Bring all the flavors of Greece to your next barbecue with this GREEK PASTA SALAD. It’s a fun twist on a classic side dish!
When it’s hot outside all I can think about is summer barbecues and pool parties. I really just want to be spending time with my family, trying to stay cool, and enjoying good food. When it’s so hot out, I don’t want to eat things that are too heavy. I crave food that is lighter and cooler. Pasta salads are some of my favorite summer food. Especially if we are grilling outside. Pasta salads go with anything that you can put on a grill.
I love any kind of pasta salad. But lately, this Greek pasta salad has been my go-to. I don’t know if it’s the salty kalamata olives or the feta cheese, but there is something really delicious happening in this pasta salad. Plus it takes no time to put together. If you chop up all your ingredients while your pasta is cooking, this salad takes about 20 minutes to put together. I used just a store-bought, store brand greek dressing on this pasta salad, a little salt and pepper, and some sugar to season this pasta salad to perfection. Yep, you read that right. I add sugar to my greek pasta salad. It helps balance all the saltiness in the olives and cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 box bow tie pasta
- 4-6 oz container feta cheese
- 1 small carton grape tomatoes
- 1/2 english cucumber
- 1/4 purple onion
- 1 cup sliced and pitted kalamata olives
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 TBL sugar
- 1 bottle greek salad dressing
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions.
- Slice grape tomatoes in half and add to a large bowl.
- Slice english cucumber and add to bowl with tomatoes.
- Thinly slice purple onion and add to bowl.
- Add kalamata olives to bowl.
- Drain pasta and let cool.
- Add semi cooled pasta to bowl with other ingredients.
- Add salt, pepper, sugar and 1/2 the bottle of greek salad dressing to bowl.
- Gently toss together.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge until ready to serve.
- Right before service, add more greek dressing if the salad looks too dry.
Nutrition
If you love salads in the summer, pasta or green, here are two of my favorite summer salads. This caprese pasta salad and this strawberry spinach salad with lemon poppyseed dressing are the perfect side dish to any main course. And perfect for any backyard barbecue.
