Easy to put together and with tasty greek flavors this Greek Pasta Salad is a delicious and easy side dish that you will want to bring to all the get togethers.
Pasta salads are my thing, I absolutely love them and I can barely ever turn them down when they are served. There is something about a pasta salad that draws me in.
This Greek Pasta Salad is one of my favorites! It is super easy to put together and the flavors are absolutely amazing. With delicious Greek inspired flavors you really can’t go wrong.
The one thing that I absolutely love about this salad is that we use tortellini, it is a more hearty pasta that will really fill you up, so you don’t need much of this salad to get a hearty serving.
But trust me it is hard to not want to go back and get seconds or thirds even because it’s just so tasty. We also use a homemade dressing that is insanely delicious and easy as well.
Cookout season can’t come soon enough because I want to bring this salad everywhere with me because everyone always requests it and I adore making it as a side dish.
Some of our other favorite pasta salads that we have on our site include Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, Tuna Pasta Salad and Easy Cashew Chicken Pasta Salad.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- This recipe comes together quickly.
- You can double this to serve larger crowds.
- You can substitute bottled dressing with the homemade if you like.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM):
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Lemon juice
Dijon mustard
Oregano
Basil
Salt
Garlic powder
Pepper
Onion powder
Spinach
Cheese-filled tortellini
Grape tomatoes
Kalamata olives
Red onion
Feta cheese
HOW TO MAKE GREEK PASTA SALAD, STEP BY STEP:
For the Greek dressing:
- To a sealable jar or other container, add olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon, followed by dry seasonings. Place lid on jar and shake until combined. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
For the Greek Tortellini Salad:
- Cut spinach leaves by taking a handful and rolling them into a tight log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut down the log in ยผโ strips. Continue until all spinach has been cut.
- Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and transfer to large bowl.
- Add ยฝ cup of the prepared Greek dressing immediately and toss to coat to prevent tortellini from sticking together.
- Add cut spinach, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, red onion, and feta. Toss again to coat. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour to let the tortellini absorb the dressing.
- Remove from refrigerator. Add another ยผ cup of Greek dressing. Toss to coat, once again.
- Chill for another hour, or until dressing permeates tortellini. Add salt and/or pepper to taste.
See how easy this Greek Pasta Salad Recipe is?! It is a no brainer that you have to make it this spring and summer season, it is too easy and too good.
I love anything “greek” flavored so this salad really fits the bill for sure. All the flavors work really well together and they are super easy to find in your local grocer.
DO I NEED TO USE REFRIGERATED TORTELLINI?
No you do not, we use it out of convenience and you also do not need to use tri-colored tortellini either. You can use regular frozen cheese tortellini.
Make sure that you cook it and then quickly rinse it under cold water so it cools down and stops the cooking process before you add it to a bowl and add your remaining ingredients.
CAN I USE STORE BOUGHT DRESSING?
Although this dressing is super simple and flavorful, you can buy your own dressing from the store. Some good choices that we have found to use for this includes:
- Kraft Greek Vinaigrette
- Ken’s Steakhouse Greek
- Lighthouse Greek Salad Dressing
- Kraft Red Wine Vinaigrette
- Lighthouse Red Wine with Olive Oil
While these won’t taste the exact same as our own homemade Greek Salad Dressing they will come lose to the flavor that you will want for this Pasta Salad Recipe for sure.
If you find something else that you like better thats awesome and I would love to know in the comments what you used and how tasted!
OTHER SUBSTITUTIONS:
I know a lot of people aren’t too fond of olives or feta cheese so some substitutions for these two ingredients are marinated artichoke hearts for the olives, it is really tasty, or you can use regular black olives as well.
For the feta cheese, you can substitute another crumbly cheese like cojita, although it will not be as salty or as “greek” it will still work on this occasion.
HOW TO STORE:
You can store this Greek Pasta Salad covered in serving bowl or in an airtight container in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 3 days.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- This can be made ahead of time but wait to add your tomatoes until you are almost ready to serve as the tomatoes will wilt and lose their freshness the longer they sit.
- You can easily double this recipe to serve more people.
- If you do not want to make your own dressing, alternatives are listed above.
- Not a fan of tortellini? You can use bowtie pasta as a substitute for this recipe.
- Also you do not have to use refrigerated tortellini or tri-colored either, you can use frozen cheese, just cook and cool before making salad.
If you want a fresh, delicious and easy recipe then you have to make this Greek Pasta Salad! Once you try it it will become a staple salad in your home.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this GREEK PASTA SALAD or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Greek dressing:
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- Juice from 1 lemon about 2 tablespoons
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 3/4 tsp onion powder
For the tortellini salad:
- 2 cups spinach packed
- 20- ounce package refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved lengthwise
- 40 kalamata olives sliced
- 1/2 cup red onion diced
- 8 oz s feta cheese crumbled
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Greek dressing:
- To a sealable jar or other container, add olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon, followed by dry seasonings. Place lid on jar and shake until combined. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
For the Greek Tortellini Salad:
- Cut spinach leaves by taking a handful and rolling them into a tight log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut down the log in ยผโ strips. Continue until all spinach has been cut.
- Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and transfer to large bowl. Add ยฝ cup of the prepared Greek dressing immediately and toss to coat to prevent tortellini from sticking together.
- Add cut spinach, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, red onion, and feta. Toss again to coat. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour to let the tortellini absorb the dressing.
- Remove from refrigerator. Add another ยผ cup of Greek dressing. Toss to coat, once again. Chill for another hour, or until dressing permeates tortellini. Add salt and/or pepper to taste.
Notes
- This can be made ahead of time but wait to add your tomatoes until you are almost ready to serve as the tomatoes will wilt and lose their freshness the longer they sit.
- You can easily double this recipe to serve more people.
- If you do not want to make your own dressing, alternatives are listed above.
- Not a fan of tortellini? You can use bowtie pasta as a substitute for this recipe.
- Also you do not have to use refrigerated tortellini or tri-colored either, you can use frozen cheese, just cook and cool before making salad.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Kelly
I made this pasta salad last weekend for a Father’s Day cookout. It was delicious! I tripled the recipe and I’m glad I did because it was the only empty dish at the end of the night.