Greek Pasta Salad
Greek Pasta Salad
Summer, barbecue, and pasta salads go hand in hand. Grilled burgers, baked beans and pasta salads complete the menu in my house. Plus who doesn’t like a bowl of pasta salad for lunch on a hot summer afternoon. I know I certainly do. Greek pasta salad is right up there with Deli-Style Macaroni Salad and Ham and Cheese Pasta Salad.
Fast and Easy
Pasta salads are super easy to make and many times can be made with on hand ingredients. It’s often easier to just swing by your local supermarket, head to the deli department and order away. This summer, challenge yourself to “make” homemade pasta salads instead of picking some up at the deli counter. Considering the price of a pound of pasta salad at my local deli counter, it’s becoming cheaper to make pasta salads at home. Not only that, but anything made from scratch tastes better.
Consider Mini or Baby
If you’ve read my last few posts and I’m positive that you did😀, you’re probably thinking to yourself “What’s up with the mini vegetables?” Good question! Mini vegetables or baby vegetables are great for so many different reasons. They’re great for kabobs, pasta salads, potato salads, roasting, stir fry and for smaller families. Baby or mini vegetables cook in half the amount of time as their larger counterparts. This also makes them a great choice for those hurry-up dinner nights. Melissa’s Produce has over 45 different varieties of baby vegetables alone to choose from.
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups tri-color spiral rotini
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh oregano OR
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 6 mini sweet peppers, sliced
- 4 mini cucumbers, chopped
- ½ small sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup pitted, whole Greek olives
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water and drain well.
- Make vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk oil, lemon juice, vinegar, water, garlic, salt and pepper until blended. Stir in oregano.
- In a large bowl, combine pasta, vegetables and olives. Add vinaigrette and feta cheese, toss gently to combine. Refrigerate, covered until serving.
This recipe was made with Barilla Pasta.