Easy Greek penne pasta salad coated in a creamy homemade Greek dressing with crumbled feta cheese, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, roasted pine nuts, and sweet fresh basil!
Prep Time25 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Additional Time30 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr20 minutesmins
Course: Salads + Soups
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: easy penne pasta salad, greek summer recipes, pasta salad
1teaspoonextra virgin olive oilto add to the boiling pasta water
1teaspoonsaltto add to the boiling pasta water
1/2cupsundried tomatoesdrained and sliced
1/4cuppine nutslightly toasted
1/2cupfeta cheesecrumbled
1/2cupfresh basilthinly sliced
1/2cupkalamata olivespitted and sliced
Instructions
Roast the pine nuts and prepare the creamy Greek salad dressing. Preheat your oven to 200°F on bake. Once the oven is preheated, place the pine nuts in a small baking pan and bake them in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until lightly roasted. Once they're toasted, remove the pine nuts from the oven and allow them to cool completely. In a large bowl, combine the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, Greek seasoning, seasoning salt, honey, garlic powder, and mayo. Whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside.
Boil the penne pasta. Boil the penne pasta in a large pot of salted water and follow the package cooking time for al dente penne. The penne pasta will be ready when it's still a bit chewy or tender. While the pasta cooks, slice the sundried tomatoes into thin slices. Then, finely slice the fresh basil, and slice the kalamata olives into halves or quarters. Crumble the feta into smaller pieces with a fork or your hands.
Assemble the pasta salad. Strain the pasta and rinse it well with cold water. This will prevent the penne pasta from sticking together and will help prevent the pasta from becoming overcooked. Add the cooked, cooled pasta to the large bowl with the dressing and stir until the penne pasta is well coated in the Greek dressing. Add in the roasted pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, kalamata olives, and crumbled feta cheese. Mix together, cover the pasta salad with saran wrap, and refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
For best results, the penne pasta should be "al dente" meaning there is a slight chewiness or tenderness to the pasta.
Rinse the strained pasta with cold water to prevent the penne from sticking together
Because pine nuts have a high-fat content, it's a good idea to keep an eye on them while they're in the oven so that they don't burn.
This Greek pasta salad makes a great side dish since the flavours aren't super overpowering, but you can substitute or add more ingredients if you'd like.