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This easy Greek Olive Pasta Salad with creamy honey dijon dressing is my go-to spring/summer pasta salad. It’s almost no-cook, comes together quickly, and with very little effort. Greek olives, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, salty feta cheese, and a creamy, tangy Greek dressing, all tossed up with pasta. It’s colorful and so delicious. Enjoy this for dinner and save the leftovers for lunch. Or serve it up at your next party, it’s always a hit.
Come spring and summer, we’re big on pasta salad. My dad would make his basic broccoli cheddar pasta salad weekly throughout the summer. But oftentimes he would switch it up and do his version of a Greek pasta salad.
To be honest, this usually consisted of whatever he had in the fridge at the time. Which to be fair, does usually make for the very best pasta salads.
In general, he always had a handful of fresh Greek ingredients in the fridge at all times. Bell peppers, olives, pepperoncini, cherry tomatoes (in the summer), basil, and dill. As a family, we just love those flavors.
That was his greek salad. He’d toss it with olive oil, salt, and pepper and call it a day. Oh, plus cheese (of course), but he’d didn’t use feta much, mainly just cheddar.
It’s always been one of my favorite dishes that he would make. So I recreated that salad but added a few touches and a creamy dressing.
Here are the quick details
I always start with the dressing. I did a red wine vinaigrette with a touch of honey and tahini to make it creamy. You could use mayo too, but typically I love usually tahini to keep the salad a little more wholesome.
Simply mix everything together and that’s it. Nothing fancy.
For the salad, I love to warm a little olive oil and get it just to a sizzling point. Then pour the hot oil over the shallots with some pine nuts and herbs. The heat from the oil cooks the shallots and infuses the herbs into the oil.
It’s an extra step but adds a lot of flavor.
Then the rest is pretty quick. Boil the pasta and toss it with that creamy dressing, all the Greek olives, and the fresh vegetables and herbs.
I top the salad with feta and always enjoy serving this warm. But it’s also great leftover for lunch the following day.
This is a nice recipe for prepping ahead of time for parties or even work lunches. The pasta holds up really well in the fridge and would be great to make on a Sunday for the week ahead. It actually takes on even more flavor as the salad sits!
If you wanted to make it a little heartier, you could add grilled pesto marinated chicken. That would be delicious!
Looking for other great pasta salad recipes? Here are some favorites:
Pesto Chicken, Corn, and Avocado Bacon Pasta Salad
Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Pasta Salad
Grilled Lemon Herb Chicken Avocado Orzo Salad with Honey Mustard Bacon Dressing
Lastly, if you make this Greek Olive Pasta Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Greek Olive Pasta Salad
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 553 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Greek Dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tahini or mayo
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- kosher salt and black pepper
Salad
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup mixed fresh herbs (basil, oregano, dill)
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- chili flakes
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 3/4 cup mixed Greek olives, pitted
- 2 bell peppers, chopped
- 1 cup chopped cucumber
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
- 1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini
- 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- 1. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.2. To make the salad. Combine the shallots, pine nuts, herbs, and chili flakes in a large bowl. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat until it begins to sizzle. Pour the hot oil over the shallots. 3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta to al dente, according to package directions. Drain. Add the pasta to the bowl with the oil. Add the olives, peppers, tomatoes, chickpeas, and pepperoncini. Pour over the dressing and toss well. Add the feta. 4. Serve the salad warm or cold and enjoy!
Would you be able to use greek yogurt for the dressing instead of mayo/tahini?
Hi Lauren,
Totally, that would work well for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
I was curious if you are okay with bread? I never really see bread up here, even if it is half baked and doughie. I was hoping for a Greek bread, pita’s are always tasty however I just don’t know enough about about Greek breads and would like that to change. We are greatful for all the beautiful grourmet foods you have put up for us!
Hi Melissa,
You can find all of my bread recipes here:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/recipes/?_recipe_meal=bread-recipes
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Made this pasta salad yesterday and it was a crowd pleaser. Omitted the chickpeas and pine nuts due to food allergies.
There is an error in step 3 on the directions: you forgot to add thr cucumbers.
Hi Melanie,
Happy Wednesday!🌤️🌸 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! Thanks for letting me know about the cucumbers! xx
My entire family LOVED this recipe! I will be putting this one on a regular rotation- highly recommend. My teenage daughters had friends over for dinner tonight; everyone had seconds. And, we have enough left over to pack tomorrow for lunch- win- win! Thanks, Tieghan!
Hi Kirsten,
Happy Monday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and I appreciate you making it! xT
My favourite pasta salad recipe ❤️❤️❤️. Honestly, I love this so much.
Hi Laura,
Happy Sunday!!🍍🥥 Thank you so much for trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Alternative for pine nuts?
Hi Sarah,
You could skip them or use another nut that you enjoy like walnuts or pecans! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I made this with gluten free pasta (Barilla Rotini) and it was delicious and even better on day 2. I also didn’t have chickpeas so put some extra Greek olives. I made mine with May because I had no tahini and it was great. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Bethany,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this dish was enjoyed and thanks a bunch for making it! xx
I just made this as a side dish for grilled pork tenderloins tonight. As I made the dressing I made a quick marinade for the pork, using everything in the marinade but the tahini. I doubled the dressing and will serve extra on the side for the finished pork. The tahini makes this dressing. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Hey Jennifer,
Love to hear this! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your comment! Have a great weekend!🌼🌴
This is hands down my favorite recipe to meal prep for my work lunches!
Hi Alex,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for trying it out! xx
Making this for dinner for the second time because after the first round we could NOT stop talking about it. We kept the pepperoncinis out the first round so that our spice-wimpy kids would eat it (they GOBBLED it) and I think my husband and I will sneak them into our share tonight. It is a major hit and made for great leftovers for lunch the next day!
Hey Iris,
Happy Thursday! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe and thanks so much for making it! xT
I had just posted a comment about another recipe and you were kind enough to respond. While that one didn’t work out for me, this one did and I thought it deserve a share. The only thing I did differently was with the tahini and honey- I used an herb tahini and substituted agave for honey (I’m allergic). Wish include a pic! Thank you!!!
Hey Wendi,
Happy Friday! ☃️ So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! xT
Do you think the dressing could be prepared a day or two in advance? Would it need to be refrigerated? I am making this for the holiday and trying to prepare as much as I can in advance. Thank you!
Hey Noelle,
You bet, just keep in the fridge:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
My family doesn’t like olives so I used a few for color and subbed artichokes. I used prosciutto instead of pepperoni. Yummy!
Hi Jonica,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for sharing your review and making it! xxT
Do you know how much protein is in here? THANK YOU!
Hi Kayla,
So sorry, I do not have that info. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I’m a big fan of Greek Food. I made this salad last weekend. This is by far the best Greek salad type recepie I tried. So much flavor and I coulnd’t even use cucumbers. I’ll make it again for sure.
Hi there,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xT