Summer Pasta Salad for Your Next BBQ

What is better than a summer pasta salad on a hot day? This Greek inspired summer pasta salad is simple, easy, and so delicious.

Ingredients

Instructions

STEP 1:

Put a pot of heavily salted water on to boil and add pasta once the water is at a rolling boil

STEP 2:

Dice the cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and kalamata olives

STEP 3:

To make the dressing add the red wine vinegar, olive oil, dried oregano, dried parsley, salt, and pepper to a bowl and whisk

STEP 4:

Once pasta is done drain well and transfer to a large bowl

STEP 5:

Add cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, and crumbled feta to the bowl

STEP 6:

Drizzle the dressing on top and toss until combined

STEP 7:

Enjoy!

This summer pasta salad is so great and takes just 20 minutes to make. Ever since I first made this summer pasta salad a few years ago it has been a staple for me. It is so easy to make and when everyone’s hungry on a lazy day it can be whipped up so fast. Convenience is a huge thing for me when it comes to cooking and this summer pasta salad is definitely convenient.

The ingredients to this summer pasta salad can also be tweaked based on your preferences or based on what you need to get rid of in your refrigerator. You could try this with mozzarella balls instead of feta or even parmesan. You could add diced red onion for a bit of a bite in the summer pasta salad and you can omit the olives if they are not your thing. There are plenty of ways to customize this pasta salad and I would encourage you to do so.

The feta that I used in this recipe is my go-to feta cheese always. It is the Dodoni Feta Cheese in Brine. It comes in a block in the brine which I think is the to get the freshest best tasting feta. I’ve tried a few methods for crumbling the feta myself and hands are definitely the way to go. Just pick up a block of the cheese and gently crumble it over the salad. The feta will come apart very easily and leave you with perfect fresh crumbles.

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This summer pasta salad is not only delicious, but it is also fairly nutritious. There is protein in the feta, carbs in the pasta, and great nutrients in the tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives. Whichever way you choose to tweak the salad the nutritional value should be pretty similar.

Even though this pasta is labeled as a summer pasta salad that doesn’t mean that it can only be eaten in the summer. This summer pasta salad is great all year round. I love to make this salad when I first get back to school in the fall because every Tuesday we have an awesome farmers market.

My roommates and I head down to the market to get all farm-fresh ingredients and it takes this already great summer pasta salad to the next level. There is great crunch from the cucumbers in this salad and if you add the feta when the pasta is still warm it gives the dish a delightful creamier consistency. The feta fully coats the pasta so you get a taste in every bite.