Greek Pasta Salad with Feta (Print Version)

Colorful Mediterranean pasta toss with feta, olives, and a zesty lemon dressing. Ready in 30 minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 10 oz short pasta (penne, rotini, or fusilli)

→ Vegetables

02 - 1 English cucumber, diced
03 - 1 red bell pepper, diced
04 - 7 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
05 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
06 - 3.5 oz Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

→ Cheese & Herbs

07 - 5 oz feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
08 - 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
09 - 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (optional)

→ Dressing

10 - 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
11 - 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
12 - 1 tsp dried oregano
13 - 1 garlic clove, minced
14 - 1/2 tsp salt
15 - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
16 - Zest of 1 lemon

# How-To Steps:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the short pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold running water to halt cooking and cool the pasta completely.
02 - In a large salad bowl, toss together the cooled pasta, diced cucumber, diced red bell pepper, halved cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, and halved Kalamata olives.
03 - In a small bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, minced garlic, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and lemon zest until well emulsified.
04 - Pour the prepared dressing over the pasta and vegetable mixture. Toss thoroughly to ensure every component is evenly coated.
05 - Gently fold in the crumbled or cubed feta cheese, chopped fresh parsley, and dill if using, taking care not to break up the feta too much.
06 - Taste the salad and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld together.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The dressing doubles as a marinade, so you can drizzle any leftovers over grilled vegetables the next day and feel like a genius.
  • Everything holds up beautifully in the fridge, which means no soggy disappointment when you go back for seconds hours later.
  • It scales up effortlessly for a crowd without requiring any cooking instincts beyond boiling pasta.
02 -
  • Rinsing the pasta is nonnegotiable here, because any residual heat will melt the feta into a gummy coating instead of keeping it in satisfying little cubes.
  • If you dress the salad while the pasta is even slightly warm, the vegetables will wilt and weep and the whole bowl turns slack and sad.
03 -
  • Cube the feta fairly large so people get real creamy hits of cheese rather than it disappearing into the background.
  • Zest the lemon before you juice it, because trying to zest a spent lemon half is a frustrating exercise in scraping nothing useful off the rind.

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