Greek Fresh Pasta Salad ! One of our favorite beautiful salads with rainbow veggies and chickpeas. Drizzled with awesome homemade vinaigrette. Delicious and easy recipe loved by kids and adults alike!
While you can certainly make this Easy Greek Salad all year long, it gets heavily used in summer season. Fresh produce based meals feel perfect this time of year. Breeze in the air is light and crisp and so is this salad.
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HEALTHY SALAD WITH FRESH INGREDIENTS :
If you are looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle by mindful eating, this salad ticks all of those boxes and then some. It’s full of plant protein, complex carbs, fiber, healthy fat and minerals. And it’s JUST SO GOOD !!
PERFECT SUMMER SALAD
Use it as an ideal dish for summer cookouts, potlucks or BBQs. It’s one of the best summer salads to rock and roll outdoor gathering ! And don’t be surprised if you get lots of recipe share requests from your guests. We sure do !!
Easy Greek Pasta Salad has the perfect blend of flavors and textures to make it as a meal by itself. You can also serve it alongside a more traditional grilled menu items. It’s a popular school lunch box option and looks very pretty on picnic menu table too.
This Summer Salad gets a Mediterranean flair with fresh baby spinach, cherry tomatoes and parsley. For authentic Greek feel, we add can of olives and artichokes. Chickpeas give it a superb meaty texture. All of the ingredients are tossed with a simple vinaigrette. Nom nom!!
This refreshing and lightened up Mediterranean Pasta Salad tastes best after sitting for a bit. So all the ingredients have a chance to absorb the flavors of the marinade in the fridge. It can be prepared several hours in advance.
Leftovers taste Amazing!! Make a big batch so you can enjoy it for several lunches over few days.
On beautiful summer days, you don’t want to spend too much time cooking indoors . You also want nourishing, wholesome meals that come together quickly. This easy recipe is a perfect to make everyone happy.
How to Make Greek Fresh Pasta Salad?
- Cook your pasta per package directions and rinse under cold water in colander. Make sure water is drained properly
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the dressing and veggies
- Combine everything in a large bowl and mix the dressing. Let it chill before serving!
This salad is super quick and easy to make. While pasta is cooking, drain and rinse the chickpeas. Chop the cherry tomatoes. Bite-sized pieces work better so if the baby spinach leaves are too big for mouthful, roughly chop them or you can tear the leaves too.
Once pasta is cooked, drain the pasta, run in under the cold water. Toss everything together. Generously pour the salad dressing / vinaigrette over. Toss everything well. Ideally, let it sit for some time ( preferably few hours) so the well marinated delicious salad is ready to devour.
This salad is superbly flavorful, with the perfect mixture of sweet and savory and spicy ingredients. Everything blends together just perfectly. Fresh herbs and lemon juice elevates simple oil vinaigrette to next level.
How to make Greek Salad Dressing or Vinaigrette ?
It is very easy to make Greek Salad Dressing at home. Whisk together all the ingredients listed below. You can make a big batch and save it in refrigerator for multiple uses.
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 teaspoon Greek oregano
- salt & pepper to taste
- Juice of half of fresh lemon
Easy Substitutions :
You easily can change up ingredients to your liking. We can call it clean your refrigerator salad to make use of all the leftover veggies in the refrigerator. It’s incredibly customizable, so feel free to substitute in any of your favorite ingredients that you have on hand.
A special note about using Cheese in this Recipe
I often make this salad for large gatherings and potlucks. We have too many folks especially small children around us with severe dairy allergies. So I do not include any cheese in my salad. I want everyone to enjoy the dish. However, feel free to add in your favorite cheese especially crumbled feta cheese if you like.
I can’t wait to tell you that this Simple Summer Salad will steal the show for your next BBQ or potluck. One of our most popular recipe for summer gatherings, this beautiful salad is worthy of all accolades.
How to make pasta in Instant Pot or Electrical Presure cooker?
Making pasta in InstantPot or electrical pressure cooker is super simple. Pour pasta in the main insert. Pour enough water to cover the pasta. Add oil and salt to the pot. Close the lid. Place the valve in SEALING position.
Read the cooking time on the pasta package. You want to choose 1/2 that time minus 1 minute. So for example, if pasta box suggests you to boil pasta for 12 minutes , for Instant Pot you will do 1/2 -1 so 5 minutes. ( 12-6-1=5).
Choose MANUAL 5 minutes high presure. After Instant Pot does cooking and beeps, wait 5 minutes on KEEP WARM timer and release the pressure. (quick presure release by turning the knob from sealing to venting)
Carefully open the lid. Dump the pasta in a colander and run cold water over it for few minutes. Your Al Dante pasta is ready!
This Fresh Summer Salad could not be more beautiful. So many colors of the healthy veggies in this salad! And the taste definitely matches the bright palette. Healthy food that feels and tastes indulgent. Simple but seasonal salads like the one featured here can keep our focus intact. Cheers to healthy eating vibes year round.
OUR POPULAR SUMMER PARTY RECIPES
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Tomato Peach Caprese
- Black Bean and Corn Salad
- Vietnamese Spring Rolls
- Mango Peach Salsa
- 7 Layer Taco Dip
- Green Tomato Salad
- Gazpacho Soup
- Red Wine Sangria
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Greek Fresh Pasta Salad
Fresh Greek pasta salad recipe is the perfect summer salad for picnics, BBQs, or potlucks. It’s flavorful and healthy! This easy recipe is Dairy Free and Vegan.
Ingredients
Pasta Ingredients
- 12 oz Bow Tie Pasta
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Teaspoon Oil
- water for boiling
Salad Ingredients :
- 2 cups grape tomatoes halved
- 4 cups of packed baby spinach
- 1 cup Calamata Olives - pitted and sliced
- 1 cup artichoke hearts ( if using from can, rinse and drain the liquid)
- 1 can of Chickpeas ( Garbanzo Beans)- rinse and drain the liquid
- 1 cup favorite Greek Salad dressing
- 3-4 sprig of fresh parsley leaves roughly chopped for garnish
- Fresh ground black pepper and red chili flakes (optional )
Instructions
Boil the bow tie pasta with the salt and oil in the water according to the package until al dente.
While the pasta is happening, rinse and drain all canned ingredients. Chop the vegetables.
After the pasta is finished, rinse it under cold tap water. Drain well.
In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, all the veggies and chickpeas. Pour dressing over. Mix well.
Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature. Garnish with fresh parsley leaves and fresh ground black pepper and red chili flakes . Bon appetite!!
Notes
Using Cheese in This Recipe
I often make this salad for large gatherings and potlucks. We have too many folks especially small children around us with severe dairy allergies. So I do not include any cheese in my salad. I want everyone to enjoy the dish. However, feel free to add in your favorite cheese especially crumbled feta cheese if you like.
How to make pasta in Instant Pot or Electrical Presure cooker?
Making pasta in Instant Pot or electrical pressure cooker is super simple. Pour pasta in the main insert. Pour water to cover the pasta. DO NOT SUBMERGE. Add oil and salt to the pot. Close the lid. Place the valve in SEALING position.
Carefully open the lid. Dump the pasta in a colander and run cold water over it for few minutes. Your Al Dante pasta is ready !!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 309Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 487mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 7gSugar: 4gProtein: 9g
Gin
Wednesday 6th of May 2020
Can’t wait to try this = looks wonderful!
Shailaja
Tuesday 17th of September 2019
Thanks for the wonderful recipe , Really love the simple yet delicious salad , inspired by this post made the salad today just substituted the spinach with arugula and it was amazing