Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Updated Jun 25, 2026
This Mediterranean Pasta Salad is a summertime favorite. It's quick and easy to make, loaded with vegetables and color, and super filling!
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When the weather is warm, this Mediterranean Pasta Salad is my favorite to make! Throw it together with cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese, and it’s sure to be hit with everyone! I love taking this salad to potlucks and cookouts, or meal prepping it for the week to enjoy it for lunch.
Yumna’s Testing Notes
For the past 10 years, I’ve tested every recipe before sharing it with you! These notes give you a peek into the process of developing this mediterranean pasta salad recipe.
Rinsing the pasta made a big difference here. I usually don’t rinse pasta, but for pasta salad, I found it really helps stop the cooking right away and cools the pasta down so it doesn’t wilt the spinach or soften the feta. It also keeps the fusilli from clumping together before it gets tossed with the dressing.
The dressing works better when it goes in the bowl first. I tested adding the dressing after everything was mixed together, but whisking it in the serving bowl first and tossing the cooled pasta directly into it helped the pasta absorb more flavor before the veggies went in. It keeps them fresher and still gives the whole salad that tangy Mediterranean flavor. I especially like adding the red onions first so they mellow out in the dressing while I prep everything else.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
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Mediterranean Pasta Salad Ingredients
- Pasta: I like to use short and textured pasta like penne, ditalini, farfalle, or fusilli. It’s easier to eat, and their shapes absorb the salad dressings really well.
- Veggies: Tomatoes are a must. You can use fresh tomatoes, like Roma or cherry tomatoes, or sun-dried tomatoes. I also like to use cucumbers, and red onions.
- Something brined and salty: Olives definitely work here, as do roasted red peppers, artichokes, and hearts of palm.
- Greens: I like using arugula, spinach, or baby kale. Don’t want big leafy greens? Try just parsley or basil or mint!
- Feta cheese: Add as much as your heart desires or none if you want to keep this pasta salad vegan.
How to Make Mediterranean Pasta Salad
These photos give you a quick visual on how to make the recipe. The full ingredient amounts and instructions are in the recipe card below, or you can jump straight to the Mediterranean Pasta Salad.
1. Whisk the Dressing
Everything for the dressing goes right into the bowl I’ll use for the whole salad, which means one less dish later. Keep whisking until the oil and vinegar come together instead of sitting in separate layers.
2. Add Pasta to Dressing
Once the dressing is ready, the cooled pasta goes in first and gets coated completely before anything else hits the bowl. Doing it in this order means every piece of pasta picks up flavor instead of just whatever ends up sitting on top.
3. Layer in Veggies and Feta
Cucumber, tomatoes, spinach, red onion, feta, and olives all go on top in one layer rather than getting stirred in one at a time. That keeps the feta from breaking apart too much before the final toss.
4. Toss It All Together
Work everything through the bowl with tongs or a big spoon until the dressing reaches every piece, not just what’s on top. You’ll know it’s ready when the cucumber and tomatoes look glossy and coated and the spinach has relaxed slightly under everything else.
Full easy Mediterranean pasta salad recipe
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fusilli pasta
- 1 English cucumbers diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup baby spinach
- ½ small red onion sliced
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup kalamata olives halved
Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water until completely cool. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the salad dressing in a large serving bowl by whisking together the dressing ingredients until emulsified.
- Add the pasta on top of the dressing and toss to combine. Add the remaining salad ingredients, and toss the pasta salad until everything is evenly coated with the dressing. Serve immediately or allow to chill in the fridge until ready to eat.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Variations
- Beef up the protein with some chickpeas or white beans. If you want to add some extra protein or bulk up the salad, you can add in a can of chickpeas or white beans.
- Add in some grilled chicken or shrimp. If you want to make this a main dish, you can easily add in some grilled chicken or grilled shrimp.
- Try it with pickled onions or jalapeños. If you want a little more acidity or spice, you can add pickled onions or jalapeños. I like to add both!
Recipe Tips
- Don’t skimp out on the salt. How much salt? I usually eyeball this, but the rule is usually 1-2 tablespoons for every gallon of water. Go with 2 tablespoons when it’s cold pasta to ensure there are still lots of flavors there.
- Don’t overcook the pasta. No one likes soggy pasta in a pasta salad. You want to make sure it’s moist but not too soft. Follow the al dente cooking instructions on the pasta box.
- Rinse the pasta with cold water after cooking. This will help to immediately stop the pasta from getting any additional heat or adding heat to other salad ingredients like the feta cheese.
- Cut the veggies as uniformly as possible. This keeps the salad looking nice and keeps the eating experience consistent. If everything is a different size, some ingredients will be overdressed or underdressed.
- Marinate the onions in the dressing. I don’t love pungent fresh onions always in my salad so I usually add them to the dressing for a few minutes while I prepare the remaining ingredients, and it mellow them out!
Comments
I’m super excited about this salad. Could I just do a simple sweet balsamic vinegar and olive oil for a dressing? I just found your site and am very excited to try some of your recipes. Versatile recipes are always a go to of mine. 🙃
Oh yes that will totally work! Let me know what you think of it after you try it. And I’m so excited you found the website too! Let me know if you ever have any other questions.
Thank you for this wonderful pasta salad. I plan on making it today for company that will be coming tomorrow. My big ? Is should I withhold putting dressing on today & a few hours before they come then add dressing tomorrow. I really do not want to dry out salad. If possible pls respond today if you see this comment. I just love how colorful it is. I also am making it with sourdough Fusilli pasta 😋
Hi Amy! You can add the dressing today or tomorrow. I recommend adding the dressing it at least a few hours ahead of time, or even the day before, so all the flavors have a chance to mingle. This salad actually gets better as it sits. Be sure to give it a good stir before serving, as some of the dressing may have settled on the bottom. Hope your company enjoys it!
Yummmmmm!! So good! This is a great one that works with pretty much any substitution I’ve ever tried! My fav is to use the oil from sundried tomatoes in the dressing. A firm favourite, and it get smashed at family dinners, even with fussy eaters who are licking plates clean! ❤️ Thank you so much!
Yay!! So glad it’s a hit at your house!! Thanks so much, Beck!
I just made it and it came out so good! Thank you for sharing. Bringing it to a work baby shower tomorrow so I doubled the recipe. Instead of making the dressing I used “Greek feta dressing”. Everything else, I followed the ingredients you listed.
Yay! So happy you enjoyed it, Amira! Thanks so much!!
If I wanted to use a bottled salad dressing instead, would type (Italian?) would you recommend and how much (1/3 cup?) thanks!
Good question! I would say yes, about 1/3 cup of Greek or Mediterranean dressing would be perfect for this recipe. Enjoy!!
Great recipe. Made this salad for family and friends 4th of July get together. Was a hit. Brought home an empty bowl. Have made again for smaller groups and just us. Always greatly enjoyed. Followed recipe as written. For low carb you could substitute diced cauliflower for pasta. Am making it again tonight for tomorrow’s dinner for wife and I. Overnight in fridge enhances the great flavors. Thanks for sharing.
Aww, so happy it’s been such a big hit with your family and friends!! Thank you, Don!
This is fantastic! Super easy to throw together. Tons of flavor. We absolutely love it, thank you!! ❤️
Yay!! Aww, so glad you love it! Thank you!!
This looks and sounds amazing! Could you please recommend a substitute for red wine vinegar?
Hi there! White wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or sherry vinegar would work as substitutes.
Great recipe, thank you. Has anyone used fresh mint?
So happy you liked it, Angelica! I haven’t tried making this pasta salad with fresh mint but I’m sure it would be incredible. I’d love to hear what you think if you end up trying it!!
Made this awesome pasta salad to have with our bbq event this past weekend. It was a hit with everyone and there was nothing left. Definitely recommend it!!
Wow, thank you so much!! So glad it was a hit, Ed! Yay!
I just made this an hour ago for a party tonight. I just ate me a bowl and it is amazing 😉 So beautiful and delicious! I doubled the recipe and used farfalle (bow-tie pasta) instead. Thank you!!!!
Yum, I love farfalle too! So glad you like the recipe, Megs, thank you!!
Delicious 😋 just made it and it tastes great. Didn’t have dry mint so I added a bit of basil and also some chopped up red peppers. Thank you for the recipe!
Yum, love your tweaks! Basil and red pepper sound great!
This salad was fantastic. I did use ruccola instead of spinach and I only had dry oregano. Substituted basil for mint since that was all I had. Still delicious. Leftover is for tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe
Yay! Love that you were able to make it work with the ingredients you had on hand. So happy you enjoyed it, Marion!
Great recipe! Nice and easy to make. I made it from the recipe. I think I would add a few different things such as artichoke hearts and maybe basil next time I make this, which I will soon.
Yum, artichoke hearts and basil sound great! Let me know how it turns out. Thanks so much, Steve!
Quick and easy to throw together for a last minute side dish, and had most of the ingredients on hand. Left out the tomato and spinach, as I didn’t have any, and added a little extra pasta to make up the volume. I only had green olives, so used those. For the dressing I used dried basil in place of the mint. Very tasty.
So glad you liked it, Shawn!
Delicious. Easy recipe.
Thank you so much!
My new go-to summer salad! You can add almost anything to this already delicious recipe!
So glad you liked it, Jamie!
This is tasty! We added fresh basil and oregano, but otherwise followed the recipe. Delicious.
Thank you so much!
This was so yummy. I used whole wheat penne pasta and didn’t have red onion so I added what I had on hand, scallions instead, cucumber, artichoke hearts, tomato, kalmata olives and garlic powder instead of fresh to the dressing because I have a sensitivity to raw garlic. It’s better than a version I buy from a local Greek restaurant and much cheaper. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
You’re so welcome Jess! If you’re looking for another pasta salad recipe this month’s cooking challenge is for my Italian Pasta Salad and you will be entered to win $100 Amazon gift card for making it!
heyy, how about adding tuna to this?
You could definitely do that!
Hı !
Does red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar has real vine in it. I always wonder.
It depends. The alcohol usually evaporates but there are traces of it leftover which is hard to know the amount of. I use it still because it’s negligible to me and my intentions are not for consuming alcohol. If you prefer not to use it, try lemon juice instead.
First time trying this recipe. I could not be more satisfied! Even got my younger sister(super picky) to eat it & she loved it too! Super fresh and a delicious dressing.
Like Ms. Yumna says “So Good!” 😋😋😋
That’s amazing! Glad you both enjoyed!
Why do I continually have to put e-mail in again and again to receive these recipes ..?
You don’t have to! You can tap the X button at the top of the pop up.
Hello freshness