Mediterranean Pasta Salad

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5 from 1 vote

Published on April 14, 2023

, Updated on May 30, 2023

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by Carrie Barnard

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Mediterranean Pasta Salad is loaded with fresh ingredients and tossed in a delicious dressing. Make this pasta salad for your next BBQ.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad Recipe:

Pasta salad is one of my favorite dishes to make. Pasta salad can be made a variety of ways. But the ingredients for the Mediterranean Pasta Salad is one of my favorites.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad is loaded with simple ingredients and mixed with a vinaigrette dressing brings all the flavors together. This is the perfect cold pasta salad as a side dish but it can also be prepared as a main dish.

Pasta, vegetables and dressing all toss together in a large bowl. Then topped with feta cheese to make an easy pasta salad. Make this pasta salad for your next BBQ or for a date night in.

What does a Mediterranean Pasta contain?

Mediterranean Pasta starts with cold cooked pasta, then fresh vegetables are added. Cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions all chopped and then added to the pasta.

Black Olives and green olives are added to complete this pasta salad. The light vinaigrette is combined in a separate bowl and then tossed with the pasta salad ingredients.

We like to top with feta cheese to complete the salad to give extra flavor.

What dressing is the best for Pasta salad?

Pasta salad is usually mixed with an Italian salad dressing or a light vinaigrette dressing.

A mayonnaise based dressing can also be added to pasta to make a creamier option.

Ingredients:

For the Pasta Salad:

Rotini Pasta
English Cucumber (diced)
Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
Pitted Black Olives (sliced)
Pitted Green Olives (sliced)
Red Onion (thinly sliced)
Feta Cheese

For the Dressing:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Lemon (juiced)
Garlic Powder
Dried Oregano
Dried Basil
Salt
Black Pepper

How to Make Mediterranean Pasta Salad:

Step 1 – Cook Pasta – Cook the pasta based on the package instructions to al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water to cool the pasta.
Step 2 – Combine Dressing Ingredients – Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Step 3 – Add pasta and ingredients to bowl – Place the cooked pasta in a large mixing bowl. Gently stir in all the remaining ingredients except for the feta cheese.

Mix salad dressing together and mix with the other pasta ingredients

Step 4 – Top with Pasta Salad – Drizzle the dressing on top of the pasta salad. Gently toss the ingredients to coat with the dressing.
Step 5 – Chill Pasta Salad – Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Step 6 – Top with Feta Cheese – When serving, top with the feta cheese and enjoy!

Recipe Tips:

Mixing Ingredients – When combining the pasta and the other ingredients, make sure to use a large enough bowl. This allows the dressing to completely cover the pasta and vegetables.
Pasta – Cook pasta al dente or according to package. Make sure it has cooled completely before mixing with the other ingredients. You can also cook pasta ahead of time to easily mix with the other ingredients.
Make Ahead – Feel free to make this pasta dish ahead of time. This allows for the ingredients to marinate together to give it so much flavor.
Chill Pasta – We recommend before serving to allow the pasta salad to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Chop Vegetables – We like to prepare the vegetables ahead of time. Chop the vegetables in bite size pieces for easily serving.

Variations for Mediterranean Pasta Salad:

Tomatoes – We love using cherry tomatoes in this recipe. But you can use sun dried tomatoes.
Oregano – Feel free to use fresh oregano instead dried oregano to add to the salad dressing.
Olives – Kalamata olives is also a great substitute for black and green olives.
Pine Nuts – If you would like some extra crunch to this pasta salad add in some pine nuts or sliced almonds.
Pasta – Feel free to change different types of noodles. We love the rotini pasta but another option would be a bow tie noodles.

Should you Rinse Pasta when Making Pasta Salad?

Yes, after cooking the pasta make sure to rinse the pasta. This allows the pasta to stop cooking and prevents the pasta from sticking.

How to Store:

Refrigerate the leftovers covered for up to 3 days.

What to Serve with Mediterranean Pasta Salad:

This pasta salad is the perfect side to many dishes. We have served it with grilled meats or oven baked dishes. These are some of our favorites.

Grilled Chicken – You can easily serve this pasta salad as a side dish with grilled chicken. We have even served as a main dish with grilled chicken mixed in.
Seafood – Make a grilled salmon, shrimp or fish to serve along side this pasta dish.
BBQ’s – We love this pasta salad for all of our BBQ’s. It is light and refreshing and is perfect with burgers, brats, or hot dogs.

Can you Make this Pasta Salad the night before?

Yes, you can prepare this Dill Pickle Salad the night before. We actually prefer to make this ahead of time as the ingredients marinate together for a delicious pasta salad.