Greek Pasta Salad – Julia’s Album

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This fast and straightforward Greek pasta salad takes solely quarter-hour and showcases conventional Mediterranean delicacies elements: tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, olives, crimson onions, and feta cheese. The basic selfmade Greek dressing will grow to be a household favourite in your house. This meatless, vegetarian pasta salad is ideal for a starter, facet dish, lunch, or dinner! Make it forward and share it with your loved ones and associates at summer season picnics and potlucks.

20-minute Greek pasta salad

The Greek pasta salad is scrumptious and makes a wonderful presentation — excellent for a vacation or an important day. Elevate it to an entrée by including a protein, comparable to grilled salmon, pan-seared shrimp, or hen. It retains nicely refrigerated – nice for making forward and sharing with the group at Summer time events, barbeques, and household gatherings. This 20-minute recipe makes a shocking vegetarian appetizer, mild meal, or dinner! Should you love Greek-inspired recipes, try my Greek orzo and family-favorite Greek hen and lemon rice.

The elements

• Pasta.  Use brief pasta, comparable to fusilli, farfalle (bow-tie pasta), penne, rigatoni, fusilli, or orecchiette. Orzo is a superb possibility, as nicely. Prepare dinner the pasta al dente for the most effective texture and rinse it underneath chilly water after cooking to stop it from changing into mushy.
• Cherry tomatoes. I used 2 colours: yellow and crimson. Slice them in half.
• Cucumber. Use two medium cucumbers or one giant one.
• Bell pepper. I used crimson bell pepper as a result of it provides such a pop of coloration! I like to recommend utilizing crimson, yellow, or orange bell peppers.
• Olives. Use pitted black, inexperienced, or kalamata olives. I used a combo of black and inexperienced olives.
• Feta cheese has a smooth texture and briny taste. Excellent for a creamy Greek pasta salad.
• Purple onion supplies a zesty chunk. You do not want a lot – solely about ¼ cup of chopped onions.

make conventional Greek salad dressing

• Salad dressing elements embrace additional virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, crimson wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
• I like to recommend utilizing freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice (not bottled) and additional virgin olive oil.
• I additionally like including one tablespoon of honey to stability the flavors.
• You need to use dried Italian seasoning or Herbs from Provance as an alternative of oregano.
• Mix all of the dressing elements in a mason jar or a small high-sided mixing bowl and whisk with the fork (or shut the jar with the lid and shake it vigorously to mix the flavors).
• It’s also possible to combine all of the dressing elements in a big mixing bowl the place you’ll assemble all salad elements – that manner you save yet another bowl to scrub!

make Greek pasta salad

This vegetarian pasta salad takes solely 20 minutes! You possibly can serve it instantly or refrigerate it for as much as 4 days. Under is the overview. The detailed recipe (with quantities) is on the backside of this submit (within the recipe card).

1. Prepare dinner the pasta in boiling water based on the package deal directions. Drain, rinse with chilly water, and drain once more. Within the meantime, proceed with the remainder of the recipe.
2. Make salad dressing in a big mixing bowl (you may additionally use the identical bowl for pasta salad) by whisking collectively additional virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, crimson wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
3. Put together the veggies. In the identical giant mixing bowl, add diced tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, crimson onion, and olives.
4. Add pasta. Add drained cooked pasta and feta cheese to the bowl with veggies. Toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper.

Variations and substitutions

• Pasta. I like to recommend short-cut pasta: small shells, fusilli (spiral pasta), bow-tie pasta (farfalle), penne, rigatoni, or rotini.
• Use a combination of kalamata, black, and inexperienced olives for a burst of taste and a vibrant contact. The kalamata olives supply a gentler taste, whereas the totally different colours of olives add depth and visible attraction.
• Veggies. This vegetarian Greek pasta salad would even be scrumptious with asparagus, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, marinated artichokes, and zucchini.
• Add leafy greens, comparable to arugula, backyard greens, or lettuce.
• Cheese. This recipe makes use of feta cheese. It’s also possible to add small Mozzarella balls (pearls), sliced Mozzarella, or cubed Parmesan.
• Salad Dressing. Make a dressing from scratch or use store-bought Italian or Greek dressing.
• Don’t love crimson onions?  Attempt chopped inexperienced onions.
• Lime or lemon will work nice. Freshly squeezed juice is all the time the most effective!

Suggestions for Success

• Prepare dinner pasta al dente for the most effective texture, particularly if you wish to make it forward. To prepare dinner pasta al dente, you usually should boil it 2 minutes shorter than regular. For instance, if the package deal directions inform you to boil pasta for 10 minutes, prepare dinner the pasta in boiling water for 8 minutes as an alternative.
• Rinse the cooked pasta in a colander underneath chilly operating water to stop it from persevering with to prepare dinner in its personal warmth. No one likes a mushy pasta salad.
• Make it gluten-free.  Use the gluten-free pasta of your selection.  Lentil or chickpea gluten-free pasta will style nice right here.
• Make it dairy-free by utilizing vegan Feta cheese.

serve it

• Serve it chilly, room temperature, or heat!
• It is a meatless, vegetarian meal that is filling, holds its personal, and would not want any meat, if you don’t need it.
• So as to add meatless protein, toss it with 14 oz of drained canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans).
• Different protein concepts. The Greek pasta salad pairs nicely along with your favourite proteins, comparable to grilled, baked, or pan-seared meats (hen, pork, lamb, steak) or seafood (salmon, shrimp, scallops).

Are you able to make it forward?

• This conventional Greek pasta salad options solely tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, crimson onion, and feta cheese (no leafy greens). When mixed in a salad, these elements hold nicely refrigerated and style even higher the subsequent day as they marinate with the dressing and launch juices!
• You can also make it as much as a day prematurely. Or, make it within the morning, refrigerate it in an hermetic container, and serve it for lunch or dinner the identical day.
• Excellent for meal prep. Or, freeze it inside 24 hours for as much as 2 months.

Storage Suggestions

Greek pasta salad will get solely higher higher because it sits within the fridge. It is best to serve it inside 2 days, however you may hold it refrigerated in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days.

What to serve with Greek pasta salad

Flip Greek pasta salad into an entrée by including grilled or leftover cooked hen, salmon, shrimp, or steak. Sliced or torn rotisserie hen is a scrumptious addition, too! It’s also possible to add all types of seafood apart from salmon and shrimp: scallops, lemon cod, baked halibut, lobster, or grilled octopus. Toss the salad with drained cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) for a meatless protein addition. These choices will elevate Greek pasta salad right into a extra filling Mediterranean meal. On the lookout for particular recipes? Listed below are some concepts:

Different pasta salads you may like

20-Minute Greek Pasta Salad

This fast and straightforward Greek pasta salad takes solely quarter-hour and showcases conventional Mediterranean delicacies elements: tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, olives, crimson onions, and feta cheese. The basic selfmade Greek dressing will grow to be a household favourite in your house. This meatless, vegetarian pasta salad is ideal for a starter, facet dish, lunch, or dinner! Make it forward and share it with your loved ones and associates at summer season picnics and potlucks.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Prepare dinner Time 10 minutes minutes

Whole Time 20 minutes minutes

Course Salad

Delicacies Greek, Mediterranean

Servings 4

Energy per serving 592 kcal

Creator: Julia

Elements

Pasta

• 12 oz bow-tie pasta (farfalle) or every other short-cut pasta

Directions 

Prepare dinner pasta

• Convey a big pot of water to a boil. Prepare dinner pasta based on package deal directions. As soon as the pasta is cooked, drain it and instantly rinse it with chilly water. Drain once more.

• Whereas the pasta is cooking, proceed with the remainder of the recipe.

Assemble the salad

• To the identical giant bowl with the salad dressing, add sliced cherry tomatoes, quartered cucumber slices, diced bell pepper, crimson onion, and olives. Combine the dressing completely with the veggies. Allow them to marinate whereas the pasta is cooking. The tomatoes ought to launch juices.

• Add drained and rinsed pasta and crumbled feta cheese to the bowl with marinated veggies. Toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper. Add extra lemon juice if desired.

Notes

Useful suggestions

• Rinse cooked pasta underneath chilly water earlier than including to the salad. You need pasta to cease cooking and stop it from getting mushy.
• Salad dressing choices. Make a dressing from scratch or use store-bought Italian or Greek.
• Veggies. Add mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, marinated artichokes, or zucchini.
• Add leafy greens, comparable to spinach or arugula.
• Cheese. Different choices apart from feta are small Mozzarella balls (pearls), sliced Mozzarella, and cubed or grated Parmesan.
• To make it gluten-free, use the gluten-free pasta of your selection. As soon as cooked, rinse the pasta with chilly water to stop it from getting mushy.
• Make it dairy-free. Use dairy-free, vegan feta cheese as an alternative of normal.
• serve it? Serve it heat, at room temperature, or chilly.

Storage suggestions

• You possibly can retailer the leftovers refrigerated in an air-tight container for as much as 4 days.
• Make-ahead tip: Do not add the dressing in the event you plan on refrigerating the salad for a day or two. Add the dressing proper earlier than serving.

Diet

Diet Info

20-Minute Greek Pasta Salad

Quantity per Serving

% Day by day Worth*

* P.c Day by day Values are based mostly on a 2000 calorie weight loss plan.

Diet Disclaimer:

The dietary info on this web site is just an estimate and is offered for comfort and as a courtesy solely. The accuracy of the dietary info for any recipe on this web site just isn’t assured. It shouldn’t be used as an alternative to an expert nutritionist’s recommendation.

Key phrase Greek Pasta Salad