Chopped Greek Pasta Salad

Chopped Greek Pasta Salad with tangy feta dressing comes together in just 30 minutes. Enjoy this make-ahead pasta salad for cookouts, potlucks, or easy weekday lunches. 

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• Why You'll Love this Chopped Greek Pasta Salad:
• Recipe Ingredients
• Substitutions/Additions:
• Step-by-Step Instructions:
• Recipe FAQs:
• More Healthy Pasta Salad Recipes to Try:
• Chopped Greek Pasta Salad

Why You'll Love this Chopped Greek Pasta Salad:

This 30 minute pasta salad includes everything there is to love about a traditional Greek salad with a fun twist. It's perfect for entertaining or make-ahead weekday meals.

What's not to love about loads of fresh veggies with briny olives, salty feta and zippy vinaigrette dressing? Clearly the Greek Gods knew what they were doing.

Just like my reader-favorite Healthy Creamy Pasta Salad, this one is easy to make and super versatile.

You also have the option of adding tuna, rotisserie chicken, or beans/edamame to pump up the protein.

Similar to this Pesto Tortellini Salad, you can enjoy this Greek pasta salad as the main event or a side dish.

Recipe Ingredients

This recipe is really more of a outline in which you can add or omit any of the ingredients you wish. Here's what you need:

• Pasta: I like using a smaller shape, such as ditalini or cavatelli (small shells pictured above). This ensures most of the ingredients are similar in size, which is part of the appeal of a "chopped" salad.
• Tomatoes: I suggest using cherry tomatoes, which are in season year round. You need one pint, which you can choose all red or some yellow/orange for a pop of color.
• Olives and Artichokes: All Greek salads need something briny, so I chose black olives and artichokes here. If you prefer, green olives and hearts of palm are also good options.
• Feta: Feta is part of the salad AND the salad dressing here. If you wish to this make this vegan/dairy free, simply omit the feta, or swap it for your favorite plant-based cheese.
• Cucumber: I love the cooling crunch cucumber adds to this salad. I suggest using a seedless English cucumber, which you don't even have to peel.
• Aromatics: Red onion goes in the salad, and fresh garlic goes in the dressing. These two combined give the salad a zippy, somewhat spicy bite.

For the dressing, you also need extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, and honey. You can choose to blend the dressing in a small blender (I use a Ninja) or just whisk it by hand.

For the full list of the ingredients and amounts, see the recipe card below.

Substitutions/Additions:

• Greek Orzo Salad: Use the same amount of cooked orzo instead of ditalini or cavatelli.
• Greek Chicken Pasta Salad: Add 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken, or about 12 ounces of grilled, sliced chicken breasts.
• Make Gluten Free: Use a chickpea or lentil-based pasta, such as Banza or Barilla brand.
• Make Vegan: Swap the feta cheese for vegan "feta" crumbles, such as Violife brand.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Step 1: Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling, SALTED water. Once the pasta is al dente, drain, rinse with cold water, and transfer to a large bowl.

Step 2: Prepare the Greek dressing by adding olive oil, vinegar, feta cheese, garlic, oregano, honey, and pepper to a blender. Blend until smooth and homogenous.

Alternatively, you can leave the feta out of the dressing and just whisk the ingredients in a bowl. 

Step 3: Combine pasta salad ingredients and toss to combine.

Step 4: Add dressing and herbs and toss well. Garnish the salad with extra herbs, such as basil, parsley, dill or oregano, and serve!

Recipe FAQs:

More Healthy Pasta Salad Recipes to Try:

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a pic and tag #dishingouthealth on Instagram so I can see your beautiful creations. Lastly, follow along on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest recipe updates!