This cold pasta salad is a refreshing and zesty side dish! It's packed with fresh vegetables, olives, feta cheese, and a zesty Italian dressing. Serve it at your next picnic, barbecue, potluck, or cookout!
About This Recipe
Not gunna lie, I made this pasta salad because I needed more carbs in my diet and my wife wanted us to eat more vegetables. This kinda fits that category perfectly, lol. Despite that, my wife was not looking forward to this recipe (she hates pasta salad). She ended up picking out the pasta and eating only the veggies, so it ended up being more of a Greek salad for her.
Unlike other recipes where the blogger will say "My hubby hates (insert name of dish), but he LOVED my version!" I can confidently say my wife still did not like this recipe! She is a staunch hater of pasta salads. I've learned there's nothing I can do to change that. So now I'm left with eating this pasta salad myself, on top of the extra pasta she removes from her portion. But I love pasta salad, so I ain't complaining!
This recipe is perfect for barbecues, picnics, and cookouts. It's packed with flavor, fresh, and has a good amount of carbs that would pair well with another main course. It also tastes great as a vegetarian main course.
Key Ingredients
Rotini pasta: This is the standard pasta shape and I think it works well because the many ridges cling onto most of the pasta dressing. Fusilli pasta works just as well. For pasta salads, I prefer overcooking the pasta slightly by about 1-2 minutes. Just follow the package directions and increase the time by a bit.
Vegetables: I used cucumbers, grape tomatoes, 1 bell pepper, red onions, and canned black olives.
Feta cheese: I love feta for the unique flavor that it adds
Italian dressing: I made my own dressing by combining olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, Italian seasoning, mustard, garlic, salt, and black pepper
Instructions
STEP 1: Cut the vegetables into small pieces, like the picture above.
STEP 2: Add everything to a bowl.
STEP 3: Mix together. You can eat it immediately or refrigerate it for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Enjoy!
๐ Recipe
Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces rotini (or any other pasta shape)
- 1 medium cucumber (chopped)
- 1 pint grape tomatoes (halved)
- 1 small bell pepper (chopped)
- ยผ cup finely diced red onion
- 1 cup Italian dressing (see notes for homemade)
- โ cup feta cheese (crumbled)
- ยผ cup sliced black olives
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- salt and black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a big pinch of salt and the pasta. Cook it according to the package directions. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse it under cold water to cool down. Let the pasta sit in the colander while you prepare the vegetables.
- Cut the cucumber, grape tomatoes, bell pepper, and red onion into small pieces.
- In a big bowl, add the cooled pasta, chopped vegetables, Italian dressing, feta cheese, olives, and fresh parsley. Season with salt and black pepper to taste then toss everything together.
- At this point, the pasta salad is ready to eat, or you can chill it in the fridge for an hour.
Notes
- ยฝ cup olive oil
- ยผ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Eileen
Great recipe. This was my first time making pasta salad. I was very pleased by easiness and it tastes great!
Grump
Thanks, Eileen! Glad u enjoyed it ๐
Robbin G Blakely
I put a little less vinegar because to me too much vinegar overpowers the salad. Other than that, it's amazing!
Krista
The dressing made this recipe so yummy! Thank you for sharing!
Leititiaโ
Can we use balsamic, instead of red wine vinegar
Grump
I don't see a problem with it. Let me know how it goes!
Sushi
What are the storage suggestions for this? How long can it keep for?
Grump
Just refrigerate it in airtight container or just cover with plastic in a large bowl. Its good for about 3-4 days. The dressing does absorb into the pasta as time goes on, so you could make a little more dressing and retoss it with it to keep the flavor fresher.
Kristine Sharar
Awesome recipe, and I even made the homemade Italian dressing and itโs perfect!