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This Mediterranean Pasta Salad is quick AND healthy. It’s made with your favorite pasta and loaded with veggies like cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. It’s an easy make-ahead meal or something tasty to bring to a party or family gathering.
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Mediterranean pasta salad recipe
You saw this coming, right? It’s summertime, and summer = pasta salad! It’s science. Whether you’re in need of an easy side dish to bring to a party or family gathering, or if you want to meal prep at the beginning of the week, this cold pasta salad is a good idea. It makes plenty of servings and it’s loaded with veggies so you’ll feel good eating it.
One of my FAVORITE ingredients to add to *almost* any savory recipe is California Sun Dry sun-dried tomatoes. They add an incredible flavor and definitely pair well in this pasta salad recipe. Plus, I like using the oil from the jar to drizzle over top of food (i.e. this pasta salad or hummus!), and this arugula sun-dried tomato salad.
What you’ll need
- your favorite pasta – I used gluten free bowtie pasta, but any kind works!
- vegetables – like cucumber, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and red onion, along with some type of “green” if you choose (like spinach or arugula)
- cheese – feta cheese is my favorite for Mediterranean-style recipes
- salad dressing – in this case, that’s simply olive oil, lemon juice and fresh parsley
Step-by-step instructions
1. Cook the pasta as you normally would
2. While the pasta cooks, slice the cucumbers, onion and tomatoes
3. Make the “dressing” by whisking olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper together
4. Combine everything into one bowl and toss!
FAQs
Should I serve this cold or warm?
This pasta salad is best served cold, meaning after you make the pasta, you’ll place everything in the refrigerator to cool before serving. Cook the pasta as you normally would, then drain it and place it in a bowl along with all the other ingredients, then place the entire bowl in your refrigerator. Again, this mediterranean pasta salad is the perfect summer recipe because it’s cold yet super filling and delicious.
How do I make the salad dressing?
You can’t just throw cooked pasta and vegetables into a bowl and call it a day, No, no, no—you need some sort of dressing for your pasta salad! With that said, I like to keep things simple and light, so for the dressing, I decided to use a combination of olive oil and lemon juice, along with fresh parsley. That’s it!
What to serve with this pasta salad
- Mediterranean Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Bacon-Wrapped Salmon
- Feta Harissa Roasted Carrots
- Lamb Burgers
- Spicy Cod Sandwich
More Mediterranean recipes
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below!
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb. your favorite pasta
- 1 1/2 cups cucumber sliced
- 1 cup California Sun Dry sun-dried tomatoes julienne cut
- 1 cup grape tomatoes sliced
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup red onion sliced
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- 1 cup arugula optional
for the dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta as you normally would. While the pasta is cooking, slice the veggies.
- Once pasta is done, drain it and place it in a large bowl. Then, add the cucumber, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, onion, feta cheese, and lettuce and stir to combine.
- Whisk dressing ingredients together, then pour over salad and stir until salad is coated. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator until pasta has cooled down, or until ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in July 2019. It was updated with new text in May 2020.
This salad looks so packed with flavor!! Perfect for summer 🙂