta Salad
This pasta salad is perfect to serve with Oven Fried Chicken, Roasted Pork Tenderloin or Crock Pot Beef Roast. It makes a great soup and salad combo with Roasted Cabbage Soup and Parmesan Cheese Straws. And for lunch, I don’t think it gets any better than pasta salad with feta and a slice of Sausage Cheese Bread.
Commonly Asked Questions
Yes, this is an excellent recipe to make ahead of time. Cover and store in the fridge for up to 3 days before serving. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
Short pasta shapes like rotini, penne, or farfalle work well because they hold onto the dressing. Avoid spaghetti or linguine, which don’t mix and hold up as easily.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Toss before serving since some of the dressing may have settled on the bottom of the container.
If you tried this Mediterranean Pasta Salad Recipe or any other recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks!
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I need nutritional value for this salad
Glad you found this yummy recipe.
I don’t provide nutritional information, but here is a site that you can use – https://www.myfitnesspal.com/
Have a great day,
~Donya
Awesome! I made salad in early afternoon. Put in refrigerator. Made dressing and put in jar and refrigerated. About 30 minutes before serving I literally drizzled over salad, stirred and put back In refrigerator. Dressing was a little too oily for me so let others add if they wanted. This is a most refreshing salad.
I served with air fryer brats. What a quick, easy and delicious meal.
Hey there Anne!
My goodness, it sounds like you made quite the tasty meal! I love that you paired this salad with an easy Air Fryer recipe, next time you should check out my Air Fryer Salmon, it goes perfectly with this salad. Thank you so much for your kind words and your phenomenal rating, I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! If you ever have any questions about a dish, please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask!
~Donya
This would go well with our fish fry next week.
Hey there Ella!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, I think you are completely right! This salad is super versatile, it goes with pretty much any protein, but it’s super tasty with fish! I really hope you enjoy the recipe, let me know how everything turns out!
~Donya
Made this last week. Delicious. Didnt use all the dressing and had enough for
some on my green salads.
Making more dressing today
Hey there Teresa!
Wow! Thank you so much for this terrific rating and your kind words, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. When I make Mediterranean Pasta Salad I do the exact same thing and save the dressing for other salads, it’s super convenient. I really appreciate your support, if you ever have any questions about a recipe please don’t hesitate to ask!
~Donya
If made ahead of time do you put dressing on when made or when your ready to serve?
Hey there Nancy!
That’s a terrific question! This salad is a great dish to make ahead of time, and you’re exactly correct. What you’ll do is prepare the salad with everything except the dressing, and then whenever you’re ready to serve just toss the salad in the dressing and you’re ready to go. Thanks for your interest in this recipe, I hope you enjoy!
~Donya
This looks tasty! Love pasta salads. This would be great for summer camping.
Hey there Mary!
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that! I love a good pasta salad too, and I think you’re right this would be a perfect salad to make for camping! The only real cooking involved is cooking the pasta, other than that it’s just chopping veggies. I really hope you enjoy this recipe, if you ever have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out!
~Donya
Can this be prepared as a meal prep for the week?
Hey there Maria!
Yes, you can absolutely prepare this dish ahead of time! It will do well in the fridge for about 3-5 days as long as you store it in an air-tight container. I hope you enjoy this recipe, let me know what you think!
~Donya
Made this for 4th of July. Delicious! Will make again and again. Thank you for the recipe.
Hey Michelle!
Thank you so very much for your sweet words and your fantastic rating! I am so pleased y’all enjoyed this on the 4th of July, it’s a perfect fresh summery pasta salad. I really appreciate your support, thank you!
~Donya
This recipes is really good, saved to my favorites.
Hey Christine!
Thank you so much for your words of support, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Have a great day!
~Donya
Delish! Eating it as I type. I used Elbow noodles, and added Mild Banana Peppers… did not use all the dressing and it is still a bit oily. But, it’s EVOO…so it’s ok! Lol
Hey Nicole!
You’re right, EVOO sure is good! And as the pasta sits in the fridge it will absorb more of the dressing. Thanks for sharing!
~Donya
I love this pasta salad recipe! I can’t wait to make it and enjoy it for lunch.
Thanks.
Can you make this the night before?
Hey there Kathy!
Yes, you can absolutely prepare this ahead of time! This pasta salad will keep in the fridge for about 3-5 days so making it the night before is a great idea. I hope this helps, let me know how it turns out!
~Donya
Do you add vegetables to the hot pasta?
Hey there Evelyn!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, I really think you’re going to love it! Usually, I allow the pasta to cool down a little bit before adding the veggies and dressing to it, if you’re on a time crunch you can simply run the pasta under cold water for a couple of minutes and then you can add the other ingredients. I hope this is helpful, let me know how everything turns out, I’d love to hear what you think!
~Donya
This pasta salad & dressing was amazing!! I am vegan & have not found “the salad” until now. I actually could not stop eating it until it was gone.. (over 4 hours)Thank you!
Hey there Marjorie!
I think this is the one of the biggest compliment I’ve ever gotten, I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! It’s definitely one of those salads that’s so light and flavorful it’s addictive, you can really sit down and eat a whole bowl of it! If you enjoyed this dressing, I would definitely recommend putting it on other salads, it tastes delicious on just about anything. Thank you so much for your kind words of support, I hope you have a wonderful day!
~Donya
Where can I find the best nutritional data on this recipe: Mediterranean Pasta Salad? Such as the calories, serving size, carbs, Etc.
Hey there Julie!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, I think you’re going to love it! I don’t personally provide the nutritional information for my recipes, but I’ve copied a link below that can help you out with that. If you click the link it will take you to a recipe nutrition calculator where you can input the ingredients from the recipe and it’ll give you all the information you’re looking for. I hope this is helpful, let me know if you give the recipe a try, I’d love to hear what you think!
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
~Donya
I added some chick peas to this salad because I don’t eat meat. It was delicious!
Hey there Diane!
Chickpeas are a terrific addition to this salad, especially if you’re vegetarian since they’re so packed with protein! Chickpeas also go very well with the flavors in this salad, it sounds like you made a delicious meal! Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe and for your support, if you ever have any questions about a dish please don’t hesitate to reach out!
~Donya
Do you know the carbs and calories. And the serving.
Hey there Estela!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, I think you’re really going to like it! I do not personally include the nutritional information for my recipes, but if you click the link in this comment, it will take you to a site where you can copy and paste the recipe in and it will give you all the nutritional facts you’re looking for. I hope this is helpful, let me know how everything turns out if you give the recipe a try!
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
~Donya