A Creamy Greek Pasta Salad recipe, with all the ingredients you love in a traditional Greek Salad like cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, black olives, and feta, mixed with Italian bowtie pasta. Serve this delicious pasta with Barbecued Sumac Chicken or Babyback Ribs!
Why This Recipe Works
I've tasted a lot of pasta salad recipes over the years. After many church potlucks, women's Bible studies, and other events, you can't help but sample hundreds of various pasta salad recipes.
However, there's one particular Greek Pasta Salad recipe that stands out in my mind above all the rest. It's a recipe that my friend Rose shared in a Pathways Community Church cookbook which was published in 2006.
If there's one thing I love about this particular pasta salad recipe it's the combination of cucumber and Feta cheese. I know that sounds simplistic, but it's such a great combo!
I have used Rose's recipe as a starting point and have made some slight adjustments because, you know, that's just what I do!
One of the changes I made was to add spicy chili peppers. I just love using them in salads but they go especially well in this Greek salad recipe.
Rose's recipe uses pre-made balsamic and oil vinegar dressing. Since I didn't have any on hand, I decided to make my own. Besides, I really wanted to mix in dried oregano and fresh garlic in with the dressing.
What Goes Into This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
- Bowtie Pasta — Although I'm using this colorful and fun bow-tie pasta, spiral, shell, or any shaped pasta can be used to make this Greek Pasta Salad recipe.
- Black Olives — If you want to make this salad even better, replace the canned black olives with Kalamata olives. You can also add pitted green olives to this salad.
- Feta Cheese — Besides a good quality Feta cheese, you can also use cubed sharp cheddar or pepper jack cheese.
- Chili Peppers — The chili peppers give this salad a little spicy kick. If you mild food, you can leave them out.
- The Dressing — The simple creamy dressing is made with a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, ranch dressing, herbs, and spices.
How to Make This Recipe
Add water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a six-quart Dutch oven. Bring to a boil then add pasta.
Stir the pasta to keep it from sticking together and cook for ten minutes, or according to package directions. Drain the pasta in a strainer and rinse with cold water.
Add cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, tomatoes, black olives, and hot chili peppers to a medium-sized bowl.
Add pasta to the bowl and mix to combine.
Whisk dressing ingredients together in a measuring cup.
Pour dressing over the pasta salad and gently mix to combine.
Sprinkle feta cheese over the pasta salad and fold in until completely incorporated. Chill and serve as a side or as an appetizer.
FAQ's and Expert Tips
Greek Pasta Salad is a cold salad that usually served as a side dish. A mixture of freshly chopped vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, red pepper, black olives, and chili peppers) is mixed with a tangy Greek dressing. Cold pasta and Feta cheese complete this delicious dish!
Although you can cool the pasta prior to adding it to the other salad ingredients, it's not necessary. As a matter of fact, the flavor just might soak in even better if the pasta is still warm. However, if the pasta is too hot, it can slightly cook the vegetables, which is not desirable.
You can absolutely make this Greek Pasta Salad Recipe the night before. It might actually taste even better! The flavors will be infused into the salad, and mixing in a little additional dressing prior to serving it will really wake up the flavor!
- Pepperoncini peppers are also great in this salad.
- If you are short on time just use Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette instead of making it from scratch.
- Cubes of cheddar and salami are also great additions to this Creamy Greek Salad Recipe.
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Creamy Greek Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 9 oz dry bowtie pasta
- 1 medium cucumber (chopped)
- ½ medium bell pepper (sliced)
- ½ cup red onion (sliced)
- 1½ cups grape tomatoes (sliced in half)
- 1 6 oz can whole black olives
- 1½ cups crumbled feta
- ½ cup spicy chili peppers
Dressing
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup ranch dressing
- ½ tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
Additional Ingredients
- 1 T. sea salt (to salt boiling water)
Instructions
- Add water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a six-quart Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, then add pasta.
- Stir the pasta to keep it from sticking together and cook for ten minutes, or according to package directions. Drain the pasta in a strainer and rinse with cold water.
- Add cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, tomatoes, black olives, and hot chili peppers to a medium-sized bowl.
- Add pasta to the bowl and mix to combine.
- Whisk dressing ingredients together in a measuring cup.
- Pour dressing over the pasta salad and gently mix to combine.
- Sprinkle feta cheese over the pasta salad and fold in until completely incorporated. Chill and serve as a side or appetizer.
Notes
- Put some of the salad dressing aside and stir it in just prior to serving. This really wakes up the flavor of the pasta salad.
- Pepperoncini peppers are also great in this salad.
- If you are short on time just use Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette instead of making it from scratch.
- Cubes of cheddar and salami are also great additions to this Creamy Greek Salad Recipe.
Kelly Methey says
This recipe is calling my name! Sounds so good, especially with summer coming. Adding the meat and cheese makes it dinner in a bowl on a hot day!
Thanks, Hilda, for another great recipe.
HildaSterner says
Thanks, Kelly, I hope you like it as much as Art did!